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Lethal Company

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

Lethal Company is an upcoming cooperative survival horror video game developed and published by Zeekerss. It was released in early access in October 2023 and gained popularity on the Steam storefront.

In Lethal Company, players obtain and sell scrap from abandoned, industrialized exomoons while avoiding traps, environmental hazards, monsters, which are often referred to as “anomalies”, “entities”, or “creatures”, and the hostile fauna. As employees of "The Company", players must sell enough scrap to meet a series of increasing profit quotas until they inevitably fail and the game starts over.

Gameplay

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A player using 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 retro-futuristic setting, players work as contracted employees of "The Company". They can communicate with each other through the in-game proximity chat, as well as proximity text chat. Players are tasked with visiting abandoned moons to collect as much scrap as possible. Each moon has one facility containing procedurally-generated rooms, alongside valuable scrap, hazardous traps, and malicious creatures. Players must work quickly and return to their ship before midnight, or the autopilot will leave without them. If there are no living players on board the ship as it leaves the planet, all collected scrap will be lost. Collected scrap is sold at the Company moon, 71-Gordion, 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; this constitutes a game over.[4]

Players may only carry four items at a time, including one item requiring both hands. Two-handed scrap items, while typically the most valuable, prevent one from performing certain actions when held, like climbing ladders and picking up more items. All carriable equipment (such as flashlights or walkie-talkies) and pieces of scrap require one free item slot each. Players can use their ship's onboard computer terminal to navigate to moons and spend their earned Company credits on equipment and humorous ship accessories, such as a shower or toilet. The terminal may also be used to view the positions of other players, open security doors, or temporarily disable landmines and turrets inside the facility.[5]

The game offers twelve playable moons, including the Company's moon where collected scrap is sold. Moons differ in which and how many monsters spawn, as well as the amount and value of scrap available. Players must spend credits to access the most dangerous and lucrative moons.[6] Moons may randomly have dangerous weather conditions or hazards such as fog, quicksand, lightning storms, flooding, or solar eclipses that hinder players' progress.[6][7]

Players encounter a variety of creatures while exploring. Most are found inside each moon's facility, but some will spawn outdoors. Most entities are hostile towards the players, though some creatures, like the Spore Lizard and Hoarding Bug, will remain passive until provoked.[8][9][10] The game's monsters include the Thumper, a two-legged beast that can reach high speeds but is bad at making tight turns, and the Bracken, a humanoid creature that stalks its prey before snapping its neck, but runs away when spotted.[10][11][12] One of the most dangerous enemies is the Jester, an invincible creature inside a giant jack-in-the-box. It wanders harmlessly until it spots a player, whereupon it will begin following them while turning its crank. After popping open, it will hunt and kill all players in the facility.[10][13]

Development

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Zeekerss previously developed games on the game creation platform Roblox.[14][15] Lethal Company was released in early access for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2023.[14][16] Zeekerss said he plans to finish the game within six months.[17] He also expressed a desire for content updates to evoke the feeling of breaking into an "alien zoo" and unleashing all the animals.[18][19]

Reception

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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.[20][16][21][22] Its popularity has been attributed to social media[23][24] and compared to the similar horror game Phasmophobia.[25][26][27]

Kelsey Raynor of VG247 noted that the game "...might not look like much given its grisly cel-shaded graphics, but fans are wholly obsessed with Lethal Company, and its gruesome aesthetic is clearly just another part of its charm."[14] 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] PCGamesN included Lethal Company on its listing of best horror games available on PC.[28]

According to an approximate estimate by Push To Talk, Lethal Company has sold more than 10 million copies as of January 2024.[29]

The player avatar has appeared in the online video game Fortnite as "The Employee", which was added to the game in June 2024 alongside additional cosmetics and an emote based on Lethal Company.[30]

Awards

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Award Date Category Result Ref.
The Steam Awards January 2, 2024 Game of the Year Nominated [31][32]
Better With Friends Won
The Streamer Awards February 17, 2024 Stream Game of the Year Won [33]
20th British Academy Games Awards April 11, 2024 EE Player's Choice Award Nominated [34]

References

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  1. ^ Saver, Michael; Pung, Julia; Stanton, Devon (January 4, 2024). "Made with Unity: 2023 in review". Unity Technologies. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c 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. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 20, 2023). "Lethal Company Terminal Commands - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; et al. (November 23, 2023). "Lethal Company Moons - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Shi, Annie (December 23, 2023). "Lethal Company: Weather Conditions, Explained". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  8. ^ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 21, 2023). "Spore Lizard - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 21, 2023). "Hoarding Bug - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Writer, Kiera Mills Guides; Mills, Kiera (February 8, 2024). "All Lethal Company monsters and how to beat them". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 19, 2023). "Bracken - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2024. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  12. ^ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 21, 2023). "Thumper - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Rothery, Jen; Stella, Marloes Valentina; Brandon; et al. (December 21, 2023). "Jester - Lethal Company Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c 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.
  15. ^ Lane, Rick (November 20, 2023). "Co-op horror game Lethal Company costs $10 and is outselling Call of Duty on Steam". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  16. ^ a b 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.
  17. ^ Gould, Elie (November 16, 2023). "I got chased by man-eating spiders in Lethal Company, and all I got was this crummy teapot". TechRadar. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  18. ^ Bolding, Jonathan (February 10, 2024). "Lethal Company dev thinking updates should be 'bigger and less frequent' and 'like I broke into an alien zoo'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  19. ^ "Lethal Company dev wants future updates to feel like they "broke into an alien zoo and released the animals"". Eurogamer.net. February 11, 2024. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Kerr, Chris (November 20, 2023). "Indie horror Lethal Company tops 100,000 concurrent users on Steam". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Diaz, Ana (January 17, 2024). "Lethal Company was bound to blow up — and now it's everywhere on social media". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  24. ^ Ridley, Jacob (December 25, 2023). "Lethal Company is a viral hit in no small part thanks to all the intense shouting". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Tarason, Dominic (November 24, 2023). "Lethal Company's co-op horror comedy is like an immediately more chaotic and deadly Phasmophobia". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  26. ^ Koselke, Anna (November 10, 2023). "Phasmophobia fans, you can't miss this chaotic new horror game". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Bell, Alice (April 26, 2024). "I respect Lethal Company's dedication to being a slapstick-fest that makes zero sense whatsoever". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  28. ^ Lees, Gina (March 12, 2024). "21 of the best horror games to play right now". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  29. ^ Ryan K., Rigney (January 19, 2024). "The 10-Year Journey Behind Lethal Company's Success". Push To Talk. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  30. ^ Bardhan, Ashley (May 31, 2024). "Lethal Company dev celebrates his game being added to Fortnite by wiping out an entire squad of his characters". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  31. ^ Blake, Vikki (December 16, 2023). "The Steam Awards 2023 shortlist has been revealed - here's what Steam players think are 2023's best games". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ Michael, Cale; Taifalos, Nicholas (February 18, 2024). "Streamer Awards 2024: All results and winners for every category". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  34. ^ "20th BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. March 7, 2024. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
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