ACM Studio League of Analysts Review Lethal Company

This January, ACM Studio League of Analysts played Lethal Company, a multiplayer co-op survival horror game released in 2023. At our January meeting, we discussed our thoughts about the game, and formed our collective review.

In case you haven’t played, players in Lethal Company collect and sell items found on various exomoons and must reach a quota set by “The Company”. In the process of finding these items, players must avoid various absurd traps and monsters, which range from silly to terrifying. Solo-developed by Zeekerss, Lethal Company utilizes proximity chat and other gameplay features to create a unique single player and multiplayer experience.

What makes Lethal Company uniquely enjoyable?

Dual Play Patterns

Most of Lethal Company is spent in the abandoned facilities looking for items, which are labyrinthine dungeons filled with traps and monsters. Players can enter alone, venturing deeper, or take their time huddled in groups. Both of these play patterns have their motivations, as traveling split up can mean more items to reach the quota, while traveling in packs can be safer, but slower.

Lethal Company feels very different when played alone or in groups. Without your friends, the game shows its true nature as a horror experience, hearing nothing but the sound of your footsteps echoing through the corridors of the abandoned locations. This is further exemplified in the ghost girl monster, which only appears for one player at a time.

Certain game elements are clearly intentioned to promote teamwork, such as the beehive, which can be tag-teamed to bring in a hefty paycheck. Additionally, repeatedly ringing the bell at the shop can trigger a tentacle monster, which swallows the player. This can lead to a behavior where one experienced player tells a newer player to hit the bell until they find surprise, leading to their death. We discussed whether this was intended or emergent behavior, and decided that it was intentional, and implemented to promote the same “watch your friends die” experience.

Additionally, much of the absurdity of the game is best shared in the company of others. The monsters are wacky, as are the characters and actions, and this is best shared together. While moving from planet to planet, time can be spent dancing with others, or you can often see your teammates running back carrying the floppy body of another teammate. This absurdity lends itself to laughter and lighthearted fun, which softens the horror experience further when not playing alone.

Together, the two patterns of play make for a fun experience that changes throughout each session and depends on the group you play with. While we agreed on this aspect, there were other elements of Lethal Company for which we had criticism.

What critiques do we have?

Weaker Elements

We found a few weaker elements of the game had to do with the revealing of information over time. Lethal Company has some pretty absurd monsters, and some deaths feel more deserved than others. However, we felt that Lethal Company does not do a great job reveal information about its monsters, and many deaths can feel like knowledge checks with no easy way to gain access to the knowledge required to survive.

We agreed that a useful change could be tips or hints upon death that lead the player to solve the problem that killed them, like giving a hint to handling certain monsters or traps. While the console gives information through the bestiary, you must scan a monster to learn about them. Perhaps a message could show after death saying “scan [monster] for information”, or something like this.

In creating our own games, we agreed that learning from these shortcomings is incredibly useful. Providing hints, directly or indirectly, can help prevent players from thinking experiences are unfair or confusing. However, you don’t always have to provide information before things happen, as this promotes trial and error often necessary for a fun gameplay experience.

Final Review

Final Thoughts + Verdict

Overall, Lethal Company was a great first game for League of Analysts, and we had a great time meeting and conversing about the game. Look forward to more LOA reviews in the future, found on the ACM Studio website.

Andrew Douglas