The Outlast Trials Game Review

Welcome to the therapy you didn't ask for. The Outlast trials made of nightmares and depravity. Let me brain wash you into playing this game.

If there’s one game that perfectly scratches my itch for chaos, fear, and straight-up psychological torment, it’s The Outlast Trials. This isn’t just horror—it’s depravity wrapped in co-op survival, and honestly, that’s exactly why it’s become one of my go-to games.

Welcome to the Therapy You Didn’t Ask For

Set during the Cold War, The Outlast Trials throws you into Murkoff Corporation’s twisted experiments, where “therapy” means enduring sadistic trials designed to break your mind. Whether you’re playing solo or with friends, every session feels unpredictable, tense, and completely unhinged.

What I love most is how the game leans fully into discomfort. It doesn’t hold back. The environments are filthy, the objectives are disturbing, and the enemies? Absolutely nightmare fuel.

The Trials: Where Things Get Messy

Each trial feels like its own sick experiment, forcing you to complete objectives while being hunted. Some standout trials include:

• Kill the Snitch – Hunt down a screaming victim strapped to a chair while enemies close in. It’s stressful, chaotic, and sets the tone perfectly.
• Sabotage the Factory – Navigate an industrial hellscape while destroying equipment under constant threat.
• Release the Prisoners – Sounds noble… until you realise everything is designed to go wrong.
• Cleanse the Orphans – Easily one of the most disturbing setups, blending moral discomfort with pure horror gameplay.
• Vindicate the Guilty – A brutal mix of stealth, timing, and panic.

And much much more! Each trial pushes you to adapt, whether that means stealth, teamwork, or just sprinting for your life.

The Bosses: Faces You Won’t Forget

What really elevates The Outlast Trials are its “Prime Assets”—basically the bosses who stalk you relentlessly. Each one feels like a fully realised horror character:

• Mother Gooseberry – A deranged children’s TV host with a puppet, switching between cheerful and utterly terrifying in seconds. Unpredictable and deeply unsettling.
• Sergeant Coyle – A corrupted authority figure obsessed with punishment. His presence alone ramps up the tension instantly.
• Franco “Il Bambino” Barbi – Loud, grotesque, and impossible to ignore. You’ll hear him before you see him—and that’s never a good sign.
• The Priestess - Scary and deadly.

These aren’t just enemies—they’re personalities, each adding to the game’s oppressive, depraved atmosphere.

How You Actually Survive the Madness

At its core, The Outlast Trials sticks to what makes Outlast so iconic—you don’t fight back, you survive.

You’re thrown into first-person chaos where your only real options are:

• Hide (lockers, under beds, shadows)
• Run (and pray you don’t hit a dead end)
• Work together (or abandon your friends… no judgement)

The game constantly forces you to complete disturbing objectives while being hunted. You’re not just wandering—you’re actively:

• Solving puzzles
• Carrying heavy objects
• Escorting or chasing targets
• Avoiding traps like electrified floors and noise triggers

And Murkoff does give you tools—but nothing overpowered. You can use the rigs and equip what works best for you and the trial you are in. The rigs you can use are:

• Stun or blind enemies
• Heal teammates
• See through walls temporarily with the X-ray
• Set up distractions and broke enemies from entering the room with the Barricade
• Or even disarm bombs and traps with the Jammer and turn them into ones that hurt the enemies and not you or your teammates

But here’s the catch: every tool has limits. Use it wrong, and you’re done.

All Types of Trials & Programs (The Real Variety)

The game isn’t just a handful of missions—it’s layered with different programs and trial systems that completely change how you play.

Program Genesis (Main Story Path)

This is the core experience—the structured path of trials leading to “Rebirth.”
Think of it as your descent into madness, one objective at a time.

Escalation Mode

This is where things get brutal:

• You start with nothing
• Trials become randomised
• Difficulty keeps increasing until you fail

It’s basically a test of endurance—how long can you survive before everything collapses?

MK-Challenges

Shorter, more focused objectives taken from full trials:

• Faster gameplay
• Less forgiving
• Great for grinding or quick chaos

Trial Maker (Create Your Own Nightmare)

This is where things get really interesting.

With Trial Maker, you’re not just surviving horror—you’re designing it.

• You can customise trials using existing maps and objectives
• Add variators (modifiers that make things worse… or way worse)
• Save and share up to 10 custom trials

Want no healing? Done.
Want constant enemies? Done.
Want pure suffering? Absolutely done.

It turns the game into something almost sandbox-like, and honestly, it feeds perfectly into that love of chaos and depravity. You’re not just a victim anymore—you’re part of the experiment.

Invasion Mode (Where Trust Dies)

Then comes Invasion, and this is where the game flips everything you thought you knew.

Instead of just AI enemies, you now have real players hunting you.

How it works:

• You can play as:
  • Reagent (survive the trial)
  • Imposter (invade and kill players)
• Imposters disguise themselves as teammates
• They strike when you least expect it

You’ll literally second-guess everyone:

“Was that my teammate… or am I about to get stabbed?”

Key mechanics:

• Imposters have a time limit to hunt before being forced out
• They can monitor you using cameras before attacking
• The more players, the more imposters appear
• Roles can swap between matches

And the best (or worst) part?
You unlock it after putting serious time in—so when it hits, you’re already attached to your team… which makes betrayal hit harder.

The Constant Threat System

Even outside of Invasion, the game keeps things fresh with:

• Routine Therapies (modifiers like no meds, no rigs, no running)
• Seasonal Programs & Events
• Randomised secondary objectives

No two runs feel identical, and that unpredictability is what makes it so addictive.

Why This Hits Different for Me

This is exactly why I keep coming back.

It’s not just horror—it’s interactive stress, paranoia, and controlled chaos.

• One run, you’re perfectly coordinated
• Next run, your team falls apart instantly
• And then there’s that moment… when everything goes wrong at once

That’s the magic.

It taps right into my love of horror and full-on depravity—not just visually, but psychologically. It forces you into uncomfortable situations and makes you adapt or fail.

Why I Keep Coming Back

I’ll be honest—this game taps right into my love of horror and all things twisted. There’s something about the sheer intensity of it. The panic when your team splits up, the adrenaline when a boss is right behind you, the relief when you barely make it out alive.

It’s not just about surviving—it’s about enduring.

And playing with others? That’s where it becomes unforgettable. The mix of fear, laughter, and absolute chaos when everything goes wrong is unmatched. No two runs ever feel the same, and that unpredictability is what keeps pulling me back in.

Final Thoughts

The Outlast Trials isn’t for the faint-hearted—and that’s exactly why it works. It’s grim, it’s brutal, and it doesn’t apologise for any of it.

For me, it’s more than just a game—it’s an experience I keep choosing to dive back into, no matter how disturbing it gets. If you love horror that pushes boundaries and aren’t afraid to get a little uncomfortable, this is one trial worth taking… just don’t expect to come out unchanged.

The Outlast Trials doesn’t just want to scare you—it wants to break you, rebuild you, and then throw you back in again.

And honestly?

That’s exactly why it’s one of my favourite games to play. Trust no one, expect nothing, and embrace the chaos—because in Murkoff’s world, survival is just another part of the experiment. As a female gamer I tend to shock the male population at this game which gives me another reason to play harder and school those that would disrespect me. Find me in a match and ill keep you alive for sure.

Eve

<3