When is The Outlast Trials set: Story explained, lore, Mother Gooseberry & more

The Outlast Trials is the newest title of the franchise by Red Barrels and sets out to revamp the genre using existing story threads surrounding the shadowy underground Murkoff organisation.

Set in the Cold War era, The Outlast Trials offers both multiplayer and single-player opportunities to explore increasingly depraved trials. You play as a human test subject, entrapped by the Murkoff Institute who are once again meddling with brainwashing technology.

The game fluctuates from futuristic technology to retro-set pieces and works on the already-established lore of the previous two Outlast titles.

If you're an Outlast fan or a newcomer to the series, stick around and we'll tell you how the newest title fits into the story and timeline of Outlast.

• For more tips when playing the game, check out our guide on how to unlock & use Prescriptions in The Outlast Trials.

The Outlast Trials story

The Outlast Trials is the first game of the franchise that offers character customisation and no specific set protagonist.

You play as a test subject tricked into participating in Murkoff's experiments. These experiments are called 'programs' and contain multiple trials with set objectives to complete.

As you complete increasingly depraved tasks for Murkoff in these trials, the institute coins it as therapy and the issue of mind control once again plays a part in the franchise.

• Be sure to also check out our guide to Rigs in The Outlast Trials, including the best Rig to get in-game.

When is The Outlast Trials set: Outlast Trials lore

Technically, The Outlast Trials is set before the events of Outlast and Outlast 2. As such, you do not need to have played the previous titles to get to grips with the storyline of The Outlast Trials.

If you are desperate for more lore and understanding of the mysterious Murkoff Institute, you can pick up various 'Evidence' documents littered throughout trials in the game.

The game is set during the Cold War era when America and the Soviet Union were at odds throughout the 1940s to the 90s. Although they weren’t technically at war, tensions ran high and there were several conflicts and secret military operations in the works, which The Outlast Trials mentions and uses to establish their game lore.

It is during this post-WWII period that the building blocks of the original Outlast game are built.

Mount Massive Asylum originally started works on the MKUltra project (mind control experimentation) in the late 1950s and was closed in 1968 after a patient murdered three scientists in the facility.

The original Outlast and Outlast 2 games take place in 2013. The asylum re-opened in 2009 and once again started operating and conducting illegal experimentation, this time, with a Morphogenic Engine program codenamed Project Walrider. The program used trauma to catalyst lucid dreaming which would then manifest into a volatile sentient being.

As the Cold War expanded over numerous years and the game hasn’t set a specific date, we can surmise that the original project may have been conducted at the start of The Outlast Trials timeline, but the game takes place in the gap between the original experiments closing and the Mount Massive Asylum re-opening with Project Walrider in 2009.

Outlast 2 is set just two weeks after the Mount Massive Asylum events in 2013, with the Langermanns investigating the disappearance of a Jane Doe and stumbling onto a cult called the Testament of the New Ezekiel, residing in a place called 'Temple Gate' which is actually a testing ground for Murkoff to experiment with microwave broadcasts.

• If you’re a horror fan, check out our Resident Evil 4 Remake review and see if the nostalgic horror title is worth picking up.

Characters in The Outlast Trials

The Outlast Trials has introduced a few new antagonists to the franchise, each with their own gimmick and volatile personality.

Who is Mother Gooseberry?

Featured in much of the promotional material, Mother Gooseberry is the first boss you'll meet in The Outlast Trials.

Red Barrels have confirmed that Mother Gooseberry was once a beloved children's TV host, hence her puppet arm, the duck she calls Doctor Flutterman.

Now, with inference from Murkoff, she has a burnt face (covered with a mask made from human flesh) and a need to 'mother' everyone in the worst way possible.

The developers have hinted that her puppet symbolises her father and the mistreatment she faced from him growing up.

Mother Gooseberry is featured during the tutorial and the Fun Park and Orphanage maps.

Who is Officer Coyle?

Officer Leland Coyle is the main boss during the first Outlast Trials program in The Police Station map.

Armed with a shock baton, his main attacks deal shock as he patrols the station and performs his own skewed version of justice.

• If you’re a horror fan, check out our guide to the best scary horror games to play on Roblox.