After the mixed reception of Outlast II, which released in 2017, the developer team Red Barrels started working on a follow-up. Since then, the team has gone through numerous transformations in preparation for the next installment in the Outlast series. After first being hinted at on social media, Red Barrels finally released a cinematic trailer in June of last year for their upcoming project, The Outlast Trials.
Even though The Outlast Trials trailer is almost a year old, details about development have been sporadic at best. Red Barrels has stated that they’ve grown their team to increase their efforts and are closely heeding criticism received for Outlast II. However, what has been revealed is intriguing at the least, and promising at best.
Most of the game remains a mystery and the developers have only released bits and pieces of information. However, after examining the available material, there are few things about the game of which you can be certain.
7 Murkoff Is Back
Outlast began as a reporter’s journey to expose the atrocities committed by the Murkoff Corporation, a U.S.-based transnational company involved in biological experimentation. Following the first game and The Whistleblower DLC, Murkoff’s presence was extremely limited in Outlast II.
However, with The Outlast Trials taking place before the first two games, Murkoff will be taking a more dominant role. The trials are set in a nameless Murkoff facility where they are conducting horrible experiments on the poor soles trapped within. The goal will be to do whatever is necessary to escape Murkoff’s clutches.
6 It’s Set During The Cold War
There are many time periods that games have explored over the years, but periods of high tension are some of the most popular. Both the Modern Warfare and Battlefield series’ have based titles off of the Cold War’s escalation. Because of this, it’s interesting to see it in a non-war-related context.
The Outlast Trials establishes this period but focuses on the time period rather than the conflict itself. As the game develops, the Cold War can help provide more context and theories as to why the trials are happening in the first place.
5 No Camera, Just Goggles
A staple of the Outlast series is the use of night-vision. At this point, all of the Outlast protagonists have used a camcorder with night-vision in order to navigate their surroundings. In The Outlast Trials, you will not have a camcorder and will instead be outfitted with night-vision goggles.
The trailer depicts a player character strapped in a chair and having the goggles grafted onto their face. This makes sense as you will need to be able to have full use of their hands in order to survive. This also implies that they’ll no longer need to worry about running out of batteries and being stranded in the dark.
4 It Will Have Co-Op
If there’s one aspect of The Outlast Trials that Red Barrels wants you to know, it’s that it will be a co-op game. With the success of titles like Dead by Daylight and Phasmophobia, multiplayer horror games have been on the rise.
The Outlast Trials seeks to follow suit and the trailer shows that very clearly. Depicting two human characters are they attempt to outrun a monstrous pursuer, it’s evident that teamwork will be necessary to survive. That being said, the game will also offer a single-player mode.
3 There Will Be Multiple Pursuers
Another staple of the Outlast series is having memorable villains. In Outlast, you were chased by the terrifying MP Chris Walker. In Outlast II, you were hunted by the hauntingly powerful Marta. In The Outlast Trials, there will be multiple recognizable enemies that will chase you throughout the facility. The trailer showcases a lean hulking figure wielding a large hammer as he pursues the test subjects.
The Red Barrels Twitter has also revealed concept art for an enemy dressed in some form of military fatigues wielding a long dual-bladed weapon.
2 Part Of The Game Is Set In A Model Town
Since the experiments are being conducted by the Murkoff Corporation, it has built an extensive facility in order to run its trials. The trailer reveals only an operating room and a long decrepit corridor, but screenshots show more. By visiting Red Barrels' website, you can glimpse more into the world of The Outlast Trials. Among the several promotional images are screenshots of different set pieces.
These include a carnival-like area complete with a monster-mouth doorway as well as a street lined with stores and businesses. It also shows the interior of an administrative building making one thing clear: the facility has been designed to include a range of environments.
1 It Is Currently Only Confirmed For PC
At this point, all of the current entries for the Outlast series are available on a variety of platforms. From PC to Android, the games’ popularity has made them accessible to all types of players. However, this isn’t the case for The Outlast Trials. Currently, Red Barrels has only confirmed the game to be releasing on PC.
There are no plans to release it on other platforms despite discussions about making it VR compatible. Until then, you will need to make sure that your rig will be able to support running the game.