(Image via dotesports.com)
Staff Writer: Jesse Magnifico
Email: jmagnifico@umassd.edu
Lethal Company understands the assignment: horror games are more fun with friends.
Selling more units than Baldur’s Gate 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III in less than a month of its early access release, Lethal Company sits at the top of Steam’s “Top Sellers” list.
With an extremely affordable price point of $10, a fresh experience every playthrough, and jam-packed updates featuring loads of fresh content, Lethal Company is an offer that’s hard to pass up.
Plus, it gets bonus points for its multiplayer function because not enough horror experiences consider bringing friends along for the thrill.
In Lethal Company, players are tasked with retrieving lost valuables from abandoned industrialized moons for an organization called “The Company.” Fail to meet the quota from returning these objects, and your butt is booted into cold, dark space.
The game’s sole developer, who goes by the screen name Zeekerss, has been working on this project for several years.
His horror game development journey began in Roblox, where he created several famous experiences, including Silent Dark, They Breathe, and Light Bulb. His games have garnered millions of visits.
His other projects, such as Upturned and It Steals, have a similar style to the rest of these games, formatted as short single-player horror.
Lethal Company is his biggest project yet.
The 21-year-old was not expecting his latest project to blow up like it has. He published a thank you note on Twitter, expressing his gratitude for 100,000 concurrent players three weeks after launch.
The game currently holds nearly 106,000 overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Lethal Company incorporates the style of Zeekerss’ previous works, a mixture of finely cut 3D models and pixel-y, grainy texture.
Each moon that players visit has a unique environment and climate, with sandstorms, haze, and other weather events that further immerse players into the interstellar journey as they traverse treacherous landscapes for The Company.
All of the nine moons have their own history, ecosystem, and something called a “hazard level,” which rates the danger of the moon’s fauna. The caveat is that you don’t know why the moons are abandoned nor what creatures inhabit the planet until you scan them.
You are welcome to navigate any of the moons at any point during gameplay. However, it’s highly advised to be as prepared as possible when landing on moons with nearly inhospitable climates or hostile creatures.
Only three planets thus far cost credits (in-game earned money from selling junk to The Company) to fly to.
What really thrusts players into the life-and-death horror experience is the game’s built-in proximity chat. It simulates a realistic, movie-esque sense of embarking on interstellar junk recovery missions and trying to stay in contact with your crew.
Each Lethal Company lobby hosts a maximum of four players, and you’re welcome to host or join a public lobby and invite your Steam friends to a private server.
I have played the game with Torch Editor-in-Chief Roxy and Staff Photographer Lilly; we’ve had nothing but scream fests. The moment we first landed, we were attacked and killed by electrified bugs. Then Lilly and I witnessed a horrifying creature with two long legs, and it ran fast. It killed her first, and I ran into a dead end before meeting my fate.
My heart was pumping.
As much as Lethal Company brings true fear and horror, the proximity chat makes the experience all the more hilarious and enjoyable. Roxy carried an engine to the ship during a thunderstorm, and she was zapped by lightning, cutting her mic off mid-sentence. I was dying of laughter. You can also hear your comrades panic from miles away… Their fear transfers onto you, but you laugh once they die.
Love was poured into this project by the creator — all by himself, no less — for over two years of hard production, and it’s palpable. The indie game’s popularity is more than doing Zeerkerss’ incredible work justice. He is also active in the community, responding to bugs and taking player’s notes into consideration as he works on the game’s next updates.
There’s nothing to hate about Lethal Company.
Though it might be lacking in tasks to do besides recovering junk, the adventure with friends surely makes up for it. Plus, every playthrough is unique: the seed randomly regenerates each time you land on a moon.
Venture forth and return goodies to the company. In other words, Lethal Company is worth the play. Give it a try!
The latest update of the game was released on December 9th. Version 45: The Frosty Update includes added features such as new loot (including wrapped gift boxes for the holidays), new items, new enemies, and changes to how enemies interact with players.
Support Zeekerss’ Patreon, which allows him to continue working on developing games and providing updates. You can also see some behind-the-scenes work!
Try out Zeekerss’ other games. They’re all at or under $10!