Murkoff has officially expanded its experimental facilities with the launch of Season 7: Project Boneyard. This major update for The Outlast Trials introduces a fresh trial environment, new gameplay mechanics, and significant reworks to the game’s core competitive modes.
Quick Facts
- New Environment: The Prison Farm, featuring the 'Locksock the Warden' trial.
- New Challenges: 'Bribe the Judges' and 'Cancel the Broadcast' MK-Challenges.
- New Enemy: The Biter, an augmented Ex-Pop with mechanically enforced jaws.
- Community Event: Blood Drive, running until August 25th at 9:59am ET.
- Major Reworks: Escalation Therapy 2.0 and Invasion 2.0.
The Prison Farm and New Content
The update centers on the Prison Farm, a new trial environment described as a crucible for violence and conditioning. Within this setting, players will face the returning Sergeant Leland Coyle in the 'Locksock the Warden' trial. Alongside this, two new MK-Challenges—'Bribe the Judges' and 'Cancel the Broadcast'—expand the available therapy roster. Players will also encounter 'The Biter,' a new Ex-Pop characterized by its lack of arms and powerful, mechanically reinforced jaw.
Blood Drive Community Event
Murkoff has launched the Blood Drive event, which tasks the community with collecting blood samples. In trials featuring the 'Blood Extraction' variator, players must donate blood via extractors found in the environment. These donations provide temporary tokens for a limited-time catalog but come at the cost of permanently reduced maximum health for that trial. The event concludes on August 25th, at which point any unused event tokens will be forfeited.
Escalation Therapy 2.0
Escalation Therapy has received a complete overhaul, including new weekly themed runs and a leaderboard system. To ensure fair competition, all previous escalation records have been reset. Key changes to the mode include:
- Weekly Escalations: New themed modifiers that change every Tuesday at 10:00 AM ET.
- Leaderboards: Dedicated rankings for both Endless and Weekly Escalations based on peak trial reached.
- Savegame Restrictions: Only the host now maintains the save file, and progress is voided if all players fail or disconnect during a trial.
Invasion 2.0 Rework
The Invasion mode has been reimagined to emphasize a predator-versus-prey dynamic. Imposters now utilize a dedicated loadout system and specialized gadgets, such as the Mimic, Neuroshock, and Steel Trap. A new 'Struggle' minigame has been implemented for when an Imposter attempts a stab, allowing Reagents to resist damage. Furthermore, Imposters now possess their own limited-battery night vision, while Reagents have been shifted toward tools focused on disruption and survival rather than direct combat.
Customization and Quality of Life
Players can now utilize new customization options for their Rigs and Knives, accessible via the mirror in their personal cell. Additionally, the update adds a loadout preset system, allowing players to save and quickly swap between three different builds. A new hint system has also been introduced to provide visual markers for objectives, which can be toggled off in the settings menu.