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As a longtime Outlast fan it took a while but Outlast Trials grew a LOT on me, it's currently my most played game on Steam.
The concept, vibes and visuals of Outlast Trials are so cool. I love the artificial elements of the trials, how brainwashing is represented and the character design. The reagents clothing options are unique and awesome and the enemy design and voicelines are incredible, shout out to Mother Gooseberry and her designers and voice actress I absolutely love her and Dr Futterman. The other enemies and Prime Assets are also very fun and interesting, I hope we get more soon. So much care and personality was put into them, they all have cool little details! Down to their voicelines to their unique animations while opening doors or searching for hiding spots.
At first I thought it wasn't completely lore focused but turns out Outlast Trials is very influential in the Outlast universe. It has a story that is progressing over time and pieces of lore and elements from the other games, it takes place before the other two games and features some known names such as Murkoff, Dr Wernicke, Temple Gate, Knoth and possibly the Walrider. We also have lots of characters that were introduced in this game and they are very interesting by themselves. I love you Amelia, I hope you're reading this somehow.
This is almost the most brutal Outlast game, probably being only behind Outlast 2 cause y'know... You can kill your characters in the most brutal and gross way possible but nothing tops dead children. Here you are also the one causing harm to others and not just the one suffering or watching without getting involved or just seeing the bodies without actually witnessing the moment the deaths occurred and the deaths are really reallyy brutal. That poor deviant doll or the judge can confirm what I'm saying just ask them.
However most deaths are so brutal and exaggerated it ends up being silly. Uncomfortable and shocking but still over the top and unrealistic.
The exaggerated and over the top aspect is not an issue in any way, these are two of my favorite aspects in Outlast Trials. The deaths are exaggerated, the enemies are cartoonish, full of personality, crazy traits and hilarious voicelines and voice acting. This feels fitting for the multiplayer fast paced rhythm of the gameplay and not taking this world 100% seriously was a very smart choice. The team involved in each part of the development clearly has a lot of creative freedom to be experimental, I really have the feeling it must be very fun to work in this game.
Outlast Trials has lots of funny elements but don't get me wrong, it's atmosphere is still masterfully crafted, as I said before the character, audio and environment design in this game is amazing. It allows itself to be silly and is very good at it but when it takes itself seriously it does take itself seriously.
There are lots of penis and boobs. So cool.
Like any other horror game especially multiplayer ones, it loses most of the fear factor after a while but it does a great job at making you anxious and still manages to make you scared sometimes even after playing for a long time. It all depends on how immersed you are at the moment. Weirdly when I play solo it doesn't affect me at all but when I'm playing with other people on the voice chat without having to hold back I'm always screaming. There are lots of screaming and lots of laughter.
Regardless, it works really well as a horror game, I'd say it's the multiplayer horror game that does the best job at staying scary on some level. You get used to everything but it remains scary within what is possible for the genre. The atmosphere, enemy AI, sound design and difficulty just works.
The game's progression is pretty cool, you can upgrade your characters and equipments, the catalog (battle pass) system is fair as you can still buy previous passes with the exception of limited time events catalogs and the catalogs rewards are some of the best cosmetics. Sadly you can't get some of the limited time catalog items after the event ends.
Being able to customize your sleep room is cute.
The gameplay is fun but very repetitive if you play solo. It's kinda weird, didn't hit right for me at first it felt like something was missing. In the few times at the beggining I tried playing with randoms I felt like I was doing nothing but being carried by more experienced players, It was not uncommon to find myself walking around the map for an hour without understanding what to do or finding the objective but after I got a better understanding of the game and upgrading my character and devices after finishing all the main trials and starting to play with randoms more oftenly it became a lot of fun. I've been laughing, shitting my pants a lot and feeling the insane amount of adrenaline this game has to offer. I really recommend giving a chance to the higher difficulties after learning the basics, maybe you'll die if you're still learning and don't have anyone more experienced to help you but it's so fun and chaotic that it's worth the complete waste of your time.
I still consider the time it takes before the real fun beggin a problem. I bet a lot of people got bored of the game before this point and Outlast Trials was left with a bad impression in their perspective, that's why I don't feel like recommending the game to anyone who isn't an Outlast fan or have a very demanding and restricted taste in games. I suppose the best way to enjoy the early game is to play with friends who are also playing for the first time, that way you learn things together and stay at the same pace. However it's common for experienced players to let newer ones do the objectives and just guide them, so if you don't have a problem with playing with strangers you'll have fun too.
Playing solo is also always an option too, even though the levels were clearly thought to be played with other people and it's usually more fun to do so everything works just fine when you're playing alone.
The character creation feels outdated. It works but is very basic as you only choose the facemodel, hair and choose between four voices. It would be nice to be able to choose your body size and customize specific facial features. Red Barrels is still not a big company though, maybe it's not fair to complain about this so all I'm going to ask is to be able to use glasses and accessories and customize my gloves and shoes.
I strongly disapprove the use of generative AI. Yes, it's just a few pictures and posters on some maps, I probably wouldn't have even noticed or would just find it suspicious if I hadn't been warned about it but even the smallest use of AI is powerful enough to normalize it and cause harm to the world, society and art. It sucks even more because the art direction in this game is so cool :/ the aesthetics, character design, maps, wonderful voice acting, everything looks so cool, why use AI at this point? You were almost there damn it. I feel a little betrayed and disappointed tbh and it's another reason not to recommend Trials to people who aren't Outlast fans, it really makes the game look awful and sloppy for no good reason. Really hope they change all of these pictures someday but I think it's unlikely.
Outlast Trials needs a better matchmaking system and a list of joinable lobbies. It's so hard to find matches that at first I thought people didn't even play the game anymore, you always have to hope that people in the sleep room accept your invite or have friends who play frequently. Having to play solo because you didn't find anyone else to play with you is frustrating.
You can play chess though that kinda makes up for all the issues Outlast Trials has thank you Red Barrels.
If you like multiplayer horror games or horror games in general you should definitely give Outlast Trials a chance. Thank you for reading all that, I believe in you and I'm sure you'll make daddy Easterman and Murkoff proud.
🕷️.👁️.🐑.