If you love horror, you’ve probably tried Lethal Company at least once or seen clips across social media. If you’re unfamiliar with the game, Lethal Company is about heading to abandoned moons with your friends to scavenge for items, hoping to meet the quota within 3 days.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, as you’ll encounter hordes of monsters during your runs. Plus, moon conditions, such as Rainy or Eclipsed, can affect the number of monsters you’ll face and the terrain outside. That’s what makes Lethal Company hectic yet so enjoyable!
Released on Steam in February this year, R.E.P.O (short for The Retrieve, Extract, & Profit Operation) is an online co-op horror game similar to Lethal Company. In this game, you’re transported by truck to various houses to gather valuable items. What sets it apart from Lethal Company is the use of physics.
Players must be careful when holding items and transporting them to the cart or extraction point. This becomes even more difficult when you have to avoid the monsters that lurk in the shadows, making it both funny and frustrating at the same time.
If you’re still on the fence about whether to buy R.E.P.O on Steam and give it a try, here are the top five reasons why you should play:
Simple Objective
R.E.P.O has a straightforward objective: collect items from the house you’re transported to and reach the quota each time. This drew me to Lethal Company, even though I’m usually a nervous wreck with horror games. It’s incredibly satisfying when you complete your objective.
While the main goal is simple, the game throws in random monsters and a map you’ll need to navigate. Luckily, a map feature prevents you from getting lost.
As the game progresses, the number of extraction points and the quota increase, making each level more challenging.
You Can Play With Friends
Perhaps the biggest reason and selling point to play R.E.P.O is that you can play with your friends. My friends and I have been playing Lethal Company for a while, and we’ve been looking for something similar.
At first, we were hesitant to try R.E.P.O because the game looked cuter than scary compared to Lethal Company. Once we start playing, it can get as tense as Lethal Company. This is especially true when others have already died, and you're on a mission to revive them, complete the quota, or even reach the extraction point alone to try and save the run. However, there are threats everywhere that can hinder your success.
The proximity voice chat and how the characters open their mouths when talking are entertaining. This adds to the chaos, as uncontrollable noises picked up by mics can alert the monsters to your presence.
Fun Monsters
In Lethal Company, the monsters can be silly (my favorite being the Bracken and the Little Girl), but they never fail to make us run for our lives—or cry when we encounter them.
In R.E.P.O, the monsters may look cute when you see them in clips or photos, but encountering them in the game will make you freeze in fear, panic, and scramble to hide.
There are currently around 19 monsters in the game with their different attacks and ways to avoid them. Since the game just released, there might be more monsters or tweaks to existing ones in future patches.
Items and Physics
I believe this is one of the game's main selling points. In Lethal Company, you need to pick up items and make them fit your inventory (having item slots from 1 to 4, with some needing to be held and possibly blocking your entire screen, such as the bane of our existence, the tissue rolls pack).
In R.E.P.O, you have to carefully hold the item. While holding an item, you’ll see its value and need to be extra cautious. A wrong move can make the item collide with walls or floors, potentially breaking it or lowering its value, which results in less profit and a tougher time.
You can also place items in the cart to keep them safe while away from the extraction point.
Nearly every item in this horror co-op game is fragile. Smaller items are easier to carry and you can move normally, but larger ones, like vases or computers, require coordination between the players. Even a slight bump can cause an item to hit the walls or floor, reducing its value. Things get even more frustrating when you accidentally drop an item and watch it break, or encounter a monster and need to abandon the item and run.
Randomized and Chaotic Situations
Like in Lethal Company, the game map and monsters you encounter are randomized, so each run feels fresh and unpredictable. You never know what you’ll discover as you work with your friends to meet the quota. Some runs may only have a few monsters, while others can throw them all at you at once!
Maybe it'll get ported to mobile or other platforms due to its popularity, but check out some horror games available on mobile if you only have a phone.
Seeing all the fun monsters and co-op features this game has, I'm sure many players are still looking for other games. If you are hunting for more horror co-op titles to play with friends, check out our list of 7 more PC games to try.