Goddamn, it’s immensely satisfying and refreshing to see quality indie games prosper and succeed as the industry as a whole rapidly declines.
As the modern video game has devolved into either being a slow-paced mundane “cinematic” single player title or a massively multiplayer focused live-service title, it’s genuinely heartwarming to witness a cheap no frills that’ll provide hours of enjoyment not just by yourself but with friends and randoms alike.
I’m of course talking about the horror themed co-op scrap collection experience that has taken social media outlets by storm, Lethal Company.
Lethal Company is a roguelike cooperative survival horror game that has you working for a black company, the core gameplay as you alongside up to three others travel to various moons collecting scrap materials for (the company), however you’re dealt a serious hand in terms of meeting astronomically high scrap quotas set by (the company) alongside the everlasting concept of time progression meaning you cannot shillyshally.
Along the way you’ll encounter monstrous creatures and unworldly hazards that aim to put an end to your garbage collective duties, fail to meet your quota in three days time and (the company) will abandon you outer space, resulting in a game over.
Much like how Deep Rock Galactic has you fighting hordes of creatures as you collect minerals among other things, you’d be underestimating Lethal Company for its premise of scrap collection, because recovering scrap always comes with the caveat of certain death.
It’s in the name “Lethal” Company, scattered throughout the worlds are giant spiders, swarms of killer wasps, humanoid moths and doll like creatures, blocking your path, obstructing your objective. Facing these monsters head-on is a one-way ticket to your death, your best bet is to simply run.
Which is why solo play is more of a gamble than shacking up with a group, who knew collecting garbage would be so dangerous? It’s the lingering fear of the unavoidable and the constant tension that has made this indie title one worth playing.
Call it the “flavor of the month”, I genuinely don’t care, Lethal Company isn’t a live service title so after the buzz dwindles off it’ll crater in terms of popularity much like BattleBit Remastered, however for the moment the game itself is at the peak of its popularity and for the staggeringly low price of just $10 it’s guaranteed to stay around for at least a month or so.
An entire month if not more of cheap simplistic fun with friends or with randoms thanks to thrilling proximity voice chat.
Because the name of the game is cooperation, the satisfaction of meeting (the company) quota with friends and allies is immensely satisfying, or to simply relish in your untimely demise as your friends screams turn into silence, the realistic proximity chat requires you to stick together or at the very least purchase yourselves a walkie-talkie to stay connected.
The game released on Steam as an Early Access title just a month ago but due to the influx of individuals discovering the game, having a blast and posting such hilarious snippets of footage online causing a snowball effect for its popularity.
The game currently stands at around 180,000 concurrent players as a daily peak, rapidly growing by the day however it seems that the game has somewhat plateaued in terms of increased player counts, it shouldn’t simply die off anytime soon that’s for certain.
In terms of overall concurrent players it stands in fifth position, only being beaten out by the likes of Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, PUBG and Apex Legends, all of which are entirely free-to-play live-service games with constant draws of microtransactional bullshit and seasonal content drops. This is merely a $10 horror flick made by a no-name individual who goes by Zeekerss.
Lethal Company now sits second on Valve’s global top sellers list beating out the likes of free-to-play games Counter-Strike 2, Destiny 2 alongside latest trendsetters Call of Duty which despite the deserved criticism continues to be bought by retarded sheep.
Nevertheless, seeing an indie title outselling Call of Duty gives me the slightest amount of hope that there may be salvation for humanity, because Lethal Company is a breath of fresh air as large scale game developers and publishers continually opt to making live-service rubbish to facilitate agendas over actual customer satisfaction.
