Red Barrels has announced The Outlast Trials, a game set in the same universe as — but not a sequel to — the horrifying Outlast games. The previous two games in the franchise were thrilling solo adventures through some pretty dark and twisted fictional worlds. And it looks like this new game will have some more of that, but also include a healthy dose of reality. That’s because this new title is set firmly in the Cold War, a time in global history when suspicion and subterfuge were rife.
The title is apparently a completely new addition to the franchise. Red Barrels is still keeping a lot of details under wraps, but we do know some things. For one, The Outlast Trials will allow players to adventure through this new setting not just alone, but also with a friend. Yes, you read that right, The Outlast Trials is a cooperative horror game.
Something new, something strange
Right now we don’t know much about the story, other than the new setting. The previous entries in the franchise dealt heavily with mind control, propaganda and human experimentation as themes quite heavily. I think it’s pretty safe to assume fans will see more of those ideas in The Outlast Trials. It’s possible we could see more tie-ins with iconic medical trials gone wrong or conspiracies, like the rather infamous MKUltra.
Something that some fans noted is that the teaser image released for the new horror game appears to depict the title character wearing headgear of some sort. Those same fans began to wonder if the new co-op title was in fact a VR-exclusive spin-off. I kind of makes sense though. Horror games and VR have been a solid mix, leading to successful launches like Emily Wants to Play on VR headsets. And the recent reveal of Half-Life Alyx has certainly ignited some fervor for the tech. In the announcement on Facebook, the team noted, “And no, the game is not VR.” Well that settles that then.
The team over at Developer Red Barrels has apparently been working on this for a while. Back in 2017 the company apparently teased an ongoing project, once again via their Facebook page. At the time they said the team was working on “something a lot of [players] have been asking for,” which was a “distinct experience set in the Outlast universe.”
The Outlast Trials is still in the early stages of production, so it will not be coming out anytime soon. Be sure to check back with us from time to time for more news though.
