Info about The Outlast Trials: Official game description: Discord Channel =============== About the Game ============== Red Barrels invites you to experience mind-numbing terror, this time with friends. Whether you go through the trials alone or in teams, if you survive long enough and complete the therapy, Murkoff will happily let you leave… but will you be the same? **SYNOPSIS** ------------ Set in the era of the Cold War, human guinea pigs are involuntarily recruited by the good folks at the Murkoff Corporation to test advanced methods of brainwashing and mind control. 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. **SURVIVE: SOLO OR COOP** ------------------------- You’re all prisoners of Murkoff trapped inside their facility. You can choose to complete the trials by yourself or you can tackle them in a team of 2, 3, or 4 players. Coop is never forced when it comes to mandatory objectives but working together can be highly beneficial. Whatever the number of players in your party, it’s about surviving and getting out. Ultimately, your goal is to complete Murkoff's therapy and earn the right to be released back into society. In order to do so, you must complete the Trials and the MK-Challenges. Trials are immersive story driven therapies that take a certain time to complete. Mk-Challenges are shorter therapies occurring in modified or redesigned section of an existing map. **HIDE OR FLIGHT** ------------------ 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 tools will allow you to * Stun enemies * Blind them * See through walls * Heal yourself and people around you. Murkoff will ask you to perform disturbing tasks in each trials or mk-challenges. Only after completing those, will you be allowed to exit the Trials or the MK-Challenges. **CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION** --------------------------- Customize and create your own trial patient. Your cell is your home while you complete the therapy, you can decorate it however you wish. Choose your tools, upgrades, and perks to fit your playstyle. Meet the Denizens of Murkoff’s Sinyala Facility in The Outlast Trials. Each one of them will try and help you get through the Trials in one piece! Think you’ll make it? **INVESTIGATE** --------------- You’ve been abducted by the Murkoff Corporation to undergo unethical experiments that will modify your psyche and behavior throughout the Trials. Collect documents and items that will help prove Murkoff’s malpractice against its patients. The Process: * Break the Self: Murkoff aims to break down the test subject’s fundamental beliefs. Aspects of self-identity are systematically attacked. Like boot camp or indoctrination, the goal is to force a person to purge themselves of anything held sacred or taboo, the things that limit their behavior. The constant assault on identity, guilt and self-betrayal eventually leads to them breaking down. * Build the Self: It’s a bad cop, good cop principle. The rejection of the old ideology leaves a vacuum into which the new ideology can be introduced. As the antithesis of the old ideology, it forms a perfect attraction point as the person flees the old in search of a contrasting replacement. This progress is accelerated as the new ideology is portrayed as harmonious and ideally suited to the person's needs. Collegiality and calm replaces pain and punishment. Just at the point when the person is fearing annihilation of the self, they are offered a small kindness, a brief respite from the assault on their identity. * Salvation: Faced with the stark contrast of the pain of the past with the rosy glow of the future that the new ideology presents, the person sheds any the final allegiance to the old ideology, confessing any remaining deep secrets, and takes on the full mantle of the new ideology. This often feels, and has been described by many, as a form of rebirth. It may be accompanied by rites of passage as the person is accepted and cemented into the new order. The rituals will typically include strong statements made by the person about accepting the new ideology fully and completely, swearing allegiance to its leaders. Saluting flags, kissing other artefacts and other symbolic acts, all solemnly performed, all anchor them firmly in the new ground. Content and Photosensitivity Warning: ---------------------------------------- The Outlast Trials contain strobing and flashing lights that could cause a small percentage of people to experience seizures when exposed to certain lights, patterns, or images. This game also contains intense violence, gore, graphic sexual content, and strong language. Please enjoy. Release date: 5 Mar, 2024 Categories: Cooperative Multiplayer, Action Horror, Stealth Gameplay, Survival, Objective-Driven Combat, Character Progression, Character Customization, Live Service Game - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Immersive, terrifying horror atmosphere (weight 0.92): The game excels in creating a terrifying and immersive atmosphere through detailed environments, unsettling sound design, and impressive visuals. The combination of these elements results in a consistently tense and disturbing experience for players, enhanced by the game's brutal and chaotic nature. This point is highly important due to its focus on core elements and consistent mentions. - Well-designed co-op, positive community (weight 0.43): The game's co-op mode is well-designed and enhances the overall experience, promoting teamwork and communication between players. The community is generally positive and helpful, making it easy to find people to play with. The game also includes enjoyable mini-games in the lobby, providing a fun distraction between trials. This point is important due to its focus on the social and cooperative aspects of the game. - Compelling story, intense tension (weight 0.4): The game features a compelling story and creates a strong sense of tension, with well-developed characters and unpredictable encounters. The multiplayer dynamic forces players to make difficult choices, balancing teamwork with individual survival instincts, increasing tension and requiring collective strategy. This point is important because it highlights the game's narrative and psychological elements. - Diverse, replayable trials, varied difficulty (weight 0.23): The game offers diverse and replayable trials with varying difficulty levels, objectives, and randomized elements, ensuring a fresh and engaging experience each time. The level layouts change each run, with door availability varying based on difficulty. This point is important because it highlights the game's replayability and variety. - Regular updates, active developer support (weight 0.23): The game receives regular updates with new content, events, and improvements, demonstrating ongoing developer support and keeping the experience fresh and engaging. The developers are dedicated to supporting the game with constant events, major updates, and quick bug fixes. This point is important because it highlights the game's long-term value and the developers' commitment. - Fair monetization, cosmetic-focused rewards (weight 0.19): The game features minimal microtransactions, with cosmetic items primarily earned through in-game currency and gameplay. This approach avoids pay-to-win mechanics and ensures that players can progress and customize their characters without spending real money. This point is important because it addresses a common concern in modern gaming and highlights the game's fair monetization. - Good AI, flexible settings (weight 0.16): The game's AI is generally good and can be scary when it functions correctly. The game offers flexible settings, allowing players to customize almost everything except enemy AI and custom game modes. This point is important because it highlights the game's technical achievements and visual appeal. - Interactive enemies, self-defense options (weight 0.09): Enemies react to player actions, such as complaining when hit with objects. The game allows players to defend themselves, using bottles or bricks to stun normal enemies. This point is important because it highlights the game's technical achievements and visual appeal. - Good initial content, varied gameplay (weight 0.09): The first 20-30 hours offer novelty, different enemy types and traps, and various types of tasks. The game allows players to enjoy solving simple puzzles and searching for items while timing enemy patrols. This point is important because it highlights the game's technical achievements and visual appeal. - Cool concept, vibes, and visuals (weight 0.08): The game's concept, vibes, and visuals are cool, with artificial elements, brainwashing themes, and character design being highlights. The art style is appreciated and considered the only good thing about the game. This point is important because it highlights the game's technical achievements and visual appeal. Common complaints: - Repetitive gameplay, limited content (weight 0.46): Players report that the game becomes repetitive quickly due to a limited number of trials, maps, and objectives. The mission structure and gameplay loop lack variety, leading to boredom and reduced replayability, especially after extensive playtime or reaching the level cap. Slow content updates exacerbate this issue. - Inconsistent, flawed enemy AI (weight 0.43): The game's AI is inconsistent and flawed, with enemies exhibiting both unintelligent and overly perceptive behaviors. Players report issues with enemy tracking, predictable patrol routes, and artificial enemy placement, leading to frustrating and immersion-breaking experiences. Some enemies are considered poorly designed. - Lacks clear guidance, confusing (weight 0.42): The game lacks clear guidance and explanations, leading to player frustration and confusion. Trials can be difficult to understand initially, requiring trial-and-error gameplay. Some objectives are unclear, and the map can be difficult to navigate, especially for new players. - Multiplayer dilutes horror element (weight 0.42): The multiplayer focus diminishes the horror experience, as the presence of teammates reduces tension and fear. Some players find the game more comical than scary, with predictable jump scares and a reliance on gore over genuine suspense. The ability to fight back against enemies further reduces the feeling of vulnerability. - Deviates from Outlast formula (weight 0.38): Many reviewers feel the game deviates significantly from the core Outlast experience, particularly regarding horror and story. The shift to co-op diminishes the sense of isolation and fear, while the narrative is weaker and more fragmented compared to previous titles. Some players may be disappointed if they expect a traditional single-player Outlast game. - Technical issues plague gameplay (weight 0.38): The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including frequent server crashes, long loading times, and connectivity problems. These issues disrupt gameplay, cause loss of progress, and contribute to a negative player experience. Some players also report critical bugs that can halt progression. - Poor solo play experience (weight 0.34): The game's mechanics and level design are not well-suited for solo play, with some missions requiring teamwork to overcome obstacles. Players report that solo play can be tedious, time-consuming, and more challenging than co-op, with an unadjusted number of enemies. Poor task guidance and lack of stamina further hinder the solo experience. - Unrewarding progression system (weight 0.33): The game features an unrewarding progression system, with cosmetic items being the primary rewards for completing trials. Some abilities are considered useless, and the prestige system offers minimal incentives. The leveling process is slow and grindy, requiring significant time investment. - Game is overpriced (weight 0.32): Several reviewers feel the game is overpriced for the amount of content and overall experience it offers. They recommend waiting for a sale before purchasing. This sentiment suggests that the perceived value does not align with the asking price. - Outdated, uninspired visuals (weight 0.3): The game's visuals are criticized for looking outdated, with repetitive assets and uninspired design. The use of AI-generated art is seen as a negative, detracting from the game's atmosphere and artistic integrity. Some players also report performance issues, such as flickering shadows and slow texture loading. - Limited, unappealing customization (weight 0.28): The game's customization options are limited and unappealing, with many skins resembling gimp suits. Players desire more diverse character customization options, such as different physical traits and facial features. The grind for cosmetic unlocks can feel like padding. - Minor bugs present (weight 0.27): The game has minor bugs that occur during gameplay. These bugs include missing translations, non-responsive bottles, enemies stuck at the exit, sudden black screens, and enemies spawning directly in front of the player while hiding. - Disturbing, graphic content (weight 0.2): The game contains graphic violence, gore, and disturbing content that some players may find unsettling or traumatizing. Some reviewers report negative emotional responses, including anxiety, stress, and desensitization to violence. The game's psychological themes and depictions of torture can be intense and potentially triggering. - Minor drawbacks (weight 0.04): The game lacks a FOV slider, which may be a drawback for some players (though it can be adjusted via game config files). Some mechanics may become repetitive after long play sessions. Gameplay feedback: - Stealth and evasion focused gameplay (weight 0.3): Core gameplay revolves around stealth, evasion, and resource management. Players must hide, run, and use limited items to distract or temporarily stun enemies, as direct combat is not an option. This is consistent with previous titles in the series. - Trial-based objective gameplay (weight 0.22): The game is structured around completing trials with specific objectives while avoiding enemies and traps. These trials involve tasks like collecting items, solving puzzles, and activating mechanisms, often requiring teamwork. Trials are replayable with randomized elements, but can become repetitive. - Cooperative gameplay emphasizes teamwork (weight 0.18): The game features optional cooperative gameplay for 2-4 players, encouraging teamwork and strategy. Players can assist each other with tasks and coordinate to evade enemies, adding a new dimension to the series. The game dynamically adjusts challenges based on player count. - Character progression and customization (weight 0.15): The game features character progression and customization, allowing players to upgrade skills, unlock new abilities, and alter their appearance. This progression is achieved by completing missions and trials, providing a sense of advancement and personalized playstyles. Players can also customize their personal room. - Tools and abilities enhance survival (weight 0.1): Players can utilize various tools and abilities (Rigs) to aid in survival and support their team. These include stunning or blinding enemies, healing allies, and revealing enemy locations, adding a tactical layer to gameplay. Team composition with a variety of rigs is important for success. - Multiple difficulty levels available (weight 0.07): The game offers multiple difficulty levels, allowing players to adjust the challenge to their preference. Higher difficulties introduce more variators, increasing the intensity and requiring more strategic play. The game includes a psycho-surgery mode that provides an adrenaline rush. - Cold War setting, Murkoff experiments (weight 0.06): The game is set during the Cold War era and delves into the experiments conducted by the Murkoff Corporation. Players can uncover the story and lore by collecting documents and items within the game world. The game focuses on its own story and lore rather than borrowing from other games. - Social hub with mini-games (weight 0.06): The game features a social hub or lobby area where players can interact with each other, form groups, and engage in mini-games. These mini-games, such as arm wrestling and chess, provide entertainment while waiting for trials to begin. The social hub allows players to meet other players. - Regularly updated maps and trials (weight 0.05): The game features regularly changing maps and trials, with weekly updates introducing new challenges and objectives. This keeps the gameplay fresh and unpredictable, encouraging players to adapt their strategies. Seasonal updates bring major additions, such as new trials, enemies, modes and cosmetics. - Disturbing tasks and environments (weight 0.03): The game subjects players to disturbing tasks and environments as part of the trials. These trials test player limits under pressure and time constraints, often involving gruesome scenarios and sadistic experiments by the Murkoff Corporation. Players must perform disturbing tasks in trials and MK-Challenges to exit. - Diverse and unpredictable enemy types (weight 0.03): The game features diverse enemy types with unique behaviors and attack patterns. These enemies patrol the maps, creating unpredictable encounters and requiring players to adapt their strategies. Killers look and listen for you, and game modes offer different difficulties with different rewards. - Personal room customization (weight 0.02): Players have a personal sleep room that can be customized with items earned from missions or available by default. Customizing the sleep room adds a cute element to the game. Players can engage in mini-games with others in the sleep room. - Daily and weekly quests (weight 0.02): The game contains content for collectors and fans of doing daily and weekly quests. The game has event-timed rewards, which are only available for a limited time. New quests are continuously added, sometimes encouraging grinding. - Easy to learn, hard to master (weight 0.02): The game is easy to learn but hard to master. Mechanics are intuitive but hard to master, demanding quick decisions. The gameplay loop is rewarding. Performance notes: - Generally well-optimized, some performance dips (weight 0.26): The game generally runs well and is optimized for a range of hardware, including lower-end PCs and Steam Deck. However, some players experience occasional stuttering, frame drops, or lag, especially during intense sequences, with ray tracing enabled, or after updates. Some reviewers noted that the game requires a mid-to-high range PC for optimal performance. - Impressive graphics and audio design (weight 0.02): The game features impressive graphics and overall design, with realistic details and gore. Some reviewers highlight the amazing audio design that complements the visuals. However, one reviewer noted that the graphics are typical over-the-top Unreal Engine 5 with excessive assets. - Specific interaction bugs (weight 0.02): Several specific bugs were mentioned, including issues with barricades, button prompts, kicking enemies, picking up teammates, and a glitch in the prologue that required a restart. - Night vision issues (weight 0.01): Night vision is obscured by static, resembling a poorly tuned television. Using night vision goggles sometimes causes significant frame rate drops, making the game unplayable. - Dated textures on some maps (weight 0.01): Some maps have textures that look dated, resembling those from older games. - Excessive darkness (weight 0.01): The game is very dark, making the monitor reflect the player's face, which can be distracting. - Large install size (weight 0.01): The game has a large install size, which may be a concern for players with limited storage space. Recommendations: - Highly recommended co-op horror experience (weight 0.95): The game is highly recommended, especially for horror fans and those seeking a thrilling co-op experience. Many reviewers consider it a must-play, praising its unique blend of tension, teamwork, and terror. Some even consider it a masterpiece and one of the best horror games ever. - Best enjoyed with friends (weight 0.74): Playing with friends significantly enhances the experience, adding excitement and tension. Teamwork and communication are key to overcoming challenges, making it a great game for social play. Some reviewers explicitly state that the game is less enjoyable solo. - Consider buying on sale (weight 0.25): Several reviewers suggest waiting for a sale before purchasing, citing concerns about the full price. Some feel the game is worth the investment, especially with discounts, while others believe the content doesn't justify the initial cost. This point does not show signs of review bombing. - Desire for more content (weight 0.05): Reviewers express hope for continued support and content updates from the developers. Some desire more maps, enemies, and events to keep the game fresh and engaging. There is a general sentiment that the game has potential and could benefit from further development. - Mature content, not for everyone (weight 0.04): The game contains graphic violence, gore, nudity, and disturbing themes, making it unsuitable for children or those with fragile mental health. It is recommended for adults with strong mental fortitude who can handle intense and potentially traumatizing content. - Brutal and unforgiving experience (weight 0.03): The game is described as violent, traumatizing, and unflinchingly sadistic, offering no hope or easy victories. It is not a story-driven experience but rather a terrifying and humiliating hunt. Sensitive players are advised to avoid it. - Positive developer-community interaction (weight 0.02): The developers are praised for their attentiveness to the community and positive influence on players. The game is seen as a labor of love, and supporting the developers by playing and participating in the community is encouraged. Other player notes: - Prequel exploring Murkoff's Cold War experiments (weight 0.15): The game is a prequel set during the Cold War, focusing on Murkoff Corporation's MK-ULTRA-inspired experiments. Players uncover the story through environmental details, documents, and broadcasts, expanding the lore of the Outlast universe. - Intense violence and gore content (weight 0.06): The game contains intense violence, gore, and disturbing imagery, making it suitable only for adult audiences. Some reviewers found the content exceptionally graphic and repulsive. - Trials for freedom, uncover secrets (weight 0.06): The game's plot revolves around test subjects undergoing trials to gain freedom and a new life, while uncovering the secrets of the Murkoff Corporation. The story is revealed through scattered documents and cutscenes. - Lacks text chat, inconsistent social (weight 0.03): The game lacks a text chat feature, creating communication barriers for some players. The social element can be inconsistent, with activity spiking only during events. - Cooperative play with crossplay support (weight 0.03): The game supports both solo and cooperative play with crossplay functionality. It features a communication system and dedicated servers for stable online performance. - Cosmetic microtransactions, no pay-to-win (weight 0.02): The game's monetization is user-friendly, with microtransactions limited to cosmetic items and no pay-to-win advantages. New content is mostly free, with optional cosmetic bundles available. - Vague impressions, lacks detail (weight 0.02): These points are too vague to be useful. They consist of general impressions and lack specific details. - Interactive mini-games in lobby (weight 0.02): The game's lobby includes interactive mini-games like arm wrestling, chess, and a stroop test to entertain players while waiting. - Decent PC requirements (weight 0.02): The game has decent PC requirements. - Murkoff parodies clandestine operations (weight 0.01): The Murkoff Corporation serves as a parody of government agencies and corporations involved in clandestine operations. - Diverse scenarios and dangers (weight 0.01): The game is set in diverse scenarios with vast dangers. - Customize 1950s outfits/skills (weight 0.01): Players can customize their 1950s outfits and skills. - Audience: Teens and Adults (weight 0.01): The game is suitable for teens and adults. - Doctor Futterman is notable (weight 0.01): Doctor Futterman is a notable aspect of the game. - Mocking religious figures (weight 0.01): The game depicts a fictionalized organization that could be interpreted as mocking religious figures. - Lacks Ukrainian language support (weight 0.01): The game lacks Ukrainian language support, but the gameplay is intuitive and easy to understand. - Amplifies dread and helplessness (weight 0.01): The setting amplifies the sense of dread and helplessness. 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