Co-op Horror Game The Outlast Trials Launches Into Early Access On PC In May
The Outlast Trials, a four-player co-op spinoff of the iconic Outlast horror games, will finally be launching into early access on May 18. The game was first announced in 2019, promising the same psychological horror experience as the previous games in the series but, this time around, you’ll be able to take up to three of your friends along with you.
The game is set in the same universe as the original games, but rather than playing as a nosy journalist investigating a haunted asylum, you and your friends will play as human test subjects kidnapped by the Murkoff Corporation during the Cold War-era for mind control and brainwashing experiments.
“If you survive long enough and complete the therapy, Murkoff will happily let you leave… but will you be the same?” reads the game’s description on Steam. “"In a world of distrust, fear, and violence, your morals will be challenged, your endurance tested, and your sanity crushed. All in the name of progress, science, and profit.”
“In pure Outlast fashion, the core gameplay involves avoiding enemies, hiding from them, and trying to run away. Murkoff will provide tools you can use to increase your stealth capabilities, create opportunities to flee, slow down enemies, and more. However, you will have to earn those tools and work hard to improve them.”
The game’s developer, Montreal-based studio Red Barrels, held a closed beta test back in October, with nearly 1 million players signing up for a chance to get first dibs on the game. “The Closed Beta was just a taste of what’s to come in The Outlast Trials,” said the studio’s co-founder Philippe Morin. “Our first round of willing participants to take part in the trials provided us with some insightful feedback and very interesting data, which we have used to improve the experience.”
The Outlast Trials will launch on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. There’s still no word on whether the game will be coming to consoles, but based on previous releases, we can probably expect a console version to launch a little ways down the line.
