This Game is Lethal

Hearing your friends' screams silenced by a muffled crunch has never been more horrific than in the new indie hit, Lethal Company. Over the past month, I have had the joy of experiencing the game with many friends and eventually decided that delving into what I think is the reason for its success would be my next blog post. So, let us find out why Lethal Company has succeeded and what we can learn from its success. 

The History of Lethal Company 

Lethal Company is an indie co-op horror game released by Zeekerss on Steam on October 23, 2023. Zeekerss, a seemingly small developer, has only made four other games on Steam, none of which have reached the heights of Lethal Company. However, I believe that the four other games walked so that Lethal Company could run. As you can observe from a brief look at Zeekerss' portfolio on Steam and his Twitter, all of his games and Roblox projects have horror aspects. Each game garners more views, likes, and overall attention as Zeekerss builds upon their previous work noting to his credibility as a developer.  

How was it Marketed? 

So let's take a step back and first look at the marketing of Lethal Company. According to SteamDB, Zeekerss published the Steam page for Lethal Company on July 9th, 2022, roughly a year and a half ago. Up until the release date, the page followers did not exceed 1k. In fact, it wasn't until October that the game obtained over 400 followers. The reason for this influx, I think, can be attributed to the Steam #NextFest, during which the demo for Lethal Company was made public, allowing interest to grow. Immediately, you can see the support for the game exponentially increase. Even Zeekerss admits to this later: “The reaction to Lethal Company has been crazy. It makes me want to go into a mad rush to get more updates out or fix all the bugs, but I know better. Gotta sleep.” To my knowledge, there were not any other marketing moves made by Zeekerss aside from the demo. It's shocking that the game blew up so fast despite the lack of outreach, truly proving that a game's quality is the foundation of its success. 

Why Did Lethal Company Blow Up the Charts? 

Now that we have highlighted the history of the game, let's look at why the game succeeds within its market by first examining its positioning. Considering the game falls under the co-op and horror genres,  Phasmophobia and The Outlast Trials are two good examples that we can use for a comparison due to all three games revolving around group dynamics amidst tense and horrifying settings. However, Lethal Company is significantly more casual compared to the other two games, which I personally think is Lethal Company's unique selling proposition (USP) and why it dominated the charts.

Phasmophobia’s group dynamics are more focused on the objective. With one ghost being the sole monster, and with the success goal centered around the monster, group activities are collective; no one separates for ulterior objectives. Additionally, the objective is complex, requiring a variety of tasks to determine the monster type. Items used to complete said tasks can have some learning curve to them. This is starkly different from Lethal Company, where the objective is spread out. Although working together brings benefits, typically the player will strive off on their own in search of the success goal. Items are not required to complete the objective, and in fact, sometimes it will hinder the success goal if you carry too many, due to the limits placed on player inventory. So what makes Lethal Company more casual than Phasmophobia? Well, thanks to the success goal being so simple compared to Phasmophobia and similar games, it allows new players to dive into the experience faster and understand the core game system immediately.

Having established the accessibility of success goals and player items, which adds to its casual appeal, I believe it's time to delve into an examination of Lethal Company's cooperative features compared to games in the same genre. The Outlast Trials is a great example to look at for co-op objectives and dynamics. During certain missions in The Outlast Trials, players are forced to work together to distract monsters or complete objectives. Without help from others, the difficulty of a mission can become exceedingly high. Communication is essential, along with timing. The pressure of patrolling monsters and requirement for players to use adaptable stealth increases tension and makes success very rewarding, hence why I found the game incredibly fun. However, what is so interesting about Lethal Company is that you don't need to work together at all, which is unique in the horror co-op genre. In fact, there are many times when if you want to save your skin, leaving your friend for the monsters is better. As I mentioned earlier, there is some teamwork to be had within Lethal Company, and such interactions do make for a great experience; however, that is not always the case. Combat against monsters is a lot harder in Lethal Company than in The Outlast Trials. Combat encounters in The Outlast Trials are designed so that players can easily survive or stun the monster through coordination with another player without significant repercussions for failure. In Lethal Company, oftentimes, the most viable strategy is to evade the threat rather than attempt to kill it due to the player’s low HP. There are ways to kill monsters, although it requires items and well timed coordination. It's clear that Lethal Company has created a co-op experience that doesn't require group coordination to complete the objective or survive, but rather only serves to bring interesting dynamics to the players. What does this mean exactly? If the success goal doesn't necessitate co-op, the impact of the experience it offers can undergo a significant transformation, exemplified by Zeekerss' contribution to Lethal Company. Understanding that trolling your friends is an integral part of any horror experience, focusing the co-op experience to be more of a laid back social interaction between players and less of a need, facilitates a comedic dynamic that captivates old and new players alike. After all, hearing your friends scream across the map without you having any clue as to what is going on is probably one of the classics of Lethal Company. 

Modding Makes a Difference 

Although I haven't personally played in a modded run of Lethal Company, I've watched videos showcasing popular mod packs and their influence on the game. I wanted to emphasize the significance of modding in this post as it plays a pivotal role in the game's success. Given that Zeekerss, the sole developer, doesn't frequently update the game, supporting modding proves to be a strategic decision. This approach enables players to swiftly access new content, thereby sustaining high levels of interest in the game. While not all games effectively maintain their vitality through mods, Lethal Company distinguishes itself through its expansive flexibility. This flexibility opens up a diverse range of possibilities for mods, allowing modifications across various facets of the game. Consequently, it facilitates a comprehensive transformation within the game, achieved through simple additions such as extra inventory slots, ship modifications, new monsters, and map changes. When these seemingly minor mods are considered individually, their collective impact is profound, resulting in a refreshing and novel experience for veteran players. 

The Takeaway 

Despite the absence of substantial marketing efforts, Lethal Company has remarkably dominated the charts for over a month, leaving a lasting impact on the landscape of casual co-op games. Its unique selling proposition leverages social dynamics to elicit comedic moments, injecting each run with a sense of uniqueness and captivation. Furthermore, the incorporation of modding introduces boundless possibilities beyond the base game, contributing significantly to the game's longevity and extended playtime. While there's more to explore, such as the game's lore, I believe this encapsulates the extent of my current research and writing capacity before reaching the point of saturation. I trust you found this post enjoyable, and I wish you happy holidays!

Special thanks to Ethan for editing and Soline for waiting patiently for me to finish this post!

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