The Outlast series of games give fear, or specifically psychological fears, a new definition. As with every Outlast game, even the prequel game, The Outlast Trials, brought something different to the table.
In the intriguing prequel game, the aim is literally to outlast your killers, and it begins in the Cold War when the Murkoff Corporation used destruction and despair to lure in innocent individuals with the promise of safety and warmth.
But what was waiting for them were horrors beyond their imagination. These individuals were mentally and physically experimented on in the Murkoff Facility and endured brutal torture.
This changed whoever entered the institution, and they never became what they were before. Instead, they became twisted killers who weren’t human. It’s a story about how propaganda manipulates the hapless and hopeless stuck in vulnerable situations.
The game’s events imply that it happened in Colorado. In later Outlast installments, we see Mount Massive Asylum established here. So it seems like whatever inhumane and sinister activities happened here led to the creation of the Asylum decades later in the main Outlast series. So the question is- how does The Outlast Trials end? Does the protagonist get out alive?
If the player can accumulate enough of the Release Tokens and get to the Rebirth Portal situated right after the Main Exit of the Murkoff Facility, they can escape. The protagonist will get submerged in a water-like liquid after opening the exit.
Upon getting out of which, they will be able to get out of the Facility. It is meant to be a rebirth, like the Facility’s chief scientist, Hendrick Joliet Easterman, wanted, but in the worst way possible.
Outlast Trials Ending
The Outlast Trials’ story unfolds through the game and cuts scenes. The protagonist gets removed from the streets forcibly and subjected to torturous surgeries that alter their mind. At one point, the protagonist begs for their life, but Hendrick Joliet Easterman, the chief scientist of Murkoff, manipulates them with false friendship to get more time.
Over time, more surgeries get done, and the protagonist’s personal information is erased, making them almost not a part of the real world. Overall, the only way Murkoff will grant freedom is if the individual sets off on a journey of Rebirth. He wants them to destroy their original identities so that they can become something new. Every trial makes the patient carry out morally reprehensible acts.
As a result, the inner and moral goodness of the person gets erased over time. Thus, they get brainwashed and become like the unhinged entities Easterman wanted to make. In the end, the protagonist gathers enough Release Tokens to get to the Rebirth Portal located at the Facility’s main exit. Upon entering, they get submerged in a liquid environment that’s pretty much like being in a womb.
Thus, this is the symbolism of Rebirth. The protagonist then gets out of the water and runs towards the light. They are reborn as something different. So the question at the end is, how different are they? Did Murkoff succeed in making them the twisted and darkest versions of themselves? There’s also the question of freedom. Is this actual freedom?
The protagonist isn’t trapped in the ghastly Facility anymore, but is there any difference mentally from those still trapped there? These answers are difficult to give.
Who Is the Main Villain in Outlast Trials?
The Murkoff Corporation, headed by chief scientist Hendrick Joliet Easterman, the brain of the experiments, is definitely the main villain of The Outlast Trials. In fact, The Skinner Man is a ghoulish and terrible version of Easterman. He emerges when the sanity meter of the player has completely depleted.
The Skinner Man is a hallucination of the protagonist. He chases the player till their sanity gets refilled. Also, he walks right behind the protagonist and turns into a frightening skeletal demon once it gets closer. The Skinner Man inflicts damage by depleting the player’s health. He can only do this when he stands right behind the player.
What Is the Goal in Outlast Trials?
The main goal is simply to survive and then escape. The player needs to focus on avoiding direct fights with the enemy. So skills like evasion, strength, and strategic hiding are the best things to rely on in the twisted world. Also, the players need to get the four different rigs- Stun, Blind, X-Ray, and Heal. These will help when a fight becomes inevitable.
Is Outlast Trials Connected to Outlast 2?
No, The Outlast Trials isn’t a direct sequel to Outlast 2. Instead, it’s a prequel to Outlast 1. So technically, it is the first game in the Outlast series. After this, parts 1 and 2 come. Outlast 3 will be the sequel to Outlast 2.
Who Is the Scariest Outlast Character?
There are plenty of psychotic and murderous characters in The Outlast series of games, but it can’t be denied that Doctor Richard Trager is the scariest one. This doctor will capture the player and then tie them to a wheelchair while pushing the chair past his current experiments. Unlike the other maniacs and murderers who are always hyper, he remains eerily calm.
But his calmness is an indication of his sadistic tendencies because he doesn’t have a bone with the name mercy or tenderness on it. Getting out of his grasp isn’t easy and will make any player’s heart thump.
After all, if the player fails, it’s game over in the worst possible sense. As such, he’s scary in a way few other Outlast villains can match.
The Outlast games are available to play on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.
What are your thoughts on the ending of The Outlast Trials?
Does the protagonist attain freedom in the truest sense of the word? Or are they trapped mentally and have succumbed to what Hendrick Joliet Easterman actually planned for them to become?
Let us know your thoughts below.
