Lethal Company is a team-based survival horror video game created and released by an American company called Zeekerss for Windows computers. It became available to players in early access on Steam in October 2023 and became popular on the Steam platform.

In Lethal Company, players collect and sell scrap materials from abandoned, industrial moons outside our solar system. They must avoid traps, dangerous environments, and strange creatures, which are sometimes called "anomalies," "entities," or "creatures," as well as dangerous animals. As workers for "The Company," players must sell enough scrap to meet higher and higher profit goals. If they fail to meet these goals, the game ends, and players must start over.

Gameplay

Lethal Company is a cooperative video game that allows up to four players to work together. The game is played from a first-person perspective, meaning players see the action through the eyes of their character. Set in a world that mixes old and futuristic styles, players work as employees for "The Company." They can talk to each other using in-game chat features that work when players are near each other.

Players are sent to abandoned moons to gather valuable items called scrap. Each moon has one facility with randomly created rooms, along with scrap, dangerous traps, and enemy creatures. Players must collect scrap quickly and return to their ship before midnight. If the ship leaves without any players on board, all collected scrap is lost. Scrap is sold at a moon called 71-Gordion to earn Company credits. The most valuable scrap includes cash registers, bee hives, and gold bars. If players sell enough scrap to meet a goal, they begin a new three-day cycle with a higher target. If they fail to meet the goal, they are ejected into space, which ends the game.

Each player can carry only four items at a time, including one that requires both hands. Items that need both hands, such as some scrap, can stop players from climbing ladders or picking up other items. All equipment, like flashlights or walkie-talkies, and scrap items take up one slot each. Players can use their ship’s computer to travel to moons, buy equipment, and purchase fun items like a shower or toilet. The computer also helps players track others, open doors, or disable traps.

The game includes twelve moons, including the Company’s moon where scrap is sold. Each moon has different numbers and types of monsters, as well as different amounts and values of scrap. Players must spend credits to access the most dangerous and valuable moons. Moons may also have random weather or hazards, such as fog, quicksand, lightning storms, flooding, or solar eclipses, which make it harder to complete tasks.

Players face many creatures while exploring. Most are inside the facility on each moon, but some appear outside. Most creatures attack players, though some, like the Spore Lizard and Hoarding Bug, stay harmless until disturbed. Examples of enemies include the Thumper, a fast two-legged creature that struggles with tight turns, and the Bracken, a humanoid creature that stalks players before fleeing if spotted. The Jester is one of the most dangerous enemies. It is inside a giant jack-in-the-box and moves harmlessly until it sees a player. Once it spots someone, it follows them and begins spinning. After opening, it hunts and kills all players in the facility.

Development

Zeekerss made games before on the game-making platform Roblox. The game Lethal Company was released in early access for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2023. The development of the game was originally planned to take 6 months to complete. Zeekerss wanted to add new content to create the experience of entering an "alien zoo" and setting all the animals free.

Reception

Lethal Company has received high praise on the online platform Steam, where it became the top-selling game globally and had 100,000 players online at the same time in November 2023. Its popularity is linked to social media and is often compared to the horror game Phasmophobia.

Kelsey Raynor of VG247 wrote that the game "might not look like much with its dark, cartoon-like graphics, but many fans really enjoy it, and its scary style is part of its appeal." Gabriel Moss of IGN stated that "Lethal Company creates a sense of excitement," and that the game's cooperative treasure hunts "make up for its simple features and missing systems." PCGamesN listed Lethal Company as one of the best horror games available on PC.

According to an estimate by Push To Talk, Lethal Company sold more than 10 million copies by January 2024.

The character from Lethal Company appeared in the online game Fortnite as "The Employee," which was added to the game in June 2024 along with special items and a movement style inspired by Lethal Company.