In 2013, we thought that we knew everything there is to know about scary games. You get the drift – jump scares, tall weird creatures, zombies, evil towns – we’ve seen it all. Fortunately, we were proven wrong, as this unique cooperative horror game came to be called – The Outlast. Canadians from Red Barrels showed us, then, that there is still a lot to be said in the scary genre. So, it’s only fair that we would give them the opportunity to surprise us once more!

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If you want to get scared – this is definitely the place for you to do so. Is it one of those early-access games? Yes, we can’t have anything that is actually complete in this world of ours. Does it make any difference – definitely not! The game is all about torturing you with crazy visuals, atmosphere, and occasional bugs! As the old saying goes – it’s not a bug; it’s a feature, and The Outlast Trials successfully translates this saying into reality.

The previous game additionally helped you get scared with up to three friends, so the terrifying monsters and what they can do to you split between terrorizing your buddies and you. It was an unusual experience to be scared with your 30-year-old friends and scream like a little child when playing an Outlast game. Well, The Outlast Trials throws their hat to the ring as well, so let’s see what exactly we can expect from the Outlast universe this time!

More Stuff to Do

The first game felt a bit like a more complicated escape room. Go there, click the button, do this, go back, and try not to get killed. It's pretty standard stuff. Although everything that surrounded the gameplay was top-notch, the gameplay itself – not so much. It was pretty repetitive, and silly enemy AI was something that we just could not let slide. But, the Mount Massive psychiatric institution and all its monsters successfully made this drag into a fun experience. Patrolling enemies that looked like this were not just bots. They were your worst nightmares!

So, how does this one play out in the gameplay department? Well, the mental institution from the first title was replaced by an American village with dozens of people who are, well, a bunch of psychopaths.

Instead of narrow corridors, we now have open spaces with no hiding places. The one thing remains the same, though – you must survive this nonsense. As it’s the third game, we hope that this over-the-top horror will develop into something more advanced and sophisticated. And — drum rolls – it’s a hit and miss.

Crazy Psychopaths and Flyers

So, where does the windy road of Outlast lead us? Well, we go back to the times of the Cold War, making it essentially the prequel to what we have seen in the first two games. Murkoff Corporation comes back, or should we say – first appears, as the scientists are just starting to research human minds by, as the title suggests, subjecting them to more and more demanding trials.

As usual in those cases, the bad people target the homeless and criminals not to make a fuss in the regular society. There are flyers all over the town that suggest you sign in and report to the Sinyala facility. You are one of the unnamed people who was chosen for this process. And – you can modify what kind of person you would like to be scared as! You have the gender to choose from, hairstyle, and even voice. It is pretty ridiculous as it’s a horror game, so you will not be doing any cool combos where you need to look as sharp as you can. Still, there are plenty of reasons to have fun with, ultimately, rather basic customization options.

The game starts with us experiencing one of the most horrifying things in the history of gaming. Company employees are mutilating each individual by permanently attaching night vision goggles to them. You will utilize night vision a lot in the game later, so you can “thank” them for that.

After that wonderful experience, we got our first task – find and destroy the documents that confirm our identity. It’s a pretty standard horror/action intro, where we meet the psychopaths, fight them off, and learn all the game basics. It’s essentially a tutorial, but it’s so well done that we would like to go further in that direction rather than just what was about to commence.

The Blood Thickens

So, as you can see, it’s something different from the previous games. Here, we play missions, or programs as they tend to name them, that we can do in a particular order, to be honest. When it comes to gameplay perspective – it makes so much sense! From the point of view of the story – not so much. The fun, or horror, of the previous games, was that you needed to get to the checkpoint to save and await what terror lies ahead. Here, you will be in a completely different spot, with various enemies and, well, not the same kind of game as before.

Of course, you will still have this tense atmosphere spreading all over you, and the wall will call you, but…who are you? A nameless protagonist like many others who tries to find some documents? Well, it’s not our cup of tea, to be frank.

LET THE BODIES HIT THE DOOR

From the police station to the fun park and plenty more – the game is an experience! As many reviewers pointed out, it’s a former single-player game turned co-op the right way. It will please single-player terror fans, as well as those who are not alone in their gaming. With friends online, everything gets 100% more hilarious and terrifying at the same time. Even though the stupid AI and repetitive visual assets drag the game down a bit, it still is a co-op horror game that we all have been waiting for.

The sound in this game is just perfect and sends chills down your spine every time this mind-numbing terror appears. The cracks groans, sighs, everything feels dirty, but it’s frantically enjoyable. It’s a horror movie in the form of a game. Especially when you get to an interesting observation that it’s not like those psychopaths are just looking for you. They are hunting other victims as well!

The tension is so thick you can cut through it with a knife. Even though there are a couple of unnecessary jump scares where the tension would suffice, we are all about games that are trying to do something more and better rather than relying on just upgrading a bit with each installment. It’s not a new map, for sure; it’s a new experience!

It’s Difficult to Be Alone

If you are wondering whether you should play it with your friends who also have the Xbox Series X – then you should do so. The game, when played alone, is rather nightmarish not only because of all of the psychopaths roaming around but also – it’s so tricky! Sometimes, you get this feeling as if the missions were artificially prolonged, only by the difficulty level of the enemies. And even though it would be something as simple as gathering items all over the map or doing something as repetitive as this, every time where we were closing in on time, suddenly there was a dude coming at us just to play a game of murderous tag.

So what happens if you die – you may ask. Well, if you can’t find any hiding spots, and you manage to survive long enough to get to the checkpoint, you just need to resurrect yourself and continue.

Be sure to be on the lookout for items, as you may find some pretty exciting items all over the map. There are a couple of things that can impact your gaming experiences, such as the batteries for your night vision goggles, the antidote for psychosis, and first aid that will help you restore life after meeting with some broken-glass-utilizing individual.

Whatever you can say about the game, finding out stuff spread across the map is widely entertaining, as you need to find just the right combination of things not to get yourself killed in the process. And even if you occasionally tip the enemies in the process - it’s all within the realm of possibilities.

Turn Up the Mic!

With four people in the play, though – the game shines. You can divide tasks among all of you, exchange items with each other, and have a much smoother experience overall. Each mission is much more fun when you play with others, and you will experience much less frustration.

Of course, only if the matches are with a crew who has a microphone and are not in the process of looking for a quick death to increase the risk of others. As you can imagine, going at it with some randoms may be pretty problematic, as villains will surely not wait around for you to just stun them with bricks while your other team members are just jumping around the map.

With a solid team, the multiplayer looks and feels great. You can even utilize some apparatuses that would not have been possible without some help from your friends. There are four categories to choose from regarding rigs you can develop. You have the X-ray Rig that allows you to see enemies through the walls. Healing, which is, yes, you’ve guessed it, all about healing. Blinding allows you to deploy mines and blinding gas, and Stunning can help you create a device to disorient your enemies.

Each one has several levels you can develop further into, so there is a playstyle here for everyone. There is a tier list out there for sure, but we suggest you search for what gives you the most fun and proceed in that manner.

Last but not least, the game has a fun decompression element between levels, where you can arm wrestle with your friends or even play chess. You can also buy decorations for your cell or change the color of walls and floors. Or buy some clothes. Why is this in this game – we have absolutely no idea. But for some reason – we are all for it!

Here we are, at the summary! Well, was is worth the trouble? Will we play it again? Is it recommendable?! To all of those – definitely yes! Even though there are glitches here and there, and bugs are crawling from the frame, the game is such a fun experience in a co-op mode. It’s something totally different from other games you can play with your friends. The goal is to survive rather than murder everyone or win a race. Here, you need to cooperate, communicate, and cosign every decision to have any chance for victory. The game painfully shows you that, especially by prolonging every moment when you are not playing in co-op mode. It’s fast, it’s full of surprises, and most definitely – one of our favorite games to go back to. If you haven’t played it – what are you waiting for? The console version is just around the corner. Come pick it up, and let’s get scared!