Outlast Trials Invasion Mode Review

Introduction

For months, the dark, blood-soaked corridors of the Murkoff facility had started to feel… familiar. For those of us who have been mainlining The Outlast Trials since launch, the routes became memorized, the enemy spawns predictable. We became efficient, not scared. The community chatter was restless, and when developer Red Barrels announced the new invasion mode, the collective reaction was a sharp, terrified inhale.

What Exactly Is Invasion Mode

Invasion Mode isn’t a separate playlist you queue for in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s a new, permanent Experimental Therapy that you opt into. When you and your squad (or just you, you brave maniac) start a Trial, the game can now, at its own cruel discretion, allow another player to invade your session.

This player isn’t a Prime Asset. They aren’t Coyle or Gooseberry. They are an “Imposter,” and they look… well, they look exactly like you.

The Imposter Experience: When you queue as an Imposter, you’re placed in a queue. While you wait, you can access Murkoff’s surveillance cameras to watch the Reagents (the “victim” players) in their Trial, pinging their locations for the Imposter who is currently active.

When it’s your turn, you are inserted into the Trial. You’re wearing a fleshy mask of another Reagent, and your nameplate matches. Your goal is simple: kill them. You have one weapon: a knife.

Slash: A fast, low-damage attack.
Stab: A slow, charged-up lunge that is a one-hit-kill.

You’re not all-powerful. You have a time limit before Murkoff’s systems get wise and electrocute you. You’re also visible to all the AI enemies, and yes, a Big Grunt will absolutely wreck your day if you’re not careful. But you have advantages: you can see player-made noise indicators, and you’re immune to psychosis gas.

The Reagent Experience: For you, the game is 90% normal Outlast. You’re doing objectives, hiding in lockers, and screaming at your co-op partner for triggering a sound trap. But now, there’s a new layer of dread. Is the “teammate” running toward you coming to help with a generator, or are they about to plant a knife in your spine?

You don’t know who the Imposter is until they strike. And that, my friends, is where the magic happens.

The Good: It Makes the Game Scary Again

I cannot overstate this: Outlast Trials is terrifying again.

That feeling from your first 10 hours? The one where every shadow, every squeak, every distant footstep made you jump? It’s back. In spades.

The brilliance of Invasion Mode is how it weaponizes the social trust the game forced us to build. I’ve had my heart leap into my throat more from a teammate turning a corner too quickly than from any of the Prime Assets. I’ve watched a friend get insta-killed by someone we’d been running with for five minutes, and the resulting panic was pure, unfiltered horror.

The community on Reddit is echoing this sentiment. Threads are full of players saying they are “on edge again” and that the mode has “incredible potential.” It adds a perfect “spice” to the PvE loop. The fear wasn’t that Red Barrels would add PvP; it was that they would kill the vibe. They didn’t. They amplified it.

The Bad: The Mode Desperately Needs a Tune-Up

For all its atmospheric brilliance, Invasion Mode’s “v1.0” status is showing, and the seams are bursting. The current gameplay loop is tilted, and players on both sides are getting frustrated.

The Stun-Lock Meta: This is, by far, the biggest complaint. A coordinated team of Reagents (or even just two) can make an Imposter’s life hell. The second you’re spotted, you are pelted with bricks, bottles, and Stun Rigs. You are literally stun-locked, unable to move or attack, until your timer runs out or you’re beaten to death. It’s an effective strategy for Reagents, but it’s zero fun for the Imposter.
The Stab-Camp Meta: The flip side of the coin. The Imposter’s one-hit-kill Stab attack is brutal. And what’s the best way to use it? Camp the exit shuttle. I’ve seen (and, I admit, been the victim of) an Imposter just hiding near the final gate, waiting for the Reagents to make a break for it, and then landing a cheap-feeling insta-kill right at the finish line. It’s frustrating and needs a rework, perhaps by making the Stab a one-time-use ability or something that has to be earned.
The “Group Up” Problem: The obvious counter to a stealthy killer is to not be alone. Reagent teams are now just sticking together like glue, moving as a 4-person “death ball.” This makes it “nigh impossible” for the Imposter to do anything, as they’re just walking into a 1v4 stun-lock (see point #1).
The Matchmaking: Queue times to play as an Imposter are reportedly long (10+ minutes in some cases), which feels awful when you finally get into a game just to be stun-locked for your entire 3-minute turn.

The Verdict: A Bloody, Promising Mess

Invasion Mode is one of the best ideas to be added to a co-op horror game in years. It understands that the scariest monster isn’t the 9-foot-tall behemoth; it’s the person you thought you could trust. It has single-handedly revitalized the game’s core loop of terror and paranoia.

But it’s just an idea for now.

In its current state, the mode is a lopsided, unbalanced, and often-frustrating experience. It’s a brilliant concept trapped in a body that needs significant mechanical surgery. Red Barrels has a massive win on their hands if they can act fast to balance the scales. The Imposter needs tools to break up the “death ball,” and the Reagent needs a defense against the “exit camp” insta-kill.

My advice? Absolutely jump in. Opt-in to Invasions. Feel that old terror again. Just be prepared for your rebirth to be cut short by a laggy backstab or an endless barrage of bricks. Welcome to the new Murkoff, Reagent. Trust no one.