The Outlast Trials

The Outlast Trials is a co-op survival horror game from Red Barrels, set during the Cold War in secret facilities of the sinister Murkoff Corporation, which is testing new mind-control methods on involuntary volunteers. Unlike previous entries in the series, the game is built around repeatable missions for one to four players, where the goal is to complete assigned tasks in a closed environment full of traps, guards, and experimental monsters, while the player has no weapon available and the only defense remaining is running, hiding, and distracting teammates and enemies alike.

Between missions, players upgrade their character in a central hub called the Sleep Room, where they acquire new abilities, cures for insanity, and cosmetic customizations, pushing the game closer to the structures of games-as-a-service than to traditional linear horror. On PlayStation 5, the game benefits from fast loading and stable performance even with four players at once, while the atmosphere is completed by the industrial environment of laboratories and dark underground corridors, complemented by the unsettlingly calm advertising aesthetic of the fictional corporation. The sound design relies on the character's breathing and the footsteps of pursuers as key danger indicators, making headphones practically essential gear here.

The game expands the Outlast universe with a new perspective on the Murkoff organization and brings an unconventional co-op format to the survival horror genre, which has proven to be a viable alternative to solo experiences. Reception was positive, especially among players seeking shared tension with friends, although purebred horror fans sometimes missed the intensity of the isolated experience from previous entries. To this day it works best as social horror entertainment, where fear is both amplified and softened by the presence of teammates, with whom you can share both the panic and the relief of a successful escape.

Why play it: For a group of players looking for shared tension, the co-op format of survival horror is a refreshing alternative to solo experiences, even if purebred fans might miss the intensity of isolation.