Run and don't look back 

The Outlast Trials is the newest title in the Outlast series of games, with a greater focus on multiplayer gameplay, highly anticipated by some, but for others, it seemed more like a co-op horror game that would have nothing new to offer, people like this writer who is very thankful to be wrong, because the game is exceptional. 

For a multiplayer horror game, especially when it is associated with other titles such as Dead by Daylight or Phasmophobia, which are not bad games, but do not have the terror of playing a game of the Outlast franchise, especially the co-op gameplay end up breaking some of the experience of the horror game, eventually generating a particular fear for many players about the new title. 

But the experience of playing Outlast Trials was excellent, the game managed to make me feel the same feeling I had when I played the first title of the franchise, which is one of my favorite games, but now with a much higher quality in almost every aspect. 



The game initially doesn't tell you much about the story and what is going on, what you understand very superficially is that your character is one of the guinea pigs who are undergoing a completely insane experiment in a secret lab during the cold war period. 

As brief as it is, the game allows you to learn a little more about the story during the gameplay, when you collect folders that have various information about patients or locations, as is done in the first game. 



The atmosphere of a place that is supposedly unreal, but still somehow possible, is constantly presented in the franchise, such as the sanatorium in the first game or the town of religiously fanatical rednecks in the second, but this time the game went further.

In the other games you still have a goal and your character out of the insanity and chaos that surrounds him, but that will slowly force you to succumb, in Trials you're just a piece that was already planned to be there and just follow the rhythm of the music that is played, it does not give you the impression that is special in some way, that has an important individuality or something. 

Better to hide, but make sure that the hiding place is clear... 

The game retained several mechanics that have been used before but added some new ones and improved the old ones, as the match aborts a gameplay similar to how games like Payday 2 worked, where you select a scenario with a goal and complete it, then you will find a gameplay a little different from previous titles. 

New mechanics like a random event, where a man with a gas launcher appears and chases you through the scenario, when he reaches you, his attack is to infect you and end your sanity, forcing you to flee from a relentless monster that chases you and always knows where you are, until you find and use an antidote that frees you from the psychosis. 



As you explore the maps and try to avoid the enemies chasing you, you may end up facing more difficult challenges that these new mechanics can offer, like when your night vision goggles run out of battery, and you need to pass through a dark area, there may be an enemy lurking hidden in some closet or a dark corner, just waiting for you to pass by to jump on you, giving a jumpscare and causing damage to your character. 

I enjoyed myself, but I had a hard time when I played a scenario alone, it is not impossible to pass through them without company, but it will certainly make your life tremendously difficult, because there are certain situations where you need to pass through a place, but there is an enemy that is lurking there, it would be easier with another player who would distract you while you pass with the goal. 



And in case one of these enemies catch you, they will hurt, hurt a lot, and so you will find several boxes scattered around the map that can contain important resources such as Batteries for night vision goggles, medical kits, adrenaline injection, antidotes, and other items that can help, but some of these boxes will have locks, so you must find a lockpick to unlock them through a minigame, very similar to the Dead by daylight generators. 

And the point that was mostly sold about the game, the fact that it has a focus on co-op is something very impressive, as it manages to deliver a horror experience very close to what the player finds when playing alone since the game is very frenetic and playing with friends certainly makes it more fun. 

The beauty of the macabre 

Besides all these great aspects of gameplay, the game also has a phenomenal aesthetic structure, encompassing all aspects, graphics, voice acting, sound effects, animations, art, and everything in the game was very well worked, I found no defects in these aspects and not in any other, something strange but nice, because games in early access always tend to come with some bugs. 

The graphics of the game reminds me a little of the second, but the setting and detailing have improved a lot, especially in lighting aspects, the environments seem much more organic due to this detail, much more believable, which makes the immersion even more spectacular. 



The cutscenes and arts that were made are also EXTREMELY well done, the scenes are not generating that strangeness that we saw in previous titles, where it was clear that it was not something very natural, now the animations are much more authentic and natural, and the arts of posters, flyers that you find in the game, are also very well detailed and beautiful. 

And we can't forget the sound parts of the game, which are produced at an insane level, the voiceovers are all with an excellent standard, very similar to what we found in the other titles, executed with mastery, even more so considering that we now have many more events where they are present. 



The effects are one of the main highlights of this game because it is absurd the delivery them during the gameplay and how important they are, for example, the enemy who hides in the cabinets to take you by surprise, you can hear him groaning inside, hear him opening a little closet to observe you, are details that make a total difference. 

For all that, I believe that The Outlast Trials is the best horror game released this year so far the moment, the game has an absurd quality and brings back that taste of playing something well-produced, that makes the player feel tension, terror, and fear, but at the same time holds you to always want more of that experience. 

For this review, The Outlast Trials was played via PC, through Steam.