Hold on to both dear life and your sanity in The Outlast Trials! Read on to learn more about early access for The Outlast Trials, including its release date, gameplay, and whether there's multiplayer co-op.

The Outlast Trials Release Date and Time

The Outlast Trials Is Already in Early Access!

Early access for The Outlast Trials began May 18, 2023 in the US on both Steam and the Epic Games Store. The game was originally slated for release in 2021 before it was delayed to 2022, and then delayed again to the current date.

Everything We Know About The Outlast Trials

The Outlast Trials Latest Trailer

The Outlast Trials Story Plot

During the Cold War, when paranoia and distrust are rampant throughout the world, the Murkoff Corporation has begun looking into possible ways to brainwash people. You are one of the company's many test subjects, and it wants to test you to your absolute physical and mental limit. That means hiding (and escaping) from an assortment of psychopaths created through grotesque operations. So get ready and become a guinea pig in the name of progress, science, and profit.

The Outlast Trials is a prequel to the first two Outlast games, where you and other test subjects will have to survive a series of tests by the Murkoff Corporation. Each of these tests will feature monstrous psychopaths that will try to either shoot you, stab you or hack you into pieces. Since you’re just a normal person, you can’t fight back, and you’ll have to instead rely on your wits. Hide from your pursuers, and use a wide variety of gadgets to throw them off and eventually escape.

Unlike past Outlast games, The Outlast Trials boasts a four-player co-op mode where you’ll be working with your friends or other people online to outwit the Murkoff Corporation’s experiments.

The Outlast Trials Gameplay

If you’ve already played the past two Outlast games, then you won’t have any trouble playing The Outlast Trials. It still has the same hide-and-seek formula from the past games, along with the night vision mechanic. To see in the dark, you’ll still need batteries. To avoid getting killed by the Murkoff Corporation’s grotesque experiments, you’ll have to hide from and run away from your pursuers.

As you progress through the game, you’ll collect different kinds of gadgets that will help you give your enemies the slip. You’ll also have to solve puzzles to advance through the stages while managing your health to withstand injuries you will inevitably sustain in your trek through these haunted halls.

The Outlast Trials Multiplayer

In The Outlast Trials, you can play with up to 3 other Murkoff Corporation subjects and work together to solve puzzles, escape threats, and ultimately escape from the facility together. This means you might see yourself getting help in finding a hiding spot or being used as bait for the experiments so the rest of the subjects may survive.

Red Barrels has said on Twitter that the game will support crossplay, so you won’t have to worry about not being able to play with the rest of your friends just because you own an Xbox. However, they added that there won’t be cross-progression, so if you’re playing with a group of friends, only one of you may actually progress through the game (unless you’re all playing on the same platform).

The Outlast Trials Platforms

The Outlast Trials is coming to early access on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. Red Barrels has also announced that they plan to release the full version of the game on “as many platforms as possible.” This means the game could come out not just on next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but older consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One as well.

The Outlast Trials Trailers

Teaser (Released June 14, 2020)

Here’s where we first witness the Murkoff Corporation’s experiment with a subject who is being held against their will. We see a bunch of Murkoff doctors before we’re shown a player running away from a threat. A second player is up on a platform to help them, teasing the game’s multiplayer aspect.

This is also the trailer where we see the game’s original release date: 2021.

Gameplay Reveal (Released August 26, 2021)

The gameplay reveal shows off The Outlast Trials’ in-game graphics, as well as some of the enemies you’ll be running away from. We also catch a glimpse of some of the gadgets you can use to give your foes the slip, such as a landmine, a cross, and a smoke grenade.

Closed Beta Trailer (Released August 24, 2022)

Here we see more of the gameplay, as well as the different locations we’ll be running through in the Murkoff facility. The trailer also features the different missions you’ll be carrying out (such as wheeling a “Snitch” to his electrocution), different vision modes (such as x-ray vision), and more gadgets (like a throwing knife of sorts). All while a narrator makes vague references to a plot involving the “Dispensing of Existence” and mind control to achieve “Rebirth”.

Early Access Date Announcement Trailer

Unlike the other trailers, this one merely features the voice actors doing voices for the different characters in the game. However, this video also finally gave us the date when the game will go into early access: May 18, 2023.

The Outlast Trials System Requirements

Based on the system requirements for The Outlast Trials on Steam, you’ll need a mid to high-spec PC to be able to play it properly. The developers also noted that you will need the recommended specs to play the game at 1080p resolution at 60 FPS with Ray Tracing off, so you might need something a bit more powerful to play smoothly at max graphics.

The Outlast Trials Product Information

Title	THE OUTLAST TRIALS
Release Date	May 18, 2023
Developer	Red Barrels
Supported Platforms	PC (Steam, Epic Games Store)
Genre	Survival Horror
Number of Players	1-4
ESRB Rating	N/A
Official Website	https://redbarrelsgames.com/games/the-outlast-trials/

Michael Mendoza Ab..

Reviews video games by day, tries to write novels by night. He's a sucker for open-world games (Bethesda Fallout titles, Mount and Blade Bannerlord, Grand Theft Auto), CRPGs (Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium), and First-Person Shooters (Call of Duty, Battlefield, and immersive sims like Bioshock..