Tag: Steam Deck

The Outlast Trials – Trial Log #4: Sabotage the Lockdown

Difficulty: Standard
Trial: Sabotage the Lockdown
Prime Asset: Coyle
Grade: A-


Back to The Outlast Trials hub

I’m sticking with Standard difficulty for another trial.
No need to press my luck yet.

This time it’s Sabotage the Lockdown.
The task sounds simple enough: reach the exit.

What the briefing neglected to mention is that I’d be carrying a gas canister the entire way.
Or that Coyle would be on my tail for the whole trial.

I didn’t even make it two rooms in before Coyle spotted me.
So I did the sensible thing.
I ran straight back to the start and hid.

Once I was sure he was gone, I went back for the canister.
Naturally, an ex-pop decided to appear at that exact moment,
so I returned to my hiding spot again.

Progress was slow, but methodical.

At one point, I was convinced I’d have to throw something at Coyle and make a break for it.
All he had to do was turn left.

He didn’t.

I’m choosing to believe the sunglasses aren’t helping him.

I eventually reached the generator, but even then, the slightest noise had me diving into corners to hide.
Once it was powered up, the exit was right there.

Somehow, after all that, I finished with an A-.
I was close to an A+, but I’ll take it.

Video

This run continues to reinforce the same lesson:
slow progress beats reckless confidence.

Related series:

Outlast – Apex Predator Run

Surviving, not suffering.

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The Outlast Trials – Trial Log #3: Cancel the Autopsy

This Trial was my first run on Standard difficulty.
I completed it.
How cleanly is debatable.

Viewer discretion advised. The Outlast Trials is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, disturbing imagery, and psychological horror.

Full Trial recording:

Cancel the Autopsy

The first key was straightforward.
No issues there.

The problems started after picking up the second key.
I thought I’d avoided one of the larger enemies.
I had not.

He spotted me and gave chase.
I ran for the gymnasium, assuming I’d shaken him.
I hadn’t.
He followed me in.

Losing the Thread

After finally finding somewhere safe, I realised I’d made a simple mistake:
I hadn’t checked the clue for the third key.

That meant backtracking.
More movement.
More risk.

Once I did find the clue, the third key turned up in the first place I checked.
Naturally.

The Exit

When it came time to leave, Coyle decided to get involved.
He chased me most of the way to the exit.

I called the subway and tried to hide in a locker.
Coyle immediately pulled me out and shocked me for the effort.

As soon as I had the chance, I ran.

Afterwards

Despite everything — the chase, the backtracking, the locker incident — I somehow finished the Trial with an A rating.
I’m still not entirely sure how.

What I am sure of is that it was a lot of fun.

Standard difficulty already feels like the right place to be.
There’s pressure, but there’s still room for things to go wrong without the run collapsing entirely.

Series Notes

This was a single attempt, recorded as it happened.
There were no retries for recording purposes.

Mistakes stayed in.
Chases stayed in.
The rating was whatever the game decided it was.

Continue the Series

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 9: Penguins, Battlefield, and Missing Wings


Progress: Stars Increasing | Lives Intact (Somehow)
Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music

“Sometimes progress is skill. Sometimes it’s guessing the right penguin and hoping for the best.”

With only four stars left in Cool, Cool Mountain, I decided to finish the job before the seed could get any funny ideas.

Cool, Cool Mountain: Cleanup Duty

First target: the Red Coin Star. I knew where six coins were. The last two? Found them easily enough. Getting them was another matter.

That’s when I remembered an old trick. The first attempt failed — badly — but that was fine. Sometimes a failed run resets the rhythm. The second attempt clicked. Clean movement. No panic. Star secured.

Next problem: the baby penguin.

A straight 50/50 guess. I picked one. It was the right one. No skill involved. I’ll take it.

Big Penguin Race and Snowman’s Lost His Head followed without drama. Just solid execution. One course fully cleared and crossed off the list.

YouTube – Log 9 Video

Red coins, penguin roulette, and a continued refusal by the Wing Cap to reveal itself.

Secret Slide Surprise: Not What I Expected

With CCM done, I checked what was hiding behind the Secret Slide entrance.

The answer: Bob-Omb Battlefield.

Still no Wing Cap switch. That’s becoming a theme.

I handled King Bob-omb first and grabbed his star. While scouting the rest of the level, it became clear that full completion here absolutely requires the Wing Cap.

Rather than force it, I settled for Koopa the Quick, grabbed the star, and called it. No point bleeding lives for stubborn pride.

Log 9 Summary

Course Cleared Cool, Cool Mountain
Risk Taken Red Coins via old-school trick
Luck Factor Correct baby penguin (first try)
Wing Cap Status Still missing
Bob-Omb Battlefield Partially cleared

One full course done. One classic stage half-finished. The Wing Cap continues to dodge me.

Continue the Journey

Previous Log | Next Log

Super Mario 64 Randomizer Hub

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Announcement: Outlast – Apex Predator Run

I’m starting a new playthrough of Outlast, using what I’m calling the Apex Predator ruleset.

The idea is simple:
every death counts.
Three strikes, and the run ends.

Outlast isn’t a power fantasy.
You can’t fight back.
You can’t overpower anything.
Survival comes down to awareness, restraint, and not making the wrong decision at the wrong time.

The Apex Predator ruleset exists to give those moments weight.
It allows room to learn without encouraging recklessness.

This run sits under Survivor’s Dread and has its own hub:

Outlast – Apex Predator Run Hub
.

It will run alongside my ongoing work in
The Outlast Trials,
which has its own hub here:

The Outlast Trials Hub
.

Where possible, the two series will alternate, keeping the focus on survival horror as endurance rather than performance.

There’s no guarantee of success.
If the run ends, it ends.
That’s part of the design.

Surviving, not suffering.

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The Outlast Trials – Trial Log #2: Eliminate the Past

This was my second attempt at Eliminate the Past.
The first ended quickly, mostly because I forgot to hit record. So I had to stop the trial midway through.

This time, I remembered to hit record.

Viewer discretion advised. The Outlast Trials is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, disturbing imagery, and psychological horror.

Setup

For this run, I took the X-ray ability.
Not to min-max anything, but because wandering blindly on a timer felt like a bad idea.

The aim wasn’t to clear everything.
It was to get out before the door shut.

Eliminate the Past

There were ten records available.
I destroyed four.

That sounds low, but the Trial makes it clear very quickly that stopping for too long is how things go wrong.
Between patrols and the clock, every decision boiled down to whether it was worth the risk.

Most of the time, it wasn’t.

The Escape

When it was time to head back to the gymnasium to begin my escape from the Trial, I promptly got lost.

By the time I found my way back, I had three minutes to get out.
I managed it with roughly three seconds left on the clock.
I didn’t even notice the cop waiting to say goodbye — I just sprinted straight past him.

It didn’t feel like a win.
It felt like just about scraping through.

Afterwards

This Trial reinforced what the game has been pushing from the start:
you don’t need to do everything.
You just need to survive long enough to leave.

Four records destroyed.
Exit reached.
That was sufficient.

Series Notes

This was a single attempt, recorded as it happened.
There were no retries for recording purposes.
If I’d failed, that would have been the post.

I may return to this Trial again at the same difficulty.
For now, this is the record of how it went.

Continue the Series

Surviving, not suffering.

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The Outlast Trials – Trial Log #1: Kill the Snitch

This is the video companion to my first real Trial in The Outlast Trials.
A full, uncut solo run of Kill the Snitch, set in the police station.

No highlights.
No edits.
Just forty-four minutes of slow movement, bad assumptions, and learning the hard way.

Viewer discretion advised. The Outlast Trials is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic violence, disturbing imagery, and psychological horror. This content may not be suitable for all viewers.

All Trials in this series are played solo.

The Trial

  • Trial: Kill the Snitch
  • Location: Police Station
  • Mode: Solo
  • Difficulty: Lowest available
  • Runtime: 44 minutes (full run)

Even on the lowest difficulty, the tension never really lets up.
Standing still feels dangerous, objectives act like bait, and the moment you assume you’re safe, the game corrects you.

The Video

This is a slow first run, and that’s intentional.
I wanted to understand the rules of the Trial before pushing difficulty or modifiers.

First Takeaways

  • Clearing an area doesn’t mean it stays clear
  • Objectives attract attention
  • Being stationary is often the most dangerous choice

When things went wrong, it was usually because I misjudged sound, timing, or commitment — not because the game pulled a trick.
That consistency is what made the Trial so unsettling.

Where This Fits

This video is part of Survivor’s Dread — survival horror focused on tension, pressure, and endurance rather than mastery.

I don’t know how many more Trials will follow.
If there’s another, it’ll be logged the same way.
If not, this stands as a record of the experience.

Surviving, not suffering — even when the chaos is real.

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The Outlast Trials – A New Kind of Survival

I wasn’t planning on adding The Outlast Trials to the blog.
But sometimes a game doesn’t ask — it just gets under your skin and stays there.

After finishing the tutorial and stepping into my first real Trial, it became clear this was something different.
Not loud.
Not fast.
Just deeply uncomfortable in a way that lingers.

One Trial. No Safety Net.

I recorded my first full Trial — Kill the Snitch, set in the police station.
Solo.
Lowest difficulty.
No cuts.

It still took 44 minutes.
And it was still unsettling.

Standing still felt dangerous.
Objectives felt like bait.
And the moment I assumed I was safe, the game corrected me.

Why This Fits Here

This blog has always been about surviving pressure rather than mastering systems.
The Outlast Trials fits that idea perfectly.

  • No PvP meta
  • No optimisation race
  • No pretending you’re in control

Just learning, adapting, and getting through it.

What This Is (And Isn’t)

This isn’t a full commitment to a new series.
There’s no schedule, no roadmap, and no promise of completion.

Think of it as occasional Trial logs — documenting progression, mistakes, and moments where the game genuinely gets inside your head.

If nothing else, it’s a reminder that survival horror can still feel tense without being exhausting.

Coming Up

The first Trial log will be going live shortly, featuring the full 44-minute run.
Viewer discretion advised.

Sometimes surviving means knowing when to slow down.
The Outlast Trials makes sure you do.

This entry is part of Survivor’s Dread, where survival horror is about tension and endurance rather than mastery.

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 6: Time Stops for No Mario

Progress: 38 Stars Collected | 82 Remaining | 21 Lives
Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music

“When I looked into the light expecting peace and found Tick Tock Clock instead, I realised this run has no mercy.”

With Whomp’s Fortress cleared, I headed back to the basement to see what chaos was waiting this time. First win of the day: MIPS went down without a fight. One clean grab. One clean star.

Next stop: the Secret Aquarium. Straightforward as always. Then I spotted a platform that needed the Wing Cap. I don’t have it. I took the loss and moved on.

The big basement door — the one that may or may not lead to Hazy Maze Cave — is still locked. No key. No access. Back upstairs it was.

YouTube – Log 6 Video

Tick Tock Clock: Early, Unwanted, but Done

I looked into the light expecting the Wing Cap trial. I got Tick Tock Clock instead.

Shockingly, it wasn’t a disaster. Star placements were forgiving. No awkward jumps on tiny gears. No close calls over the void. The only real struggle was:

  • Grinding out the 100 Coin Star
  • Backtracking to collect the Red Coin Star

Annoying, sure, but manageable. And now the whole level is finished and off the board.

Rainbow Ride: Another Early Win

Like Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Ride popped up early in this seed. Getting both out of the way now is a massive relief. Two of the most awkward courses cleaned up long before they can cause havoc.

Log 6 Summary

Lives 21
Stars Collected 38
Stars Remaining 82
Nightmares Cleared Early Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Ride

Two tough courses gone. One rabbit caught. One fake Wing Cap entrance. A solid session.

Continue the Journey

Previous Log | Next Log

Super Mario 64 Randomizer Hub

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 5: Rainbow Ride Conquered

Progress: 29 Stars Collected | 89 Remaining | 18 Lives
Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music — the chaos provides its own soundtrack.

“Somewhere between leaping across spinning triangles and landing on an airship, I accepted that gravity in this randomizer is more of a guideline.”

With two stars left in Rainbow Ride, I decided to finish what I started and clear the hardest course so far. I remembered spotting one on the airship last time, so that was the first target.

The final star was a guess, so I followed instinct and headed for the triangle platforms. For once, instinct didn’t betray me. Two clean grabs later, Rainbow Ride is officially complete.

The Basement Surprise: Whomp’s Fortress

Expecting Dire Dire Docks, I stepped into its usual spot and instead landed in Whomp’s Fortress. The twist? The water level in this version doesn’t lower, so the passage to Bowser in the Fire Sea stayed sealed.

Which leaves one option: I need to find Dire Dire Docks somewhere else. Because of course the randomizer wasn’t going to make boss access simple.

Whomp’s Fortress: Smooth Climbing

Despite the odd placement, Whomp’s Fortress went down without much resistance. No weird geometry, no star placements that require a physics degree — just straightforward platforming for once.

By the time I exited, I sat at 29 stars and 18 lives, still needing to hunt down Dire Dire Docks and, eventually, Bowser.

Today’s Video

Continue the journey:
Log 4 | Log 6

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Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 3: Rainbow Ride in the Basement

Platform: Steam Deck
Settings: Vanilla Mario & Music — chaos supplied separately.
“Somewhere between the mountain slide and the basement sky, I realised this randomizer doesn’t believe in architecture either.”

With only the 100 Coin Star left in Tall, Tall Mountain, I decided it was time to finally clear my first course. The plan was simple: grab coins, stay alive, avoid plummeting off the cliff. Naturally, the first attempt ended in a slide-related tragedy. The second try, however, was a success — first course officially cleared.

Feeling confident, I ventured down to the basement to see what new horrors awaited. A friendly Toad handed over a star without asking for anything in return — a rare act of generosity in this twisted castle.

Then came the real surprise: the hole that should have led to the Vanish Cap switch instead opened into Rainbow Ride. Because apparently, gravity is optional now. Despite a few near misses (and several camera-induced heart attacks), I managed to grab three stars before deciding I’d pushed my luck enough for one day.

Watch Log 3 Gameplay

Progress Log

  • Total Stars: 18
  • Stars Remaining: 102
  • Lives: 13
Continue the chaos:
Log 2 |
Log 4
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