Let’s move on to the trailer broadcast at the Game Awards 2023 which simply compiles overplayed reactions from horrified streamers. The Outlast Trials takes place during the Cold War, in a kind of experimental bunker where prisoners must complete completely insane obstacle courses filled with crushed glass, faulty generators and criminals disconnected from reality. The game trades the linear structure of the first episodes for a certain replayability: if the number of different maps remains limited, gameplay modifiers require you to regularly adjust your strategy so as not to end up in a mess. Completing courses grants experience, which unlocks new skills or gadgets to defend yourself, and the loop continues.
Psychology with a trowel
To nourish the cycle, The Outlast Trials 1.0 will add a new area, the Toy Factory, where the recurring antagonist Mother Gooseberry awaits us – a kind of demented ventriloquist matron with a drill. The progression threshold will be raised, going up to level 65, and new amps, cosmetics, cell decorations and legendary costumes will be unlocked by accumulating experience. Red Barrels also intends to deepen the underlying intrigue with new top-secret documents to unearth in the levels. The console versions will include several controller presets for convenience.
And since it’s 2023, The Outlast Trials will offer a deluxe version at €49.99 (instead of the usual €39.99). For 10 euros more, you will have four legendary outfits, but also figurines and posters to display in your cell, not counting the player icon pack. For information, progression is centralized in a social hub where each player has their own small cell to decorate. A feature useless SO necessary, you will agree. Any pre-order will unlock the legendary Grizzly Hazmat outfit.