The Outlast Trials

The Outlast Trials is a first-person psychological horror survival video game developed and published by Red Barrels. It is the third installment in the Outlast series, serving as a prequel to the first two games and features test subjects in a mysterious Cold War experiment. The game was released on May 18, 2023 via early access for Microsoft Windows.

The Outlast Trials
Developer(s)Red Barrels
Publisher(s)Red Barrels
Director(s)Alex Charbonneau
Producer(s)Charles Ayotte
Programmer(s)François Cournoyer
Writer(s)J. T. Petty
Composer(s)Tom Salta
SeriesOutlast
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseMay 18, 2023
(early access)
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

The Outlast Trials is a survival horror game played from a first-person perspective. While the game supports four-player cooperative multiplayer, players can complete the game solo. The player must complete a set of tasks while evading monstrous enemies. The game features four distinct character classes and skill trees. Each class has a unique ability, allowing players to perform actions such as seeing through walls, healing other players, placing mines, and throwing a device to temporarily stun enemies.[1]

The player has access to a pair of night-vision goggles, allowing them to navigate dim-lit areas. It needs to be regularly recharged with a scarce battery resource. Players can pick up various useful objects, such as anti-psychotic drugs, lockpicks and healing items, but they can only carry three items at once. The player cannot directly fight against enemies, at most being able to temporarily stun them with specific items, and stealth is the preferred way to progress in the game.[2]

Development

Outlast 3 was announced in December 2017, though no time frame or target platforms were confirmed.[3] During this announcement, Red Barrels said that because they could not easily add downloadable content for Outlast 2 due to its structure, they have a smaller separate project related to Outlast that will release before Outlast 3.[3] Red Barrels also described the game as a "TV series". The development team of the game had around 40 people.[4]

The Outlast Trials was teased in October 2019 and is not a direct sequel to Outlast 2. It is about test subjects for the Murkoff Corporation in a mysterious Cold War experiment that is set in the same universe of the previous games. Red Barrels co-founder David Chateauneuf said "the proof-of-concept is now complete and the game's team is now in development mode".[5]

Marketing

On December 4, 2019, Red Barrels released a teaser image of the game.[6] On June 13, 2020, a teaser trailer was released, announcing a release for 2021.[7] However, it was announced in August 2021 that the game has been delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] To help pass the time, Red Barrels released a series of "Behind The Scenes" videos on their official YouTube channel.[9] A closed beta for the game was available from October 28 to November 1, 2022.[10] While the game was only confirmed for Microsoft Windows, the game would also be released for undisclosed PlayStation platforms "in the future".[4] Despite delaying the game to 2022, Red Barrels has yet to announce a release date for the full version as of 2023; but on March 10, 2023, it was announced that the game would be released in early access on May 18.[11]

References
  1. Delanley, Mike (November 3, 2022). "The Outlast Trials Isn't What You Expect, But That Might Be A Good Thing". GameSpot. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  2. Moss, Gabriel (October 28, 2022). "The Outlast Trials: First Level Preview". IGN. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  3. Barnett, Brian (December 7, 2017). "'Outlast' Coming to Switch, 'Outlast 3' Confirmed". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  4. Morin, Phillipe (September 3, 2021). "The Outlast Trials "is like a TV series", offering new challenges for players and developer alike". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  5. Brown, Fraser (December 4, 2019). "'The Outlast Trials' is a 4-player survival horror set during the Cold War". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  6. McWhertor, Michael (December 4, 2019). "The next 'Outlast' game will be multiplayer". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  7. Red Barrels [@TheRedBarrels] (June 13, 2020). "Survive alongside friends or dare to face the experiments by yourself. Your freedom ends in 2021. Welcome to the Outlast Trials" (Tweet). Retrieved June 25, 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. Fenlon, Wes (August 26, 2021). "Here's our first real look at Cold War horror game The Outlast Trials". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  9. Red Barrels. "The Outlast Trials - Behind The Scenes". YouTube. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  10. Gosling, Austen (August 23, 2022). "The Outlast Trials will be playable in October in closed beta". Polygon. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. Romano, Sal (March 10, 2023). "The Outlast Trials launches in Early Access on May 18". Gematsu. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
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