A new game has captured the attention of the gaming community, sparking a slew of videos from Youtubers and streamers alike. The game is “Lethal Company,” a co-op horror game set in a futuristic, dystopian world where you play as an employee for a corporation called The Company. Released as an early access game on Oct. 23, it has already managed to garner an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam, a status only given to games with over 95 percent positive reviews.
I first heard of this game in late November when clips from it surfaced on my YouTube feed. Soon after, my friends also learned of it and began to pester me to play with them. Now, I would like to preface that I am not an avid fan of anything horror. When watching a horror movie, my eyes are closed more often than they are open. So, going into “Lethal Company,” I thought it would be yet another horror game that I would thoroughly hate but endure for the sake of my friends’ entertainment. But, as it turns out, I actually really enjoyed it and have already accumulated 23 hours playing despite having only opened it three times (yes, they were very long gaming sessions).
“Lethal Company” is a wild ride of gaming goodness, packing in mechanics that serve up a satisfying balance of hilarious, chaotic moments and heart-pounding scares. But naturally, as it is still in early access, there is ample space for improvement. I will be discussing a lot of the content of this game and my thoughts on it, so if you are planning to play “Lethal Company” and want to go in completely blind, tread cautiously.
The basic setup for “Lethal Company” is that you are an employee of The Company and have three days to meet a certain monetary quota. To do this, players have to travel to desolate moons and collect scrap within the abandoned facilities located there. Of course, there are monsters lurking around every corner, making scrap collection and survival equally daunting. Each time the quota is met, it is increased, but the time limit remains the same. As you progress through the game, the difficulty of the moons escalates, eventually pushing players to explore more perilous lunar terrains to fulfill their quotas.
Players can communicate in-game using proximity voice chat, a feature that I personally find to be one of the game’s standout strengths. Not only does it enhance the horror immersion by plunging you into chilling silence when separated from the group, but it also sets the stage for some hilarious moments. There have been countless times when I explored the facility and heard one of my friends screaming in the distance, their voice gradually increasing in volume as they ran toward me. It becomes even funnier when their shrieks are promptly cut off as they get killed by whatever is chasing them.
The game also pays a lot of attention to how the environment affects your voice, a detail that I appreciate. When inside certain parts of the facility, you can hear a slight echo as you speak. Being submerged in water or quicksand also influences your voice, making it sound muffled and gargled to other players. I, unfortunately, discovered this when I sank into a puddle of quicksand. My friends laughed at me as my shouts were drowned out by the sand enveloping my in-game character. This seemingly small detail not only adds an extra layer of humor to our gameplay but also showcases the developer’s commitment to delivering an extra immersive and entertaining gaming experience where every detail, no matter how minor, contributes to the overall atmosphere.
As for the actual monsters in “Lethal Company,” it was both fun and terrifying to run around and discover them, as well as what they are capable of. Some monsters pose minimal threats, such as the Spore Lizard that only attacks if you corner them, or the slow-moving Hydrogere, which is lethal to stand in but easy to avoid. Other monsters, however, are the reason why I choose to stay in the spaceship most of the time rather than explore the facility. First, those damn Coilheads. Coilheads are essentially the Weeping Angels from “Doctor Who.” If you don’t look at them, they will dash up to you, break your neck, and replace your head with a coil. If you ever come across these monsters while you’re alone in the dark facility, you will understand why I hate them so much. Though no matter how much they may unnerve me, I do enjoy the designs of the monsters in the game’s lo-fi graphics and think they seamlessly blend into the setting.
Now, as I mentioned before, I can’t handle horror. So if you’re anything like me, you may be reading this and thinking to yourself, “OK, but why should I subject myself to this torture?” While “Lethal Company” is branded as a horror game, there is a role you can play that makes it a little less intimidating: the terminal person. Inside the spaceship, there is a terminal allowing you to open doors within the facility and disable mines and turrets. You can also track your friends and tell them where the loot is or warn them of an approaching monster using walkie-talkies. While there are still dangers that threaten you within the ship, such as rabid, blind dogs, it proves to be a less frightening alternative to entering the monster-infested facilities yourself. If you are familiar with the paranormal horror game “Phasmophobia,” the terminal person is essentially equivalent to being the van princess. However, the terminal person offers much more utility and can often make runs easier by providing instructions and warnings. As you earn money, you can even buy a teleporter to save your friends from danger with the well-timed press of a button. The utility that comes from being the terminal person is a mechanic I thoroughly enjoy since it enables scaredy-cats like me to cautiously play the game while also still feeling useful. You don’t have to (fully) risk your life to make valuable contributions to the team!
While I have thoroughly enjoyed playing “Lethal Company” so far, there is still a lot more I would like to see in the future. For starters, I would love to see more lore implemented into the gameplay. Currently, it seems that only the foundations have been laid, mostly through the entries recording the existence of the many monsters you run into. However, there are still a lot of questions to be answered — what is The Company? How did these moons come to be abandoned? And why, oh why, do we have to risk our lives collecting scrap for some cruel, capitalistic system? Additionally, I hope the facilities are diversified more for each moon. Right now, the layouts are largely the same except for those of the higher-level moons, but they require money and time to reach. So, having to scrounge around the same bunkers and hallways in the earlier levels can get somewhat stale. Of course, again, the game is still in early access so as updates start to roll out, hopefully we can see these changes implemented.
It is clear that “Lethal Company” has quickly become popular in the gaming community with its careful blend of horror and hilarious cooperative gameplay. Despite my initial reservations as a paranoid player, the game managed to exceed my expectations and keep me engaged for hours at a time. The mechanics, especially the role of the terminal person, add a layer of strategy and utility that makes the game interesting as well as accessible for those who may not typically enjoy horror games. Needless to say, I am excited to see what updates the developer of “Lethal Company” has in mind to make this an even more terrifying and immersive experience. So, if the idea of horror, laughter, and heart-pounding chaos appeals to you, give “Lethal Company” a shot — just don’t forget to bring a friend (or a few) along for the ride!
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