Steam's best co-op survival-horror is $4 and left me questioning my own sanity

Steam is currently offering you and your friends the chance to participate in hours of gruesome, but hilarious, experiments for only $4. That’s the price of a coffee nowadays.

Over the past year or so, there’s been an enormous and notable boom in multiplayer games. The first-person shooters never went away, of course, but it feels like 2026 has marked the return of good old fashioned co-op fun.

In one of its latest sales, Steam has listed a game called The Outlast Trials for a mere $4, and in my humble opinion, that’s criminally low.

The Outlast Trials is a prequel to the first two Outlast games, which were both single-player horror games. This game quadruples the fun by allowing three of your friends (or random players online) to join you in maze-like maps filled with horrors.

Each level acts as its own self-contained story with some puzzles to complete and baddies to dodge.

Having sunk several hours into this game, I can confidently say it’s bonkers in the best way possible, and on the higher difficulties, it actually torments you psychologically.

Speaking of psychological torment, those that own, and enjoy, games like The Outlast Trials, will get a kick out of SAW Genesis when it launches. It’s got a sweet mechanic that makes it stand out from the competition.

Outlast Trials’ Skinner Man will have you second-guessing your every move

In The Outlast Trials, you’re almost always in the sights of stalking enemies. Some are generic whereas others are more fleshed out characters with unique traits and personalities. The Skinner Man is the most unique of them all, as he only appears when your character’s sanity drops to dangerously low levels.

He could randomly materialise in your hiding spot or appear behind a door, but the best bit is when he full-tilt sprints at you before vanishing into thin air. It never ceases to make me jump and yet I love the mechanic dearly. I’ll go out of my way to keep my sanity in a sweet spot where Skinner Man can jumpscare me, but not actually cause harm. That only happens when your sanity drops completely.

Another fun enemy-type are the Imposters. As the name implies, these cheeky things will pretend to be one of your allies when you get near, but get too close and they’ll stab you in the back (or chest). They’re quite convincing when you first start playing, but the tells become a bit more obvious after a few hours.

That’s the beauty of The Outlast Trials though, it doesn’t pull its punches. Every match keeps me on my toes and whenever things get a little too quiet, I'm instantly anxious about what could be around the corner. It's a tough game even on the earlier difficulty levels, and then when you get to Escalation Mode, it’s straight-up sadistic.

The Outlast Trials is $4 on Steam, but you’ll get more bang for your buck with the bundle

Don’t get me wrong, if you regularly play online with friends the $4 on The Outlast Trials will be well-spent for how many hours you’ll sink into it.

However, if you’re completely new to the Outlast series, I’d wholeheartedly recommend the discounted bundle. You get all three games for $10. Both offers run until October 8.

Outlast is an easy 9/10 in my opinion. The final act is when things go a little downhill, but the claustrophobic corridors of the mental asylum will live rent-free in your head for many years. The Whistleblower DLC is also an excellent tie-in.

Outlast 2 feels a little bit weaker, but that’s just my personal opinion. It takes place in the small town of Temple Gate and it’s the open-air that makes it feel less tense than the first game.

You generally can’t go wrong with the Outlast series if you’re into horror games though, so do please check them out while they’re discounted.