New Season for The Outlast Trials

Prepare for a new Season of rehabilitation in The Outlast Trials, codenamed Project Diarchy. The update released on July 15th and it features a new Prime Asset along with a brand new Trial environment: The Shopping Mall. In addition to new MK-Challenges, the new Season also sees the reopening of the Rebirth trials; this time allowing teams of reagents.

The Kress Twins Lore

Twins conjoined at birth, the son and daughter of Industrial giant Anton Kress; Otto and Arora Kress were subject to total societal rejection due to their horrific disfigurement. Their mother, who died giving birth to the twins, was exposed to her husbands chemical experiments resulting in her children’s condition.

While rejected by society, Otto and Arora developed their skills at home behind closed doors. Otto was a brilliant politician, whereas Arora was genius Chemist. They both encouraged each other to pursue their talents, utilising them to bring their Father’s failing business back into success. Kress Chemical was failing due to Anton’s dependency on alcohol leading to his neglect of the business.

During their success reviving and essentially running Kress Chemical, the twins developed a taste of depravity. Leaning on their rejection from society as a disfigured malignant, starting in the 1920s, the twins became involved in the murders of several people in Buffalo, New York- which became increasingly common by the 1940s. This earnt them the nickname the “Buffalo Minotaur” by both the press and Canadian locals. Investigation by the police led these killings back to the Kress Family Estate, where the twins used the grounds as a burial place for their victims. Alongside all of this, they had developed an incestuous relationship with one another.

Back in 1924, Anton Kress discovered the twin’s depraved obsessions. He attempted to saw the two apart using a hand saw, but was stopped by Arora injecting him with a sedative. The twins then sawed their Father in two.

They proceeded to sew their Father’s halves together with both halves upside-down, keeping him alive using Arora’s genius in chemistry- experimenting on him and torturing him, leading to his death. The twins disposed of his mangled body into a local sewer pool.

Eventually, in 1958, investigations into the dreaded “Buffalo Minotaur” had revealed it was the twins and they were subsequently arrested by authorities. As Kress Chemical came to be partners with the Murkoff Corporation, Clyde Perry (Murkoff’s prime asset acquisitions officer) noted their talents and pitched their utility to the Sinyala Facility (the player’s home).

During the twins imprisonment, Perry is able to induct them into the Murkoff Corporation as members of the Chemical Research & Development division. One day, Doctor Kusamura enters their lab to deliver 2 pieces of news: the first being Mr Perry’s death. When Otto inquires about the second, Kusamura knocks the twins unconscious with chemical gas- forcibly inducting them as Prime Assets in the Trials.

Otto and Arora’s Abilities

The Twins possess a 2 unique abilities.

360 degree vision on the account of Otto viewing 180 degrees in front and Arora viewing 180 degrees behind.

Should you be spotted by Arora, reagents are attacked by her as she throws Chemical vials at impressive distances- which if hit, will cause impaired vision, movement and causing nausea in the affected reagent. This nausea will cause reagents to physically stop to keel over and vomit, damaging them in the process.

Coupled with Otto’s massive petrol-fueled buzzsaw, the Twins present a seemingly omniscient Prime Asset who can spot in any direction. Their ranged attack makes it dangerous to follow them, and the stun makes it easy for them to catch up to you.

Their unique Nausea Trap modifies the dangling sound traps found across trial environments. Instead of tin cans that make noise, they are flasks of “Kress Precursor”. When triggering the trap, the flasks drop to the floor and shatter. This spreads a poison concocted by Arora which causes Nausea when inhaled. Similar to what she throws at you, this effect will stun the player to cause vomiting and damage.

The Shopping Mall

A new environment replicating the bustling centre of urban commerce; the Shopping Mall. The map features a carpark from which you enter the Mall, and 2 floors filled with shops which can be entered to scavenge for items. Stores with their lights on indicate a Fuse inside. Reagents need to gather these in order to power gates to access new areas.

New Trial – Kill the Politician

In the new Trial: Kill the Politician, reagents can see Otto and Arora observing them from the second-floor window above the closed entrance. The Politician and his rally is in the centre of the mall, and requires a ticket to enter.

The ticket is earned by spending $40 in the Department Store, which is only accessible after gathering enough Fuses to open the gate to the store. Once open, Otto and Arora will rush to patrol the store in an attempt to prevent reagents from getting a ticket.

Once acquiring 1 ticket, the reagents gain access to the Politician’s rally in the centre. This trial finale sees a man strung up; with the goal for reagents to disintegrate him using Kress Chemical acid. During this ordeal, Otto and Arora will attempt to stop you.

Team Rebirth

Reagents can now team up with others to take on the Rebirth trial! To reflect this, the requirement for entering a Rebirth Trial has been increased from 20 to 50 Trials completed.

Additionally, Rebirth trials now see randomised trial modifiers to add a unique element to each Rebirth you undertake. Furthermore, there are new cutscenes available to discover post-rebirth…