Developer Red Barrels has announced a new Christmas-themed update for co-op survival horror title The Outlast Trials. The update, named Winter Kills, brings with it a host of quality of life improvements, new in-game lore to discover, and an event that players can take part in for more rewards. Check out the trailer for the free update below.
As part of the Winter Kills event, players will be able to experience new variators in the missions they take part in—Cold Snap and Find the Gifts. There are also new exclusive trials and challenges that players can unlock, complete with new festive character and sleep room cosmetics.
The update also brings with it full support for controller, including new controller layouts and support for vibration. Players are also now able to find new Evidence Documents, further expanding on The Outlast Trials‘ storyline as players continue their investigation into the Murkoff Institute.
The Outlast Trials is currently available as an Early Access title on PC. Its full release is slated for March 5, and versions for Xbox and PlayStation are also in the works. For more details on The Outlast Trials, check out our review.
Full patch notes for the Winter Kills update:
- Earn Winter Tokens and exclusive cosmetics by completing Winter Kills Trials.
- Earn extra Winter Tokens and cosmetics by completing the secondary objective
“Find all the Gifts”
- Acquire 2 Winter Kills exclusive Cell Decoration Bundles using Winter Tokens.
- Acquire 15+ Winter Kills exclusive character cosmetics and cell decorations using Winter Tokens.
- Complete the Winter Kills storyline by finding the evidence documents scattered inside the Trials.
- The event unlocks Tuesday, December 12th and will last until Tuesday, January 9th 10 AM EDT (GMT+5).
- Revisit the Courthouse by completing 2 new MK-Challenges set in this environment.
- Escape the Courthouse: Don’t let the pain of our victims restrict your liberty. Kill the scapegoats; free them of their suffering and you of your bondage.
- Destroy the Evidence: If there is no evidence, there is no crime. Destroy the proof of our mistakes, and then we never did anything wrong.
Introducing Cell Decoration Bundles.
- Bundles are deluxe sets built around one theme and can now be seen in your Cell Customization menu.
- Added vibration support on controller.
- All the ‘hold’ actions are now toggle actions on controller.
- Controller: Added new controller layout ‘MODERN’.
- Controller: Added new controller layout ‘ADVANCED’.
- Controller: Added new controller layout ‘TACTICAL’.
- Controller: Added ‘Ping’ action on Right Stick Click in the layout ‘CLASSIC’.
- Controller and Mouse/Keyboard: Added analog peeking.
- Mouse/Keyboard: Hold ‘ALT’ and peek around with WASD keys.
- Controller: Use the ‘MODERN’ preset. Hold Left Bumper to peek around.
- Increased base deploy time to 6s (was 5s). With “DEPLOY TECHNIQUE” to 5s (was 4s).
- Smoke duration decreased to 10s (was 30s). With “EXTENDED DURATION” to 12s (was 20s).
- Cooldown increased to 180s (was 120s).
- The “DECREASED COOLDOWN” upgrade reduces the cooldown by 20% (was 25%).
- Enemies entering the smoke after detonation won’t be stunned anymore (but their visibility is still affected by the smoke).
Dev comment: The Blind Rig remains a highly favored choice. Our aim for this rig is to transform it into a situational tool that demands planning, rather than being an instantly available lifesaver. This change will also increase the value of the Stun Rig as an instant control/offensive tool.
Heal
- Heal rig (Poison upgrade): Enemies slowdown decreased to 5s (was 7s).
- Heal rig (Poison upgrade): Enemies entering the healing radius after detonation won’t be stunned anymore.
Dev comment: The Healing Rig serves as a supportive tool crucial for rescuing the team during intense moments. However, the Poison upgrade has inadvertently amplified its effectiveness against enemies, blurring its intended supportive role and steering it towards functioning more like an offensive rig.
- Cooldown reduced to 30s (was 120s).
- Duration reduced to 8s (was 15s). With “EXTENDED DURATION” to 12s (was 30s).
- Range decreased to 10m (was 15m).
Dev comment: The X-Ray tool holds significant power for players in the role of providing crucial intelligence to the team. Yet, its extended cooldown restricted the frequency of the X-Ray effect’s use, prompting players to exercise caution and reserve it for essential moments. To address this, we have adjusted the cooldown to enhance its frequency. As a result, players can now utilize the Rig more frequently, enabling them to uncover intel and quickly share information with the team.
- Bricks: Revamped the item behavior.
- Unlimited uses when thrown in the environment.
- Will instantly break when hitting an enemy or trap.
- Performance Bonus now also gives Murkoff Dollars.
- Completing the Secondary Objective now gives XP and Murkoff Dollars.
- Vaulting over obstacles now consumes more stamina.
- Prescription “ADVANCED REGENERATION”: Delay before health regeneration begins increased to 12s (was 7s).
- Amp names added underneath icons in the pause menu.
- Tutorial flow will now be skipped for players with existing profiles after a game reinstall.
- New audio feedback when a player is revived.
- Program structure has been updated.
- Added one more MK-Challenge per Program (except Program 4).
- Removed one iteration of the main Trial per Program.
- To play in HDR, you must make sure that your setup fully supports HDR.
- Please note that not all screens are fully compatible with HDR.
- Ensure that you have activated HDR settings both in Windows and on the screen you are using to play the game.
- Fixed a rare issue where a player could remain stuck in the decontamination shower area of the evaluation corridor.
- Fixed an issue where players could fall off world by using the SAS door.
- Fixed some navigation issues in all Trials.
AI
- Updated Coyle and Grunts reactiveness (reworked some animations). Those enemies should now feel more reactive and harder to deal with in some situations.
- Many other various updates, bug fixes, and improvements to the AI.
