The Outlast Trials review: A bloody good time with friends

“That’s not me! That’s not me!” I shout helplessly at my friend as my eerie doppelganger stabs a knife into their chest multiple times. I make a panicked dash for the nearest hiding spot while trying to drown out the sounds of Mother Gooseberry screaming that she must teach me about the importance of dental hygiene. I reach the spot just in time and breathe a sigh of relief, only for The Outlast Trials’ unstable puppet-handed dental hygienist to rip me mercilessly out of my haven and leave me bleeding out on the ground, calling desperately to my friend for help. Unfortunately, they’re bleeding out too—our fate is sealed, and we’ll fail this trial. 

This type of hair-raising chaos is what a typical trial in The Outlast Trials looks like—and what makes it so brilliant. Despite being scared out of our wits, the Murkoff Corporation keeps drawing us back in for a taste of one of the most unique and terrifying horror game experiences out there. Your inability to fight the eccentric villains you encounter, combined with Outlast‘s signature night vision mechanic, makes for pure frightful magic. The Outlast Trials maintains what makes the franchise iconic while creating something new within the multiplayer horror space.

Pure chaos and just the right amount of challenge

While most other horror games let you slash and dash your way to victory, there aren’t any weapons in The Outlast Trials, making strategy and sneaking key. Your overarching goal is to navigate through a series of trials intended as therapy so you can escape and be reborn with all the teachings learned throughout your ordeal. Since there’s no combat, this makes for quite a challenging experience, but it’s just the right amount of challenge.

Each trial takes place in one of The Outlast Trials‘ various unique maps, which range from a run-down, grimy police station ruled by corrupt police officer Leland Coyle to a haunting orphanage where Mother Gooseberry wanders. There are random other Ex-Pop (Experimental Population) stalking about, too, like the stark-naked giant and the unhinged Psychosis-inducing gas mask man, but they aren’t as intimidating as the other two deadly Prime Assets.

Between these creeps and the unsettling surroundings, each trial, I stumble around the chosen map, trying to figure out my next move as I work through the trial objectives, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Chaos is around every corner and behind every creaky door—and you never know what you’ll come across next. 

The Purge

Your main goal varies with each trial but usually involves a purge. In Kill the Snitch, you mercilessly drag a man tied to a chair to an electric cage so you and your fellow Reagents can electrocute him to death. In Grind the Bad Apples, you play carnival games, throwing real hearts to hit targets before grinding a boat of fake singing children to dust in the Root Canal ride. The small tasks along the way are varied, but the end goal in each trial is usually to cleanse something or someone, and it’s usually a pretty bloody conclusion. 

There are puzzle elements throughout, like starting generators or opening lockpicks that can sometimes be more complex and frustrating than fun; finding randomly generated keys hidden in bodies throughout the Kill the Snitch trial is particularly tedious.

Dealing with villains is especially challenging because you can’t directly fight them. You can indirectly harm them using Rigs, powerful tools that activate effects like temporarily stunning foes or healing the entire team.

The more you play, the better your loadout becomes as you gain access to these Rigs, plus new Prescriptions and Amps for additional benefits, like unlocking the ability to slide or making your night vision battery recharge when not in use. You can use debris, like bricks and bottles, to deter foes too, but for the most part, you have to rely on being sneaky and calculating to navigate challenges. 

Everything about The Outlast Trials is way over the top, but in a brilliant splatter-slasher meets campy psychological horror film way. Often, I’m torn between laughing and being downright petrified. One minute, I’m chuckling as a fellow Reagent gets jumpscared by a screaming lady who leaps violently out of a locker, and the next, I’m running for my life as the ominous buzz of Sergeant Leland Coyle’s shock baton sizzles menacingly right behind me. All while trying to focus on what my objective is supposed to be. 

There’s a special balance between horror and humor that runs like a sick and twisted thread through every inch of The Outlast Trials. It’s got a surprisingly funny edge to it, which is evident in its goofy Rig tutorial videos and the ludicrous dialogue you get when you fail yet another trial. 

Multiplayer magic

My biggest gripe with The Outlast Trials is also one of the reasons I love it so much: It’s fundamentally constructed around multiplayer gameplay. I was miserable playing single-player for my first few trials until I managed to get into a lobby with a few other players—then the game’s genius finally clicked. 

You probably won’t have a good time if you try to play The Outlast Trials alone, since it’s especially unforgiving for solo players, but you’re sure to have a blast if you load into a lobby with others. While playing with others makes the trials easier overall because you have help and more tools at your disposal, it also makes them more challenging, because you have more people to worry about keeping alive. It’s worth the trade-off, though, because trials are considerably more fun with others. 

Perfect for Outlast fans and new players alike

Whether you’re familiar with the Outlast franchise or are jumping in for the first time with The Outlast Trials, you’re certain to have a terrifyingly good time. There are a few lore and story elements sprinkled throughout for series fans, but since it’s a prequel, you can easily start here before moving on to play the other games.

The Outlast Trials is incredibly engaging, and it’s by far one of the best multiplayer horror games I’ve had the fortune of playing. Every second I spend navigating trials results in equal parts confusion and terror, but I also can’t stop returning to Murkoff Facility.

It’s probably for the best, though, because if Mother Gooseberry and her sinister duck puppet have anything to say about it, my dental hygiene will be top-notch in no time.