“Lethal Company” is a horror game developed by Zeekers, an independent game developer who has made multiple other games, such as “It Steals” and “The Upturned,” both of which feature hectic horror-esque experiences mixed with hilarious moments. “Lethal Company” is no different, and offers both horror and humor, the latter of which is usually from other players doing things like walking on landmines or getting stung by circuit bees.
I have been playing this game for about a month now, and have developed quite a liking for it. There are many reasons why I love “Lethal Company;” between the rising challenge, the humor-horror balance it relies on to deliver a unique experience, and the numerous mods available for the game, “Lethal Company” is simply a fantastic game.
The main focus of “Lethal Company” is to meet a scrap-collecting quota set by the company players work for, which is quite a lethal one, as the name of the game implies. If a crew does not meet this rising quota every three in-game days, they will be… “fired.”
The game is structured so that the crew selects a moon to visit; enters a facility to find scrap items, like metal sheets and rubber ducks; and then returns to the ship with the items. This gameplay sounds boring, but the actual game is anything but. However, the crew, which can be up to four members, must decide who goes where, as there are usually two entrances to the facility: the fire exit, and the main entrance.
There are different benefits to choosing the fire exit over the main entrance, and vice-versa. The perks to going into the fire exit are that they often spawn in loot rooms, which may contain valuable scrap, and they usually are somewhat away from the main entrance, allowing a crew to split up and cover more ground. However, it comes with the downside of often having locked doors around it, so players might want to bring in a key when they enter through here.
The main entrance always has at least two branching paths, but it usually has three. The quick access to these areas can allow for a lot of scraps to spawn close to the doors, but one of the paths will always lead out into the labyrinth section of the map. The labyrinth is a maze of hallways that has minimal scrap but leads to rooms that may contain more. It is the main area that players will likely be spending their time in once they are more comfortable with the gameplay.
The entire premise of “Lethal Company” is based on a risk and reward mindset, as the longer the crew stays inside, the more enemies spawn, but the more scraps they get. Attacking a monster in the facility has risk and reward too, as attacking one of them risks the player dying or taking damage, but lowers the amount of monsters in the area, making it safer in the long run. For example, the Nutcracker is an enemy that holds a valuable and deadly shotgun, which it will use in combat. However, if a player manages to kill it, then they get to use the shotgun, which can instantly kill most monsters.
The real content of “Lethal Company” comes from the monsters. There are seventeen monsters in this game, and they all act differently, providing a lot of variety to the interactions one may have with them. The monsters that actively hunt for players are the Bracken, Coilhead, Jester, Blind Dog, Forest Keeper, Earth Titan, Hygrodere, Ghost Girl and the Masked. These creatures are all actively hostile from the first encounter, seeking out the players in various methods, and most of them will instantly kill a player on contact. The most dangerous of these, in my experience, are the Bracken, the Jester, the Forest Keeper and the Coilhead.
Brackens are dark humanoids that roam around inside the facilities and sneak up behind players. The only way to stop them is to turn around and stare right as they approach, otherwise that target will have their neck broken with a solid crack. They seem to be more common on forested maps, as I mostly encounter them on the moon Vow.
Jesters are a less subtle enemy, as they will wander around until they find a player, and then they start following them. After a while, they wind up their crank, as they are a walking jack-in-the-box, but far more deadly. Once the music grows frantic and the Jester “pops,” it begins stomping around, killing any player it finds until everyone is either dead, or outside. The Jester is the red alert, the “hey we should leave” alarm; it cannot be killed, and knows where everyone is at all times once “popped.”
Coilheads will also wander until finding a player, at which point they will rapidly charge towards them, dealing lethal damage if they catch them. The only way to stop their movement is to stare at them constantly, as players cannot outrun them, and must instead slowly back away to the door to escape. The most danger from this one is due to the awkward interactions it can force players into with other monsters, like the Bracken.
The last of these four enemies are Forest Keepers, giant creatures that stomp around outside of the facility. This means players are not even safe outside, as this menace will chase, and try to eat, a player if it spots them.
Of course, there are other monsters in this game, and a lot of them are less hostile than the ones I already mentioned, like Spore Lizards and Hoarding Bugs. These monsters are far less aggressive, but can still be lethal if angered. Luckily, players are given probably the best possible weapon to defend themselves with, the pristine, shiny, glorious… shovel.
Moving away from the monsters, and towards multiplayer, “Lethal Company” offers chaos. “Lethal Company” offers single and multiplayer, but I highly recommend multiplayer, as it offers way more opportunity for chaos. In this game, players have proximity chat, meaning their speaking trails off the further away they are, and when someone dies, their microphone input is cut off abruptly.
This can lead to a great moment where players hear someone shouting about a Bracken, and then suddenly, a landmine goes off, then silence. Describing this honestly does not do it justice, the hilarity of situations like this is frequent with multiplayer, and dead players can talk to each other while spectating their fellow crew members. If everyone on the crew dies, then they lose all of their collected scrap, but the game is not over yet. If they can manage to get the amount required for the quota in time, then the game keeps going.
Now, modding is a large part of many games in this day and age, and “Lethal Company” is not lacking in that department at all. Using the Thunderstore Mod Manager, players can download all sorts of mods, from custom moons like Infernis to an infinite shotgun, to extra enemies in the facilities. One of my personal favorites is the Control Company mod, which allows the host of a lobby to take control of the various monsters to mess with the crew. I tend to use it sparingly, but becoming a Coilhead and staring down my fellow crewmates as they panic to leave is a really fun experience.
Overall, “Lethal Company” offers a lot for a low price, and it looks and sounds great as well. The creativity with the monster designs and mechanics are refreshing, and the replayability is a massive part of how good it is. If someone is looking for a goofy horror game to play with friends, I recommend giving this one a shot.
