Lethal Company Review: A Hilarious Haunt in the Final Frontier
A terrifying yet hilarious romp through ghost-infested moons that's out of this world.
Early Access Review
last updated Nov 16, 2023
Lethal Company: an astral escapade that keeps you floating back for just one more hauntingly humorous expedition.
Spooktacular Space Shenanigans
Diving into Lethal Company's gameplay is like playing tag with a ghost on a haunted spaceship—if the spaceship was also a booby-trapped escape room. The game encourages you to scavenge through desolate moons, raking up scrap for 'The Company', but beware—the eerie atmosphere suggests you're definitely not alone. It's the perfect mash-up of frights and fun, calling for an essential, but whimsical, cooperation among players that is nothing short of comedic gold. The balance between panic-inducing close calls and joyous discovery is handled with the grace of a ballerina tiptoeing on a tightrope between hilarity and horror. And let's talk about that cooperative gameplay—it's the interstellar glue that holds your team together, fostering both camaraderie and chaos as you chuckle through chattering teeth.
A Symphony of Scares and Snickers
The audio design in Lethal Company is absolutely lethal—in the best way possible. It's like the game knows just when to cue a blood-curling scream or a tension-breaking laugh. You’ll find yourself gripping your seat as the soundtrack oscillates between bone-chilling horror and a tongue-in-cheek playful tone that's just as likely to get your heart racing as it is to have you bursting out laughing. Proximity chat brings an additional dimension of immersive goofiness to the experience—I swear, there's nothing like the muffled yells of a teammate who got a bit too cozy with a spectral entity. While you're still catching your breath from the last jump scare, the game will hit you with a goofy line, balancing on that knife's edge between fear and fun, and making sure you're never quite settled either way.
Visual Vignettes of Vexing Vessels
Lethal Company's visuals are a love letter to analog horror enthusiasts, delivering scrappy, nostalgic vibes that could make even the most pampered space tourist appreciate the 'vintage' aesthetics. It runs with the efficiency of a rusty but reliable spaceship, demonstrating that you don't need flashy, high-fidelity graphics to create an oppressive, forboding atmosphere. The game performs like a dream—or should I say nightmare?—and intricately detailed moon bases and scrap heaps come together to create a convincingly dilapidated setting. While the game has hilarious moments, the graphical design never undermines the scare factor; instead, it plays into the whole 'abandoned and definitely haunted' vibe, with shadows and flickering lights that will have you questioning whether that was just a space rat or something much less friendly (spoiler: it's the latter).
In Space, No One Can Hear You Scheme
It’s not all laughs and giggles in the void; Lethal Company occasionally reminds us of its name by slapping you with a rogue bug (in-game, not the programming kind—thankfully). While some might find themselves stuck in pipes after using peculiar teleporters or face sudden and unexpected pelicidal ship departures, it's not enough to distract from the game’s unmatched charm. These bugs, few and far-between, pose as little reminders that we're dealing with a wild indie cosmos that’s still being charted. As for content, there's enough scrap to keep your hunger for collection going (assuming the shadowman doesn't get you first), and this strong foundation promises a thrilling future with updates on the horizon.
EARLY ACCESS RATING
Developer & Publisher
Zeekerss
Early Accesss Release Date
October 23, 2023
Verdict and Summary
Lethal Company is a breathtaking space scramble that's as addictive as it is amusing. The game's indie roots seed a wildly entertaining experience that radiates promise, especially when coupled with friends. It might get you with a cheeky fright now and then, but the overall journey is a riotous ensemble of belly laughs and bonding time, making that £9.99 price tag feel like a steal. Undoubtedly, it's an astral escapade that keeps you floating back for just one more hauntingly humorous expedition.
