Maybe tone down the whole grading system....

[opposedcrow1988]

I get that the game's lore involves us being test subjects being graded on our performance, but my god is it annoying how much you're verbally berated for not playing perfectly. Got a D+ grade? "Wow, you're so disappointing" "Do better next time" "Were you even trying?" And don't even get me started on what you have to endure if you get an F (often through no fault of your own, like if the other players leave while you're in a pre-trial lobby)

Even worse, win or lose, you have to walk down that long post-match hallway where several wall monitors just blare in your face with your personal grade. So even if you technically "win" the trial, you still get the wind taken out of your sails simply because you took some damage or weren't able to speedrun the trial, knocking your grade down into the C-D range.

To the folks at Red Barrel: overall I'm digging Outlast Trials, I'd never say no to a unique new co-op game, but I was already sick of games verbally shaming me back in the days of older Call of Duty games where allied NPCs would yell "you suck!" and "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ idiot!" at me for accidentally shooting them (again, often in tense shootouts where I couldn't help it). Please consider toning down the whole grading system thing. I'm not saying you should remove it entirely, but having a game verbally berate me and call me names doesn't motivate me to keep playing. It motivates me to find something else to play.

[Warzonic]

LOL weak.

[Ћ Abomination Jones]

I will say that it is an in-universe extremely uncaring brainwashing / manipulation / MKUltra-adjacent Cold War era facility, they want you to be at peak, and anything short of A+ they'll be a little negative about. I've actually found, at least when I get them, the comments were less demeaning if I do worse. "D+" got me a "Well technically you succeeded" or something to that effect. C+ was like "Do you think they ever wrote in the history books about someone doing almost something great". B+? "Adequate, just like 99% of society who offer nothing more" or something to that effect. Are you at peak performance? Then you get slightly less-- but still plenty-- of brainwashing chemicals and whatnot. You're still going in those dang Trials the same as the D ranking guys, Mother Gooseberry doesn't care about what letter you get.
In short: it's thematic, it's oppressive as it fits said theme

Time doesn't affect ranking, for what it's worth. I spent 90m (maybe a little less than that) on the Final Exam and still got A+ and that was on top of a sanity hit and some sound traps. It's purely based on non-detrimental activities it seems. So smash bottles and bricks on faces, etc. Just don't stray into the sound traps or avoid the gas in boxes / mines / flimsy steve the gas guy and you're fine. Pick up the posters, those make better ranks easier too.

As for the "you get the wind taken out of your sails"... you see the grade before you get to that part anyway, so what does it on the hallway have to do with it if you knew what it was? I might not be seeing it from your perspective though as I just feel it's fine. Is the circling of the grade and a comment made by the NPCs on the paper the same?

[SOAP!!!]

Lmao liberal snwoflake cries about grades in videogame

[ijsman]

Noob

[MaxorMeow]

Git gud.

[Zheppon]

maybe you should improving then ? or are you dont want to and stay like 99% people of the world ???

[Velkhi =VEX=]

this must be a joke right

[North_Dumpling]

You could only do worse by dying

[invision2212]

I thought of the grading system as what it would be like to have Asian parents who are never happy unless you have an A+

[Neon]

the game isn't for you man

[Elevna]

It's literally just a voice line

[HASTYMAN]

Originally posted by Ice:

Noob

[HASTYMAN]

Originally posted by Skyler.H:

LOL weak.

[kidd0bleed]

idk man, could try doing a lil better

[Chell Jasper]

Originally posted by opposedcrow1988:

I get that the game's lore involves us being test subjects being graded on our performance, but my god is it annoying how much you're verbally berated for not playing perfectly. Got a D+ grade? "Wow, you're so disappointing" "Do better next time" "Were you even trying?" And don't even get me started on what you have to endure if you get an F (often through no fault of your own, like if the other players leave while you're in a pre-trial lobby)

Even worse, win or lose, you have to walk down that long post-match hallway where several wall monitors just blare in your face with your personal grade. So even if you technically "win" the trial, you still get the wind taken out of your sails simply because you took some damage or weren't able to speedrun the trial, knocking your grade down into the C-D range.

To the folks at Red Barrel: overall I'm digging Outlast Trials, I'd never say no to a unique new co-op game, but I was already sick of games verbally shaming me back in the days of older Call of Duty games where allied NPCs would yell "you suck!" and "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ idiot!" at me for accidentally shooting them (again, often in tense shootouts where I couldn't help it). Please consider toning down the whole grading system thing. I'm not saying you should remove it entirely, but having a game verbally berate me and call me names doesn't motivate me to keep playing. It motivates me to find something else to play.

THE SCIENTIST DONT ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT YOU AND ARE THE BAD GUYS. Villians shouldnt be nice to you esspecially when they see anything below a B- as a failure.