The Outlast Trials

1. Summary

Players overwhelmingly enjoy The Outlast Trials as co-op horror: four reagents sneaking through grotesque, detailed trials, panicking when a Prime Asset turns the corner, and then laughing about it in the Sleep Room over chess and arm wrestling. Playing with friends comes up more often than anything else, and the atmosphere and scares are the next most frequent praise. Reviewers also single out the villains and voice acting, the amount of content, free updates, and a cosmetic system they call fair because the main catalogs refund the coins they cost. Dozens say it runs well on modest PCs and the Steam Deck, and plenty who bought it on sale call it a bargain.

Generative AI art in posters, paintings and some catalog rewards is the reason negative reviews give most often: more than a quarter of them raise it, and many of those reviewers say they enjoy the game itself. Rubberbanding, lag and disconnects that end long runs come up in about 11% of negative reviews. Other complaints are objectives that feel repetitive or hard to read and an Invasion PvP mode that splits the community, and long-time players add what they describe as the removal of mod support, changes to Escalation, and enemy spawns that feel unfair at high difficulty. The weekly positive share dipped to about 82% to 83% in the weeks starting August 31 and September 7, 2026, the same month most of the mod complaints were written, and recovered to 87% to 92% from mid-September through early October 2026.

2. What keeps coming up

What players praise

Chaotic co-op with friendsHigh

Friends and co-op are the topic reviewers bring up most, and what they describe is chaos: plans that fall apart in seconds, a friend leading Coyle straight to the rest of the team, proximity chat screams, and teammates kicking an enemy off you mid-execution. One short review reads, in full, "Fun if you're playing with friends. Terrifying if you're playing alone". Some also praise how friendly random lobbies are and say veterans guide new players through their first trials. A minority finds randoms useless or toxic and advises playing only with friends (see matchmaking below).

Atmosphere, sound and genuine scaresHigh

The filthy, oppressive environments get steady praise, along with sound that warns you of danger before you see it ("Headphones ARE the experience.") and the feeling of having almost nothing to fight back with beyond bricks, bottles and a rig. Several reviewers who normally avoid horror say this one hooked them, and some call the opening tutorial the scariest part. Whether the fear lasts is a separate argument (see below).

Villains, voice acting and loreMedium

The Prime Assets are the stars. Coyle, Mother Gooseberry, Franco, Liliya and the Kress twins each get fan mail, insults and a stream of thirsty jokes, and Dr. Easterman's grading and praise after each trial became a running meme. Reviewers praise distinct mechanics per villain (Liliya hiding among mannequins comes up often), "rather astounding" voice acting, and a lot of lore in collectible documents that ties the game to Outlast 1 and 2. Franco's long-range shotgun draws regular complaints.

Lots of content, free updates and fair cosmeticsMedium

Dozens of reviewers say they paid once and got years of new trials, Prime Assets, events, Escalation, Trial Maker and Invasion without paying again. One long-time player calls it "vanishingly rare to find a live service with a genuinely dedicated team". Cosmetics are purely cosmetic, and several reviewers explain the catalog loop approvingly: "Every Deluxe Catalog refunds your full 1000 coins after unlocking everything in it." Some praise past event catalogs staying available for purchase because it removes FOMO, though others disagree (see the split on the store below).

Sleep Room minigames and customizationMedium

Chess (121 reviews), arm wrestling (99), tennis and the Stroop test are a running joke and a real draw: "Had more fun playing chess and arm wrestling than the actual game." Reviewers also enjoy decorating their cell and building outfits, and several ask for more lobby games. Requests include hats that keep your hairstyle and deeper face customization.

Performance and value on saleMedium

Old laptops, budget GPUs and the Steam Deck all come up in reviews praising how well the game runs, with one calling it "an absolute engineering marvel when it comes to performance". Plenty bought it during 70% to 90% discounts and call it a steal at that price, while a smaller group says $40 is too much for what it offers. A minority reports stutter or frame drops after updates, which sits with the technical complaints below.

Where players are split

Invasion PvP modeMedium

Invasion comes up in 212 reviews, and much of what they say is critical. Critics say it is unbalanced in whichever direction the latest patch pushed it, that four invaders can camp an objective, that stun-chaining and one-shot combos decide fights, that queues for the imposter side are long, and that balancing for PvP weakened rigs in normal PvE. One reviewer who recommends the game still warns that "this gamemode is not fun at all and unbalanced with no depth to it", and dozens of other positive reviews criticize it too. A smaller group loves it ("I absolutely adore the invasion system.") and some say the Invasion 2.0 rework made it fun. Since it is optional, some simply say to leave it off. Most of this argument comes from veterans with long playtimes.

Does the horror last?Medium

Plenty of reviewers find it scary, but dozens say the fear fades or that it was never scary to begin with. One writes that "it is scary the first 5-10 hours", after which enemies become obstacles and the game turns into a tense, tactical cat-and-mouse. Some fans like that shift and call the later game a skill test. Other reviewers compare it unfavorably with the earlier games and say it relies on gore and jump scares, with one writing that it "seems to go for shock value but does so at the expense of any actual horror or suspense". This complaint comes mostly from newer players.

Gore, nudity and religious imageryMedium

For many fans the extreme content is a selling point: they see the torture-device executions, nude enemies and sexual themes as true to the series, and some praise the game's satire of Cold War experiments. A minority finds it too much, either generally ("the end when you have to execute the person makes me sick") or because of religious imagery, most often the orphanage trial where players saw the legs off a crucified man. Several reviewers point new players to the nudity filter and warn that the content goes beyond the earlier games.

Solo playLow

Some reviewers play almost entirely solo and find it scarier and more satisfying ("I play solo all time, but i think it doesnt make experience on this game worse"). Others say the trials are built for groups and that solo is slow, tedious or, in one short review, "solo is not fun at all". Some suggest learning maps solo on Introductory and then playing with others.

The store and past event catalogsLow

A minority objects to paid catalogs and skins in a $40 game and to the Murkoff Coin economy: "There is no way for me to get more coins other than paying for them with real money." Opinions split on selling past event catalogs. One player welcomes that old catalogs stay "purchasable so they are never time restricted", while another, who earned event items when they were limited, headlines a review "Selling Limited Catalogs Ruins the Incentive to Play".

Escalation and difficulty tuningLow

Veterans name Escalation, the roguelike mode, as a favorite, but changes to it draw anger: persistent damage after round 21 and harsh variators such as No Running, Stay Together and Toxic Shock. One player says an update wiped a months-long save. Another, who plays it with a partner, says it became "horrendously difficult for absolutely no reason". Reviewers also split on the jump from Standard to Intensive and Psychosurgery, and on the Jaeger, which some love and others want removed.

What frustrates players

AI-generated posters, paintings and rewardsHigh

More than a quarter of negative reviews raise generative AI art, more than any other complaint. Reviewers say it appears in posters, framed photos, paintings, profile icons and some cell decorations sold in catalogs, and that it clashes with the hand-made art they otherwise admire. One writes that "players constantly stumble upon ridiculous generation artifacts", another that "that one black and white bald guy picture is on every map". Several say they did not see the store-page disclosure before buying, and some point to a community mod they say replaces hundreds of these assets. Many of these negative reviews also say the game itself is fun or that they loved it, and some promise to change their review once the art is replaced. A smaller group pushes back, calling the assets minor background decoration and arguing "You're reviewing the existence of a tool you dislike."

Rubberbanding, lag and disconnectsMedium

Lag and server trouble come up in about 220 reviews, including about 11% of negative ones. Reviewers describe rubberbanding that teleports you back into an enemy ("only to be teleported back into their machetes"), lag spikes even in solo, and disconnects that wipe 30 to 60 minutes of progress. "Disconnect right at the exit, run gone." Players in the Middle East and Africa describe the game as close to unplayable without local servers, and several report problems after the updates they name as Chemical Leak and Project Boneyard in 2026. Some positive reviews name lag as their only complaint.

Repetitive fetch-and-carry objectivesMedium

About 160 reviews call the objectives or the loop repetitive, monotonous or tedious: find an item, carry it somewhere, flip a switch, repeat. "The trials are stretched out and monotonous", one writes, and others say new trials reuse the same three objective types or that harder difficulties only add more enemies. Fans counter that random item and objective placement, variators and Escalation keep runs fresh. Reviewers raising repetition were usually not veterans.

Bugs, crashes and enemies that seem to cheatMedium

128 reviews mention crashes, bugs or glitches, from launch errors and UE4 crashes to objectives that fail to spawn and badge bugs that kick whole lobbies. A related complaint is enemy AI that feels unfair: enemies finding you in pitch darkness, Franco hitting from across the map, and elevator spawns right beside you. One reviewer explains: "They hopped into their elevator and boom, right next to you again." Others report body-blocking into corners and grabs from out of range.

Getting lost and unclear objectivesLow

Maze-like maps and vague instructions frustrate some reviewers, usually newer players. They describe running in circles for an hour while they search for symbols, ducks or the exit, with "No maps and no clear communication of objectives". Some note recent patches added clearer objective text, but the complaint continues.

Removal of mod supportLow

56 reviews raise mods, and 21 of them were written in September 2026, when reviewers say mods were blocked in every mode. They come from long-time players who used cosmetic, sound and quality-of-life mods, including accessibility fixes: "Emetophobia mods, flashing lights fixers, tripwire brightness". Several ask for mods to be blocked only in Invasion and on leaderboards: "removing mod support altogether instead of preventing mod users from queueing in PVP mode and from appearing on leaderboards is lazy."

Matchmaking and communicationLow

Reviewers say the group finder times out, ignores the chosen difficulty or drops them into empty or dying lobbies, and there is no session browser or way to kick AFK players. "The discord is used to find groups because the matchmaking is so poor." Some ask for text chat for players without microphones.

Long load-ins, cutscenes and update sizeLow

Players complain about several loading screens and unskippable intro cutscenes per trial, no quick restart, and no pause in solo: "This game is just loading screens and animations." Others say every patch requires as much free disk space as the full install, forcing reinstalls.

Accessibility: flashing, motion sickness and FOVLow

A few dozen reviews describe flashing lights, psychosis distortion, camera shake and a narrow default FOV causing headaches, nausea or motion sickness. One reviewer's friend "cant play it cause all the flashing makes her physically ill", and console players cannot edit the FOV config file that PC players use as a workaround.

Online-only, anti-cheat and cross-progressionLow

A small group objects to needing a server connection even solo ("Why they couldn't just add an offline mode for solo players is absolutely beyond me."). Others say Easy Anti-Cheat blocks Linux setups, virtual machines and Shadow PC, though one reviewer reports it runs fine on Linux through Proton. Console players moving to PC ask for cross-progression.

3. The player conversation

The conversation is loud, affectionate and very online. A large share of reviews are one-liners riffing on the game's own catchphrases ("Spider. Eye. Lamb.", "how high", "the therapy is working"), thirst for the villains, and mock-wholesome jokes calling it a family-friendly Christian game. The serious reviews fall into two groups. Players who bought during the 2026 discounts write about co-op chaos, scares, getting lost and whether the horror holds up. Long-time players with hundreds of hours write much of the detailed criticism: servers, Invasion balance, Escalation changes, mod removal and the AI art. Many of the negative reviews about AI art or servers also praise the game itself.

Even many critics credit the co-op horror loop, the villains and the production quality. Reviewers divide over Invasion, whether the game stays scary after the first few hours, how far the gore goes, and how much the AI art should count against the game.

The oldest reviews in this set, from the May 2023 early-access launch, were the least positive (65% of 60 reviews), and many of them were later edited after content was added. From March to mid-August 2026 the weekly positive share held between about 89% and 95%. It fell to about 82% to 83% in the weeks starting August 31 and September 7, 2026, the weeks when reviewers began writing about mod support being removed, then recovered to 87% to 92% through the large discount at the end of September and early October 2026. AI-art complaints run through the whole period and made up a larger share of reviews from August 2026 onward.

4. What the developers could do

1. Replace the AI-generated art with human-made art. It is the reason negative reviews give most often (more than a quarter of them), and some of those reviewers say they will change their review once the posters, paintings and catalog decorations are replaced.
2. Fix rubberbanding and make disconnects recoverable. Lag and server drops appear in about 11% of negative reviews, and players ask for a reliable rejoin that keeps trial progress, plus better regional coverage or an offline mode for solo runs.
3. Separate Invasion balance from PvE and limit invader stacking. Invasion divides reviewers, and its critics ask that PvP tuning stop weakening PvE rigs, that four-invader lobbies and instant-kill combos be reined in, and that imposter queues be shorter.
4. Vary objectives and signpost them more clearly. Repetitive objectives and getting lost are steady complaints, mostly from newer players, some of whom describe running in circles for an hour.
5. Restore mods outside Invasion and leaderboards. Mod complaints peaked in September 2026, and veterans ask for mods to be disabled only in competitive modes so cosmetic and accessibility mods return.
6. Improve matchmaking and add text chat. Reviewers want queues that respect trial and difficulty, a session browser, a way to remove AFK players, and text chat for players without microphones.
7. Add accessibility options. An FOV slider on every platform and toggles for flashing lights, psychosis distortion and camera shake would address the nausea and headache complaints that reviewers say mods used to cover.
8. Cut the wait between trials. Skippable intro cutscenes, a quick restart, a pause in solo and smaller patch downloads answer the loading and update-size complaints.