The Outlast Trials Proves It's a Live Service Gem in First Content Update | Push Square

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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,