Calum Petrie reviews The Outlast Trials…
There have been numerous times when a single player experience in the video game format has been adapted to the multiplayer format. Often this addition of extra players has diluted the experience and left a series in a position where the fans are left confused and frustrated, but when you add the horror element to the mix, things seem to click a little better.
The Outlast Trials takes the deeply dark and immersive atmosphere of the previous titles, then adds this horror multiplayer element to give players an experience that is so much more than running from the monster.
The game sees the player character being taken by a mysterious corporation, then using logic on par with Jigsaw, has players commuting acts of violence and in some places torture. The acts are supposed to bring you some form of enlightenment, where you freeing others from their wrongdoings or misdirection will make you a better person. The logic does not ring true with myself I have to say, but who am I to argue as the game series is still going strong and adding new elements for the players to experience.
I entered the experience of The Outlast Trials as a complete novice to the series, which was probably not the wisest idea. I played with a friend who was very much in the same boat as myself. We struggled through he first real level, and died on the third act before stepping away and returning with a fresh mindset.
The way in which the levels work is interesting and the design of the player experience gave me the darkest Fallout Vault imaginable. Players run about in a shared hub unit which is the social area of the facility. You can meet, greet, arm wrestle, play a game or just emote other players. Players get their own room which they can customise and make unique, by spending in game currency earned during missions. When you are ready to head out to the Trials, you head down to the foyer and hop on a train.
The mission brief I had for the first level involved Tom of Finland prison guard, groping himself and hitting his crotch area with a cattle prod, just to emphasise how dark and twisted the guy actually is. You may thing from my description that the character design was not impressive, and you would very much be right – my friend and I were just left more confused with these overly elaborate main enemy designs when normal people scare me just fine.
The gameplay itself was actually far more interesting than I initially believed it was going to be, and the multiplayer Hide and Seek game actually created real tension. The atmosphere created in the level design is actually wonderful and credit has to be given where it is due. Part of the design charm is that you can tell you are supposed to be travelling from shoddy warehouse A to crappy warehouse B where the police station level has been built. The level of detail to make a game where you look like you are in a low budget horror film from the 70’s was not expected and yet highly welcomed.
The game has a core mechanic involving a pair of night vision goggles that are grafted to your head, and these play a major part in the game’s claustrophobic and highly atmospheric gameplay loop. You may start to panic as you eat through the battery life of your goggles while also managing your extremely finite inventory space, and the item management of the game adds to the dread and loss that you learn to live with when you assume more battery power is better than another healing item.
The in-game customisation is definitely the carrot on the end of the stick that you are working towards, though if this is the overall benefit at the finish line, it is not enticing me to run the race. I am not a gore fan, and feel that I am definitely not the target audience for a title such as this, but I will give credit where it is due though, there does appear to be some kind hearted people who play this game and will pity you enough to play Sherpa for you, as you venture though the wild and disturbing scenes that the game has to offer.
While this review is a very mixed bag, I wouldn’t say I will never go back and play the game again, as it is definitely sitting in a very niche part of my mind. The multiplayer aspects work well, which I was not expecting. I was assuming one person could run though the whole level and the others hang back, but the addition of two person obstacles or end game objectives definitely make the co-op elements more welcome.
Maybe not for the first timers, but I cannot imagine the long-term fans being upset or angry about this entry in the series.
Rating – 6/10
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