What we all need is more suffering. No, wait, I have that the wrong way round. What we all need is less suffering – except when we play The Outlast Trials. Then, suffering is expected and even encouraged. Putting players into a series of psychological experiments over and over again, asking them to run and hide from an odd roster of murderers might be considered sadistic, but its fans are lapping it up. With a 93% positive review rating on Steam, The Outlast Trials is making waves in all the right ways – and with a big new update it just got even weirder, more sadistic, and better.
The Outlast Trials invites you to meet new prime asset Franco “Il Bambino” Barbi. He’s a lovely gentleman who’s dying to be introduced to you when you try to complete trials in the horror game. Armed with a sawn-off shotgun named Lupara, he’s a gun-toting explosive addition to the game that should be a bigger threat than anyone players have encountered so far. He’s also got some really big psychosexual hangups, especially around using his shotgun as a pacifier, so enjoy that when you’re cowering in a corner.
He comes with his own new trial – Poison the Medicine – which takes place in The Docks, along with a smattering of other new trials and MK-Challenges. You’ll also bump into him more often at the start of his reign, with him joining Gooseberry or Coyle on their trials for the next two weeks. After that he’ll switch to other trials, so you’ll be doing plenty of running away from shotgun blasts for a while to come.
In addition to all that, a new game mode has launched for The Outlast Trials which will throw a little roguelite action into the mix. Titled Escalation Therapy players will try their hands at a range of randomized trials each with alterations via variators that will up the ante each time, until your character eventually loses their life. Survive longer and you’ll earn more rewards and gain new power-ups, but first you’ll have to survive.
Players will also be able to dive into a new season, with new weekly programs giving tons to try out over coming weeks. There’s a new rig that will help players barricade doors, revamped and clarified menus, and much more. Franco “Il Bambino” Barbi and the other new additions have entered the game now and you can check out the full patch notes here.
The Outlast Trials is also currently 33% off until Monday July 22, taking its price down to $26.79 / £22.44 from $39.99 / £33.50, so head over to Steam to grab it for yourself.
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