If I had to use a single word to sum up my feelings about the Outlast franchise, it’d be “Complicated.” I actually had a less favorable opinion of the first Outlast game when it came out than I currently do. Back then, it did feel cheap and unnecessary. Until I actually gave it a chance years later, was enthralled by the lore, and was excited for Outlast 2!
Which I’m more “Neutral” on regarding my opinion of it. Outlast, you see, may not have pioneered the found-footage horror subgenre in gaming. But, damn, did it mark a resurgence in the subgenre that has been, uh… inconsistent, at best. So, with an overall “Positive” opinion of Outlast, when I heard The Outlast Trials would reinvent the wheel? I was hyped. At the time, I didn’t have any “gaming friends,” so the multiplayer-focused title would be a “YouTube Game” I would enjoy vicariously through content creators. But that didn’t dampen my spirits in the slightest!
Then, The Outlast Trials released to a critical reception I found myself deeply familiar with. In the games journalism world, the highs were high, the lows were low, and it somehow perfectly represented my journey with the franchise as a whole. Bleeding into the “general gaming public,” however, people were much more forgiving. In fact, as of this writing, it’s enjoying a Steam consensus of “Very Positive.” More shocking than that? I didn’t realize it was still receiving substantial updates since its initial release until an errant “Hey, this game has a big update coming soon — wanna share it with your readers?” email in my inbox earlier today!
i mean, i *do* have a cool gaming squad i adore now, ‘the outlast trials’
One of the blessings of my day-to-day as Managing Editor of a gaming vertical is that I’ve built such a strong, intimate bond with the rest of the Waypoint team. With that unity in mind, perhaps The Outlast Trials could rise to something more than a passing YouTube fad for me! We’ll see — I’ll have to consult the good ol’ bank account in the coming weeks. Oh, that email I mentioned, by the way? Apparently, the game’s heading into Season 3 soon?!
So, all secrecy aside, I dig “modern-day” Outlast! …Outlast 2 did go into the “shock value well” too often, but you can tell that Red Barrels cares about the world they created. Now’s a great time to slip in an appropriate recommendation. Outlast is one of the very few gaming franchises that uses its multimedia presence for the greater good! Red Barrels’ official website has free canon-relevant comics you can read that are amazing. The jury’s still out on the upcoming movie, though. But, hey, if it has the care the games and comics have? It’ll be worth it and then some!
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