Fans of the indie horror series Outlast have reason to celebrate today. Developer Red Barrels has announced that The Outlast Trials will be continuing the series in gory fashion. Not a direct sequel to Outlast 2 (a third entry is still in development), Trials introduces cooperative play to the series and forces players through what will probably be a series of Saw-like tests.
If multiplayer grosses you out, don't fret. The Outlast Trials will also feature single-player support for a more traditional experience. David Chateauneuf, co-founder of Red Barrels, said, "Our team is hard at work creating a new experience that will bring fear and anxiety to millions of players, whether they go through the experiments alone or with friends."
In a Facebook post announcing the game, Chateauneuf added, "Now we've done our proof of concept, it is time to focus on content creation, variety… and gore." At the moment, The Outlast Trials doesn't have any platforms or release window specified. It's likely the game will be coming to next-generation platforms and PC, though anything can happen between now and release.
The plot of The Outlast Trials takes place during the Cold War era. This winding back of the clock will allow Red Barrels the opportunity to flesh out some of the lore that Outlast has. Not being directly related to the previous games is also a big benefit for creating something unique.
All we have to go off of is some key art released, but it's curious to note that each test subject is wearing some kind of helmet. This could be indicative of VR support, but it might also point to Trials hanging its narrative on a computer simulation. Anything is possible with Outlast, a series known for dealing with religious cults and manipulating people's minds.
From humble beginnings in 2013, Outlast has now grown into a pretty big series. While reception to Outlast 2 is fairly mixed, most people agree that the series really does capture horror well. Transitioning to multiplayer may result in a decidedly less scary experience, but at least this isn't replacing the inevitable Outlast 3. This is more a holdover until Red Barrels is ready to really scare our pants off.