The Outlast Trials’ Chemical Leak Event Is Live With 2 New MK-Challenges

The Outlast Trials has brought its Chemical Leak Limited-Time Event online, filling Trials with toxic gas and asking Reagents to shut down valves before they can breathe freely. The update also adds the CHANGE THE PROGRAM and FUND THE CAMPAIGN MK-Challenges, along with a limited-time reward catalog. Red Barrels detailed the changes in its Steam announcement.

The CHEMICAL LEAK variator fills each Trial with poisonous gas, while SHUT OFF THE VALVES requires players to find and close valves in each area. The event runs from Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. ET, through Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 10 a.m. ET.

A matching CHEMICAL LEAK Catalog is available throughout the event. Event Tokens can be exchanged for exclusive rewards, but the Catalog will disappear when the event ends and any remaining Tokens will be forfeited. Players have until Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. ET to spend them.

The two new MK-Challenges take Reagents into Murkoff’s propaganda machine. CHANGE THE PROGRAM centers on spreading a carefully crafted message, while FUND THE CAMPAIGN turns its attention toward financing a political campaign.

Mod support is also gone with this update. Our Season 7.1 coverage noted that change ahead of launch, and the live patch now adds several of the same quality-of-life options directly to the game, including Field of View, Camera Shake, Motion Blur, Film Grain, Chromatic Aberration, Lens Flares, Vignette, Bloom, Startup videos and Toggle HUD Display.

Invasion receives several counterplay adjustments, while Escalation gains better recovery after disconnects or crashes. At Trial #21 and above, damage remains permanent for the entire run and Revives are no longer available. The update also includes online stability work, enemy tuning and loadout visibility in the Pause Menu.

The Outlast Trials Chemical Leak Update Patch Notes

The full notes cover Invasion combat, Escalation saves, online stability, enemy behavior, catalog corrections and settings. The highest Escalation Trials now carry stricter rules, with permanent damage and no Revives from Trial #21 onward.

Invasion

• Evasive Manoeuvre: Now counters Backstabs by triggering a STRUGGLE instead, and win STRUGGLES more easily against Imposters.
• Neuroshock: Now automatically pinged when thrown on the ground.
• During the Exit Phase: When a Reagent is revived, an Imposter will spawn from a closet to match the new number of living Reagents.
• Ex-Pops and Prime Assets will no longer target Reagents immediately after a Stab or Backstab.
• Fixed an issue where the Steel Trap deployment audio could be heard from a very long distance.
• Fixed an issue where players could body block other players (You can now push past a player of the opposing role who is blocking your path by walking into them for half a second.)

Escalation

• Removed Broken Reagent from the variators pool.
• Improved Escalation run stability to reduce server disconnections.
• Players can now restore their save after a disconnection or crash.
• Escalation Trial #21 and above: Damage is permanent throughout the run, and Revives are no longer available, making higher-level Trials even more challenging.

General

• Improved online stability, including rubberbanding, lag, and disconnections. We will continue monitoring performance and making improvements as needed.
• Player loadouts are now displayed in the Pause Menu.
• Rebirth: Loadouts are no longer reset after completing a Rebirth.
• Reworked Biter speed and aggressiveness, and slightly increased its chance of breaking the chain.
• Slightly increased Kress Twins chase speed.
• Slightly reduced Arora throw cooldown.
• Fixed the price of the Jammer Rig skin in the Project Boneyard Catalog. It now costs 30 (was 75).
• Fixed the rarity of the Project Boneyard poster. It is now Classified (was Basic).
• Fixed the numbering of the Hopscotch floor game in the Orphanage, making it playable again.
• Mods support is no longer available. While we recognize that mods can offer useful customization, some can provide gameplay advantages or alter the game in unintended ways. To maintain a fair and consistent experience for everyone across all game modes, mods are no longer supported.
• We’ve added several new options to the Settings menu, including quality of life features that were previously available through mods. These are now built directly into the game and available to everyone:
  • Field of View — Slider
  • Camera Shake — Slider
  • Motion Blur — On / Off
  • Film Grain — On / Off
  • Chromatic Aberration — On / Off
  • Lens Flares — On / Off
  • Vignette — On / Off
  • Bloom — On / Off
  • Startup videos — On / Off
  • Toggle HUD Display — On / Off

Chemical Leak’s gas-filled Trials and the end of mod support leave plenty to discuss, so share your thoughts in the comments and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, Telegram.

The Outlast Trials

Developed by Red Barrels

The Outlast Trials is a survival horror game you can play by yourself or with other players online. You'll have to survive the twisted, sadistic and bizarre experiments of the Murkoff Corporation, alone or in a group up to 4 players.

• Genre Adventure, Indie
• Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One
• Perspective First person
• Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
• Release March 5, 2024
• Publisher Red Barrels
• Age Rating

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