Lethal Company
Developer(s)Zeekerss
EngineUnity[1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseOctober 23, 2023
(early access)
Genre(s)Survival horror[2]
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Lethal Company is a cooperative video game developed by Zeekerss. It released in early access for Microsoft Windows in October 2023. Lethal Company gained popularity over the month of November 2023 on storefront Steam.

Players are tasked with collecting scrap from abandoned, industrialized moons, while having to avoid traps, environmental hazards, and monsters. They are contracted employees who work for "The Company" and are given three-day periods to meet the persistently increasing profit quota.

Gameplay

A player speaking into a walkie-talkie in a forest

Lethal Company is a cooperative video game for up to four players played in first-person perspective. Set in a retrofuturistic setting, players work as contracted employees of "The Company". They are able to communicate with each other through the in-game proximity chat, as well as proximity text chat. Players are tasked with visiting abandoned moons in order to collect as much scrap as possible. Each moon has one facility containing procedurally-generated rooms, alongside scrap, hazardous traps, and malicious creatures. Players must work quickly and return to their ship before midnight, or it will leave without them. Collected scrap is sold at the Company moon to obtain Company credits.[2][3] At the end of each deadline, if the players sell enough scrap to reach the required quota, they will begin another three-day cycle with a higher profit goal. Failure to meet the Company's quota results in players being ejected into space.[4]

Players may only carry four items at a time. Carriable equipment (such as flashlights or handheld-transceivers) and pieces of scrap consume one item slot each. Players can use the terminal console onboard their ship to purchase equipment and humorous ship accessories, such as a shower or toilet, using earned Company credits. The terminal may also be used to view the positions of other players, open security doors, or temporarily disable hazardous landmines and turrets inside the facility.[5]

The game offers eight playable moons, in addition to the Company's dedicated moon where scrap is sold. Each moon has a set difficulty level that dictates what types of creatures spawn, how many of those creatures will spawn, and how much scrap that can be collected. Three of these moons require a certain amount of Company credits to access to them.[6] Moons may randomly have dangerous weather conditions, such as flooding or solar eclipses, that hinder players' progress.[6][7]

There are 19 entities that players can encounter. Most are found inside the facility, but some will spawn on the outside surface of the moon. All indoor enemies, except the Spore Lizard,[8] will attempt to kill the player, though some will remain passive until provoked. Some facility enemies include the Thumper, a speedy two-legged land animal, and the Bracken, a humanoid that stalks and snaps the neck of its prey, but runs away when spotted.[9][10] One of the greatest threats in the game is the Jester, a creature inside a giant jack-in-the-box toy. It wanders harmlessly, until it stops and winds itself up over the course of just under a minute. After this time period, it will hunt down all players inside the facility unstoppably.[11]

Development

Zeekerss previously developed games on the game creation platform Roblox.[12][13] Lethal Company was released in early access for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2023.[12][14] Zeekerss says they plan to finish the game within six months.[15]

Reception

Lethal Company has received critical acclaim on the online storefront Steam, topping the platform's Global Top Seller list and having 100,000 concurrent players in November 2023.[16][14][17] It has been compared to Phasmophobia.[18][19]

Kelsey Raynor of VG247 noted that the game "...might not look like much given its grisly cell-shaded graphics, but fans are wholly obsessed with Lethal Company, and its gruesome aesthetic is clearly just another part of its charm."[12] Gabriel Moss of IGN said that "Lethal Company already instills a sense of wonder", and that the game's co-op loot hunts "manage to transcend its limited content and missing systems."[2]

Awards

Award Date Category Result Ref.
The Steam Awards January 2, 2024 Game of the Year Nominated [20][21]
Better With Friends Won

References

  1. ↑ Saver, Michael; Pung, Julia; Stanton, Devon (January 4, 2024). "Made with Unity: 2023 in review". Unity Technologies. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Moss, Gabriel (November 29, 2023). "Lethal Company Early Access Review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ Valentina Stella, Marloes (November 24, 2023). "How to make money in Lethal Company". gamesradar. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  4. ↑ Jain, Sanyam (December 16, 2023). "Lethal Company: Complete Guide". TheGamer. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  5. ↑ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 20, 2023). "Lethal Company Terminal Commands - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; et al. (November 23, 2023). "Lethal Company Moons - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Shi, Annie (December 23, 2023). "Lethal Company: Weather Conditions, Explained". TheGamer. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  8. ↑ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; etc (December 21, 2023). "Spore Lizard - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  9. ↑ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 19, 2023). "Bracken - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 21, 2023). "Thumper - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  11. ↑ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 21, 2023). "Jester - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Raynor, Kelsey (November 16, 2023). "This $10 Steam game is going massively viral, and it's easy to see why". VG247. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  13. ↑ Lane, Rick (November 20, 2023). "Co-op horror game Lethal Company costs $10 and is outselling Call of Duty on Steam". PC Gamer. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Dinsdale, Ryan (November 20, 2023). "Lethal Company, Steam's Latest Hit, Reaches 100,000 Concurrent Players". IGN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  15. ↑ Gould, Elie (November 16, 2023). "I got chased by man-eating spiders in Lethal Company, and all I got was this crummy teapot". TechRadar. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ Gerblick, Jordan (November 21, 2023). "Steam's new viral co-op horror hit has 30,000 'overwhelmingly positive' reviews and 100,000 peak players, rivaling Call of Duty, PUBG, and Apex Legends". Gamesradar+. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  17. ↑ Wood, Austin (November 27, 2023). "In under 6 weeks, co-op hit Lethal Company passes Baldur's Gate 3 and Resident Evil 4 to become the highest-rated Steam release of 2023". gamesradar. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  18. ↑ Tarason, Dominic (November 24, 2023). "Lethal Company's co-op horror comedy is like an immediately more chaotic and deadly Phasmophobia". PC Gamer. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Phasmophobia fans, you can't miss this chaotic new horror game". PCGamesN. November 10, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  20. ↑ "The Steam Awards 2023 shortlist has been revealed - here's what Steam players think are 2023's best games". Eurogamer.net. December 16, 2023. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  21. ↑ Dicarlo, John (January 2, 2024). "Steam Announces Winners of 2023 Steam Awards". Game Rant. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.