The Outlast Trials, R.I.P Everyone

The Outlast Trials is a ridiculously perverse psychological horror co-op, and so its deaths are, likewise, depraved. From the game’s first-person perspective, they are swift and somewhat expected—the guy that’s hunting you down in a level finally catches you, makes an obscure remark about the texture of your skin, and then cracks your face open with an axe.

But when you’re playing with friends, watching them die seems like a lesson learned. You can intervene, but it’s hard to want to. The Night Hunter, an enemy equipped with glowing green night-vision goggles and a machete, might impale you in the stomach then strike down, straight through your crotch. “Beautiful. Like honey,” he says as blood surges forward. Or maybe dirty cop Leland Coyle will straddle you while smoking a cigarette, leaning his crackling shock stick into your chest until smoke becomes as dense as a pillow around you.

“I wish your mama was here to see you die,” he says.

Ew! Gross! Detestable! It’s rare that a video game seems capable of breaking your spirit, but The Outlast Trials certainly comes close.