Preview: The Outlast Trials Proves It's a Live Service Gem in First Content Update

Four months since its release, The Outlast Trials is getting its first dose of post-launch content in the form of Project Lupara. This co-op take on the traditionally single-player horror series is a surprisingly fun time with friends but with its first seasonal update since its launch, is it doing enough to keep players engaged? We managed to get an early look at Project Lupara, including its new villain, environment, challenges, cosmetics and much more, and it’s safe to say that fans of the game have plenty to dig into.

For those out of the know, The Outlast Trials is a co-op horror experience where teams of four will endure trials - various menial tasks while being hunted down by an assortment of maniacs. As fans of the Outlast series, it’s nice to see Red Barrels - the game’s Montreal-based developer - keep hold of the pillars of the franchise, with grotesque violence, battery-draining night vision, and defenceless gameplay where your only options are to run and hide. It makes for a thrilling cooperative experience, that we’ve loved getting back into in the run-up to this new season.

Project Lupara, which launches on July 16th, introduces a brand new villain in the form of Franco “Il Bambino” Barbi, a large-headed son of a mob boss with a murderous chip on his shoulder. Bambino is the third “Prime Asset”, or villain, in the game’s roster, but the first ranged enemy as he wields a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. Players will need to think about lines of sight whenever they are out in the wild with Bambino, who certainly seems a bit more spritely than his co-workers, Mother Gooseberry and Sergeant Coyle.

Arriving alongside Bambino is a brand new environment and trial challenge. Our hands-off session showcased The Docks, a 1920s inspired heroin refinery, and the “Poison The Medicine” trial, where bricks of heroin were transported across the map on a cart. If you’re familiar with the game, the new challenge isn’t all too different from what we’ve seen in the past, but the developers explained that we were only shown around a third of this new expansive trial.

To add to the variety, Red Barrels has included a new Rig, which allows you to temporarily block doorways, giving you a moment to complete a task, find a hiding spot, or make a run for it. To keep you on your toes however, laser trip mines can now be found peppered around the environments, with the laser only truly visible through the use of your night vision. It's a nice way to tie more gameplay aspects into that central night vision mechanic.

While it is exciting getting out on the field with Bambino, you’ll likely perk up the most when you see all the ways that Red Barrels is expanding and improving the game from the Sleep Room hub area. A number of quality of life improvements are coming to the game, like a refined battle pass-like Catalogue system, a new rotation of challenges to dig into, difficulty options, a menu UI revamp, a new lobby mini-game, the ability to customise loadouts from the shuttle, an increased level cap, and even a full endless rogue-lite trials randomiser called Escalation Therapy.

The latter of course is a fairly substantial inclusion for fans looking for the ultimate challenge with friends. Sadly, we didn’t get a look at this new mode, but we do know that you'll start from nothing and work your way up, with the rewards growing the further you get.

Project Lupara feels like an exciting new beginning for The Outlast Trials, and Red Barrels was keen to highlight that it isn’t the end either. The team hinted at new rigs, villains, maps and more coming to the game down the line, and the optimism on show was rather infectious. When we consider live service, we have a tendency to constantly look to the future, but as of right now with Project Lupara, The Outlast Trials is a surprising gem amidst the live service crowd.

Will you take on Il Bambino when Project Lupara launches on July 16th? Activate your night vision and venture into the comment section below.