The Outlast Trialsenjoyed a solid Early Access period and a very positive reception when it released earlier this year, and the Red Barrels team is keeping up the momentum with one of the game’s most significant updates so far. The update is introducing the disturbing and shotgun-wielding Franco to hunt players from afar, a new Story Trial taking place in a large drug factory, and a Barricade Rig to keep Franco and his shotgun at bay.The Outlast Trials' The Project Lupara update also seeks to address one of the game’s most common complaints about solo player accessibility.
Game Rant was given an early look at the game’s new content where we watched a team ofOutlast Trialsdevelopers flee in terror from Franco, placing barricades and solving new perspective-based puzzles that can be found in the new trial. The team also showed off new difficulty settings, a revamped catalog system for cosmetics, and a promising new roguelike mode.
The Outlast Trials Is Getting Its First Ranged Enemy
Of course, the headliner of this update is the new Prime Asset, Franco, and his shotgun, Lupara.Franco is certainly a unique villain: with a hideously bulbous head and childlike demeanor contrasting with his gun-toting mobster aesthetic, Franco is a properly unsettling villain. Franco is the game’s first ranged opponent, and his presence completely changes how players approach objectives. Players will now need to consider sightlines and cover, all while avoiding Franco’s laser tripwire traps, which are only clearly visible with night vision. For four weeks, Franco will also be present in earlier Trials and MK Challenges as part of the Bambino event.
The Story Trial is Poison the Medicine, taking place in The Docks. This Trial has players sneaking about a sprawling heroin factory where their task is to poison the drug supply in a mass murder plot. The Docks stands out due to its verticality, with many staircases and ramps taking players to various levels. Throughout the Trial are a new type of puzzle: various symbols need to be found throughout The Docks that need to be observed from the correct perspective, and doing so gives players the combination they need. This is a welcome new objective type that encourages more careful observation ofOutlast Trials' terrifying environments.
Lastly on the new gameplay front, a Barricade Rig has been made available for players' arsenals. Though not quite as flashy as X-Ray vision, barricaded doors give players plenty of time to complete an objective or escape, and it appeared to be surprisingly effective during our preview. It’s also an occasionally hilarious Rig, as players may inadvertently barricade themselves or a friend into a bad situation.
Project Lupara Comes With a Roguelike Mode, Difficulty Settings, and More
This update is also making some significant changes to systems across the board, perhaps most notably with the new difficulty settings. Players may now choose between four difficulties: Introductory, Standard, Intensive, and Psychosurgery. The Introductory difficulty is meant to make the game as easy as reasonably possible, and should be a great way for players to practice Trials and learn the objectives, or for solo players who are just interested inOutlast’s surprisingly deep lore. Thankfully, matchmaking will also pair up players who’ve chosen the same difficulty.
A new Task system is also arriving with this update, which gives players a set of daily and weekly objectives to complete. Some objectives may encourage using certain items or Rigs, while others might involve specific Trials. Overall, it’s another welcome addition that gives players some structured goals to strive for each day.
Based on player feedback,The Outlast Trialsis also implementing its owntwist on the roguelike formulawith the new Escalation Therapy mode. In Escalation Therapy, players start from scratch with none of their upgrades, growing increasingly powerful as they complete increasingly difficult Trials. The longer players manage to survive in Escalation Therapy, the greater the rewards. This should shake up gameplay particularly for veteran players seeking a fresh challenge, and it’ll be interesting to see if Red Barrels expands it further.
There’s plenty more to the update including a revamped Catalog system showing players all potential customization options, an increased level cap, and some quality-of-life tweaks, and Red Barrels has also cheekily hinted that an as-yet-unannounced Rig is set to be added in the future.
The Outlast Trials
WHERE TO PLAY
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?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.Ultimately, your goal is to complete Murkoff’s therapy and earn the right to be released back into society. 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.
