The Outlast Trials is the newest bone chilling addition to the nightmarish series, brought to us by Red Barrels. This new instalment wields a myriad of changes to the core gameplay mechanics, but they are simple enough to make sense of no matter if you’re a veteran or rookie to the franchise.

***While it is not entirely necessary, I highly recommend at least playing through Outlast and it’s DLC, The Whistleblower, before firing up The Outlast Trials***

What’s New

When booting up the game, returning players will find a sense of familiarity. Red Barrels elected to begin Trials with an intro level that does a great job at onboarding players to the core mechanics; You will understand these mechanics to be run, hide, and occasionally, jump.

That feeling of familiarity quickly fades, however, as Trials is not your traditional sequel. Once Red Barrels brings you up to speed, they then begin to hurl all of the new additions your way at a steady rate of consumption.

Players will find themselves in a holding area named “Murkoff’s Facility”. You will have your own holding cell (its location in the facility seems to be randomized each time you load into the server). In your respective holding cell, you are able to engage in full customization of your character’s appearance and the aesthetics of your cell. Once you’re done exploring all options available for customization, players will want to proceed to the common area where they can interact with the Terminal.

The Terminal is your gateway to divulge in the vast majority of new features present in The Outlast Trials, and believe me, the changes are plentiful.

Trials Themselves

It’s the very first thing you’ll see when booting up the Terminal. This is where you can view what Trials and “MK” challenges are available to play. This is a much different approach to Outlast’s predecessors because they feature a linear story. The goal is to progress through the Core Therapy program in order to gain your freedom. You will also note that upon completing a trial, players will receive a letter grade and various rewards. Unfortunately, The Outlast Trials does not consist of many levels at the present time and more content will be on the way in the near future as Red Barrels has announced a roadmap of content.

Loadout

While Outlast is notorious for not being able to fight back against enemies, the new Loadout feature gives players a fighting chance… of sorts. Your Loadout will consist of a few skills, tools and abilities that will make surviving a Trial all the more satisfying! The more you progress and level up, the more you will be able to unlock the various skills and tools.

Multiplayer Madness

The biggest addition to this sequel, also noticeable immediately in the Terminal, is the ability to partner up and tackle these sadistic trials and villains in multiplayer of up to four players. This is monumental as it allows for players to mix up various Loadouts that will most assuredly assist in optimizing the completion of a Trial or Challenge. In addition, and plainly put, The Outlast Trials played with multiple players is LOADS OF FUN! This is a good thing and a bad thing. Running with trial-mates maximizes enjoyment, but at the detriment of desensitizing the horror element that is typical of Outlast.

The Verdict

The Outlast Trials makes its way to players as an outstandingly delightful multiplayer experience. The horror element may lose its allure quickly, but fun with friends is always present. The Saw-like aesthetics are executed wonderfully and brings us to question, why was this not thought of sooner? The Outlast Trials is at a terrific place at launch and I don’t doubt that more content will make this game even more enjoyable.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X. Available now on PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. It is Steam Deck Verified.