For three years now (Early Access included), Red Barrels has been producing top-notch multiplayer horror content in the form of The Outlast Trials – prequel to the single-player mainline Outlast titles from 2013 and 2017. Spanning multiple locations or “sets” (each hosting its own special Prime Asset), and containing some fantastically disturbing scenarios, the game might not be everyone’s cup of tea – but the commitment by the developers to delivering more of what the community wants without toning anything down is to be commended. To that end, I’ve attempted to organise all of The Outlast Trials’ available main Trials by brutality – from least to most over-the-top.

Note: This list does not dive deeply into lore related to the Trials themselves, associated Prime Assets, Ex-Pop, or the victims – instead focusing first and foremost on the gameplay mechanics and execution brutality, with bonus points awarded based on how enjoyable the level is to play through.

Obviously, spoilers for the contents of each trial (executions included), as well as some potentially highly disturbing descriptions await below!



12. Grind the Bad Apples (Fun Park)

Starting off with the only main Trial in the entire game to not culminate in any victim execution whatsoever, Grind the Bad Apples is fairly straightforward as far as objectives go. After chucking a bunch of provided hearts (or any other items found lying around, really) at carnival games for entry tickets, Reagents must enter the main “Root Canal” ride area and push a cart containing child mannequins all the way to the end of the track – right into the welcoming arms of a large grinding machine. Grind the Bad Apples is easy to understand and a great starter Trial pick for new players looking to familiarise themselves with some of the Outlast Trial’s commonly utilised gameplay systems (and one of its most annoying Prime Assets, Mother Gooseberry) – even if it does pale in comparison to some of the later offerings in terms of creativity and sheer horror.

11. Kill the Snitch (Police Station)

A top candidate for most players’ first main Trial outing, Kill the Snitch is another “push the cart while frantically avoiding Ex-Pop” type of level – except this time, you’re wheeling an actual human being along to their death instead of a bunch of lifeless mannequins. Additionally, Reagents will have to restart generators, avoid Prime Asset Leland Coyle, and loot specific keys from within corpses to reach the grand finale. Sure, flipping the switch(es) on an electric chair-style device isn’t even close to the most intense execution seen in The Outlast Trials, but the Trial itself is still decently fun – especially with the added suffering playing on higher difficulties brings.

10. Kill the Politician (Shopping Mall)

Depending on who exactly you’re running this Trial with, Kill the Politician can be one of the most deceptively frustrating experiences The Outlast Trials has to offer or a diamond in the rough. This is also the first environment and level tied to Prime Asset Otto and Arora Kress, containing some interesting gameplay gimmicks Reagents have to work through – including fuse collection and a highly stressful (and kind of hilarious, honestly) shopping section involving selecting goods that equate to a set total cash value. The elimination method of the titular politician, or victim, here stands out as one of the more comical endings to a Trial in recent memory (in the darkest and most disturbing definition of the word, of course) – with every Reagent getting the chance to slowly melt layers of the guy’s skin away with acid-spraying hoses, as the unfortunate individual moves back and forth like a target in one of those carnival games found in the Fun Park map. Incredible stuff.

9. Locksock the Warden (Prison Farm)

The latest Trial added with the Project Boneyard update, Locksock the Warden is a surprisingly easy to follow level revolving around item collection, explosive crafting and code retrieval (plus, the highly anticipated return of Leland Coyle) – featuring a climactic execution scene where Reagents mercilessly beat the Prison Farm stage warden to death. In true Outlast Trials fashion, and continuing the potent combination of gut-wrenching brutality and over-the-top finales the game has become known for, the beating doesn’t stop until what can only be described as a medium-sized valley of flesh has been carved out of the victim. Nasty, to be sure, but still far from the craziest entry on this list.



8. Poison the Medicine (The Docks)

You either love Prime Asset Franco Barbi or you hate him – a man with many, many issues reflected in the tone, imagery, and subject matter of his related Trials. Of the three available to players, Poison the Medicine is easily the least disturbing, only ramping the intensity up right at the end. Reagents are tasked with collecting and tainting a batch of narcotics, before sneaking aboard a ship and storing the product in drug mules that are still very much alive and kicking (after first ripping them open with a buzzsaw, that is). Needless to say, the mules don’t stay alive for very long during this whole process. Gameplay wise, Poison the Medicine introduces players to perspective-based puzzles requiring Reagents to view segmented images from a specific viewpoint to obtain a code – a mechanic that only becomes frustrating when you’re struggling to find the last image on the map, with Ex-Pop and Franco breathing down your neck.

7. Cleanse the Orphans (Orphanage)

Perhaps the most universally loved map/Trial combo, Cleanse the Orphans sees Reagents attempt to alter the negative behaviour displayed by the orphans (mannequins, as you’d expect) under Mother Gooseberry’s “guidance”. The majority of the Trial consists of classic Outlast Trials objectives, including adjusting radio frequencies, transporting items from point A to point B, and collecting keys from within corpses – culminating in a truly unforgettable ending sequence set in the Orphanage set’s Chapel area. Sawing the legs off a man nailed to a cross (affectionately dubbed “Bootleg Jesus”), then pumping the resulting blood through the room’s sprinkler system as part of some strange Communion-esque ritual makes for one hell of a delightfully disturbing sight and explosive climax to a borderline flawless Trial.

6. Pleasure the Prosecutor (Downtown)

One of my personal favourite Trials, despite it containing two of the most frustrating and time-consuming mechanics in the game – hunting down and blowing up Scapegoat brains and capturing points by remaining in the general area while avoiding high volumes of traps and aggressive Ex-Pop activity. Pleasure the Prosecutor requires Reagents to, while avoiding murderous man-baby Franco Barbi, hunt down and replace select, uh, “pleasure-focused” mannequins with more sadistic and violent versions for the seated victim (known as The District Attorney) trapped in the Downtown set’s adult theater. What follows is another fine example of The Outlast Trials’ twisted sense of humour, as Reagents engage in what is essentially the world’s most lethal game of Simon Says – hitting the correct sequence of buttons and prompting the newly acquired mannequins to brutally execute the victim in spectacular fashion on stage.

5. Liquidate the Union (The Suburbs)

Man, if this list wasn’t mainly focused on the brutality of these Trials as opposed to the overall level quality, I’d throw this one right at the bottom. Anyway, Liquidate the Union brings us to the third and final Franco Barbi map, The Suburbs – and it features the most underrated execution seen thus far, in my humble opinion. If, for whatever reason, you also like repeatedly locating and tuning specific radio boxes, you are in for a treat here. Liquidate the Union revolves around freeing, escorting, and eliminating a striking labour union’s boss – engaging in blacklight code puzzles and the aforementioned radio tuning along the way.

Eventually, Reagents lead the union boss to a tube-like structure with a grinding mechanism situated at the top. Once sealed within the tube, it’s a race against the clock for players as they must locate appropriate sign switches around the room and activate them via thrown object (or one of the provided hearts) as a timer ticks down. Each successful round drops a body into the grinder, slowly filling the tube with people juices until the union boss meets their eventual end. Absolute nightmare fuel right there.



4. Vindicate the Guilty (Courthouse)

To tip the scales of justice in favour of a prominent member of the Murkoff Corporation (Alice Bradley Avellanos, represented here in mannequin form), Reagents must dive into the bowels of the Courthouse set, avoid Coyle as he attempts to impede their progress, as well as obtain and dispose of any incriminating evidence – by dissolving severed heads in acid, to be precise. Any potential witnesses (Scapegoats) need to be tracked down and dealt with, as well, before the ongoing trial can reach its conclusion. And what a conclusion it is, with the presiding judge’s extremities being systematically destroyed with large hammers before she is finally put out of her misery for good. The system works!

3. Pervert the Futterman (Toy Factory)

There is perhaps no better Trial out there to ring in our countdown of the top three entries on this list than Pervert the Futterman. In summary, Reagents need to send a naked man down a factory production line, altering his body by applying/inserting various substances and items along the way – including covering the “Deviant” in a layer of wax. If the sights and sounds of this Trial weren’t bad enough, the victim actually seems to be enthusiastically enjoying the process of being converted into a glorified “adult” toy – at least up until he’s sent into the Toy Factory’s incinerator for permanent disposal. Pervert the Futterman is utterly impossible to forget once played through, and can be surprisingly challenging thanks to Gooseberry’s aggressive behaviour throughout.

2. Despoil the Auction (Resort)

Featuring the newest addition to the Prime Asset lineup, Liliya Bogomolova, Despoil the Auction has got to be one of, if not the longest trial released to date. Scanning dozens of Liliya mannequins scattered across the map in the hopes of accumulating enough gems to meet the given cash quota is made even more difficult thanks to the freezing mechanic that triggers when exploring outside – a massively debilitating state that activates just a little bit too quickly for my liking. The victim execution this time around might not seem worse than the Deviant from the previous entry on the surface level, but what makes Despoil the Auction’s finale so much more intense is how drawn out and openly visible everything is - as Reagents, using looted cranks, are forced to slowly tear off the auction victim’s limbs one by one (with rapid clicking required for the final pull).

1. Silence the Idol (Television Studio)

The second most recently added main Trial offering and the second Kress Twins level, Silence the Idol is one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride – set in one of the best-looking maps Red Barrels has ever produced. Guiding the restrained and masked victim (or “Idol”) from one television set to another, arranging the equipment as directed, then flipping the switch to subject the poor guy to back-to-back torture sessions is absolutely brutal (although still maintaining that undertone of dark comedy). It is also heavily implied that the Idol suffers from some form of learning/intellectual disability, which adds another horrific dimension to the Reagents’ actions for the duration of the Trial. Silence the Idol is intense, twisted, at times darkly comedic, and perfectly encapsulates the bottomless despair of The Outlast Trials - handily earning the top spot on this list.