Outlast Trials Hack
Adele Strecker
The Outlast Trials is a first-person horror survival video game developed and published by Red Barrels. It is the third installment in the Outlast series, serving as a prequel to the first two games and features test subjects in a mysterious Cold War experiment. The game was released on May 18, 2023 via early access for Microsoft Windows, and fully launched on March 5, 2024 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
The Outlast Trials is a survival horror game played from a first-person perspective. While the game supports four-player cooperative multiplayer, players can complete the game solo. The player must complete a set of tasks while evading monstrous enemies. The game features four distinct character classes and skill trees. Each class has a unique ability, allowing players to perform actions such as seeing through walls, healing other players, placing mines, and throwing a device to temporarily stun enemies.[1]
The player has access to a pair of night-vision goggles, allowing them to navigate dim-lit areas. It needs to be regularly recharged with a scarce battery resource. Players can pick up various useful objects, such as anti-psychotic drugs, lockpicks and healing items, but they can only carry three items at once. The player cannot directly fight against enemies, at most being able to temporarily stun them with specific items, and stealth is the preferred way to progress in the game.[2]
In 1959 at the height of the Cold War, the Murkoff Corporation begin a deceptive recruitment program that targets individuals who have fallen on hard times and become homeless. Those who volunteer are then kidnapped and taken to the Sinyala Facility in Arizona where they are forced to sign consent forms and undergo an involuntary surgical procedure to have night vision goggles screwed onto their heads. Labeled as Reagents, the subjects are then forced to undergo a Trial where they are directed by the facility's director, Dr. Hendrick Joliet Easterman to destroy their own public and private records while avoiding the psychotic failed test subjects, known as Ex-Pop.
After completing the initial trial, Easterman allows Reagents access to the Sleep Room, where they can listen to his tales, those of engineer Cornelius Noakes, nurse Emily Barlow and various Sleep Room denizens. They are later assisted by a fellow Reagent named Dorris who no longer partakes in the trials and instead provides contraband goods to other subjects. The Trials the Reagents undergo become increasingly more dangerous as they are forced to go against the programs' Prime Assets which include the disgraced children's show host Mother Gooseberry and the sadistic ex-police sergeant Leland Coyle.
After acquiring enough Release Tokens through the completion of Trials, Reagents who are deemed ready by Murkoff can participate in the Reagent Release Protocol, where they must complete a final Trial before being released into the world. During the Trial, Reagents are assigned documentation with new identities before being given a code word through tuning multiple frequencies. After escaping the Trial through a final door, Reagents fall into a dark infinite space where they walk on water as they need to approach a glaring light in the distance.
Endings vary. In one, Reagents will wake up tainted in blood in a hotel room in Cuba. Eventually the room's phone will ring and when the Reagents pick up, they hear Easterman say the code word heard in the Final Trial, causing them to black out. In the second, Reagents wake up with their hands taped to the wheel of a speeding car as it crashes in front of a hotel in South Vietnam, they struggle when they notice an explosive strapped to their chest, but in vain, as it detonates. In the third, Reagents will wake up in the basement lab of Mount Massive Asylum in Colorado, as they are hooked up to the Morphogenic Engine by Dr. Rudolph Wernicke, who had occasionally observed them from the Sleep Room's observation room. While the other scientists question the Reagents' suitability as candidates, Wernicke believes they may actually be of use. The Reagents soon begin to feel the Walrider overtaking them before hearing the final Trial's code word.
In a fourth ending added with Project Lupara update, the Reagents will awaken in a house in China, with a man overdosing in bed next to them. Something knocks on the door. When the Reagents answer the door, they hear Easterman say the code word and the Skinner Man kidnaps them.
Outlast 3 was announced in December 2017, though no time frame or target platforms were confirmed.[3] During this announcement, Red Barrels said that because they could not easily add downloadable content for Outlast 2 due to its structure, they have a smaller separate project related to Outlast that will release before Outlast 3.[3] Red Barrels also described the game as a "TV series". The development team of the game had around 40 people.[4]
The Outlast Trials was teased in October 2019 and is not a direct sequel to Outlast 2. It is about test subjects for the Murkoff Corporation in a mysterious Cold War experiment that is set in the same universe of the previous games. Red Barrels co-founder David Chateauneuf said "the proof-of-concept is now complete and the game's team is now in development mode".[5]
On December 4, 2019, Red Barrels released a teaser image of the game.[6] On June 13, 2020, a teaser trailer was released, announcing a release for 2021.[7] However, it was announced in August 2021 that the game has been delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] To help pass the time, Red Barrels released a series of "Behind The Scenes" videos on their official YouTube channel.[9] A closed beta for the game was available from October 28 to November 1, 2022.[10] While the game was only confirmed for Microsoft Windows, the game would also be released for undisclosed PlayStation platforms "in the future".[4] On March 10, 2023, it was announced that the game would be released in early access on May 18.[11] On December 8, it was announced that the game would leave early access on March 5, 2024, and also launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.[12]
The Outlast Trials received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, while the PC version received "mixed or average", according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[13][14][15]
It's been 10 months since The Outlast Trials entered early access, during which Red Barrels has thrown everything it has at players brave enough to enter the dreaded Murkoff Corporation test facility. While I may not be the ideal candidate for rehabilitation, it's been an unforgettable experience.
With the promise of a better life, or at least some money to keep you afloat, the Murkoff test facility presents itself as a safe haven for society's outliers who want to better themselves and become productive and valued team players. All you need to do in return is survive gruelling programs laced with violent criminals, complete all the Program X trials to get 10 release tokens, and run the gauntlet in the final mission. Trust me, it's harder than it sounds.
It may be a pain in the neck, but this seemingly impossible task is just part of the fun in The Outlast Trials. Attempting to complete the trials in the orphanage with just three teammates was probably one of the worst, most stressful hours of my life. It largely consisted of everyone running around like headless chickens, screaming down their mics while trying to solve puzzles and stay alive as one of the antagonists, Mother Gooseberry, chased us around with her puppet, which could drill a sizeable hole in our heads.
When The Outlast Trials first entered early access, it launched with three locations: the Police Station, Fun Park, and Orphanage. These fall under programs that are lists of MK Challenges and Trials, such as transferring a subject from his cell to the electric chair while fending off murderous giants or solving small puzzles like connecting fuses or refuelling generators. It also introduced Program X, a changing seasonal stack of trials and MK challenges that, if completed, grants you freedom.
It wasn't much, but that didn't matter. It was hard enough trying to get to the end of a program, let alone escaping the test facility. Trial Variators, which stand in place of a traditional difficulty setting, appear as small icons randomly assigned to each program. They keep programs fresh by varying the number of traps, enemies, and blocked doors you encounter, among other features.
Attempting programs with friends also means that you can count on chaotic games, which always end with one surprising and slightly horrifying moment. My small group quickly fit into stereotypes as one forged ahead, leaving the rest behind in an attempt to quickly complete all the trials, while another was left to pick up the pieces and survive by themselves as I darted from cupboard to barrel, hiding and screaming my way through the program, with little to no clue as to what was going on. Thanks to the randomness that Variators and your team bring to The Outlast Trials, you'll have a great time replaying programs.
I also pride myself on the rather stylish cell which I call home. Furnished with the finest blue flowery wallpaper and bright purple carpet, along with random trinkets and posters I've picked up during trials, it's certainly a sight to behold. While none of this is particularly groundbreaking or impacts The Outlast Trials greatly, it's still a great way to unwind between all the murder and mayhem.
The launch version also presents players with a new, chilling experience. Exploring the Toy Factory was undoubtedly one of the most jarring ordeals I've had in The Outlast Trials so far. After crushing one subject in a trash compactor, my team and I set out to kill the deviant, escorting him through a factory full of furious killers and creepy mannequins. We completed some small puzzles and gradually ripped him apart as he was suspended in mid-air on a conveyor belt. The night ended with us taking turns flambing the poor guy in a furnace. It was terrifying, gruesome, and twistedly fun to complete with friends. However, it's definitely not something I would recommend doing right before clocking off for the night.
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