Lethal Company: Honest Discussion About Early Access

[Luminaris]

Hey everyone,

After spending some time with Lethal Company in early access, I wanted to open up a discussion about what’s working, what’s not, and what we’re hoping to see as the game continues to develop. There’s a lot of potential here, but it’s definitely a mixed bag right now. Let’s dive into it!

1. The Concept – A Solid Foundation
Lethal Company has a really interesting premise. Playing as employees in a shady company, tasked with scavenging and surviving in these eerie, unpredictable environments is a concept that immediately drew me in. The atmosphere is tense, and the cooperative gameplay is definitely a high point. When everything is working as intended, it’s genuinely fun and immersive. There’s a sense of dread in every corner, and the unpredictability keeps you on your toes.

The game’s focus on teamwork is great, and when you’re coordinating with your friends to complete objectives while avoiding dangers, it shines. That said, this potential is often hampered by some glaring issues that keep the game from reaching its full promise right now.

2. Buggy Gameplay – Too Much Frustration
I understand this is early access, but there are more bugs than I was prepared for. From characters getting stuck in the environment to enemies behaving erratically (or not at all), these issues can really pull you out of the experience. One of the most frustrating bugs I’ve encountered is random crashes during gameplay, which makes it difficult to progress without losing your place.

There are also moments when enemy AI doesn’t seem to follow any pattern—it either gets stuck on objects or becomes so overpowered that it feels unfair. If you’re trying to enjoy a strategic or tactical approach to surviving, this inconsistency can make it a challenge for all the wrong reasons.

3. The Atmosphere – Creepy, but Repetitive
The game nails the creepy, unsettling vibe. The environments are dark and atmospheric, and the sound design works well to keep you on edge. However, after a few hours, it starts to feel repetitive. Right now, the variety in environments and objectives is lacking. Most of the locations start to blur together after a while, and without more content, it risks feeling stale pretty quickly.

The horror elements work in short bursts, but I’m hoping the devs introduce more varied maps, new enemies, and additional objectives to keep things fresh. The framework is here, but it just needs more content to keep players engaged in the long run.

4. The AI – Needs Serious Work
Enemy AI is a real mixed bag. At times, they’ll track you down effectively, making for some intense moments of cat-and-mouse gameplay. But other times, they’ll get stuck on walls or objects, or simply not react at all, which breaks the immersion completely. If you’re playing with friends, it can become more of a joke than a challenge, which is fun, but it takes away from the tension the game is trying to build.

In addition, the AI’s behavior can be overly unpredictable in a way that makes the game feel unbalanced. I’ve had moments where enemies were impossibly aggressive, attacking relentlessly without any opportunity to escape. A little more fine-tuning in AI behavior could go a long way toward making the game feel more fair and engaging.

5. Performance Issues – It Needs Optimization
This is where Lethal Company really struggles. Even on higher-end rigs, the game doesn’t run smoothly. I’ve encountered frame rate drops, stuttering, and loading issues that can disrupt the flow of the game. Given that it’s early access, I’m hoping optimization is something the developers are actively working on, but right now, it can be a rough experience, especially in larger areas or during high-action moments.

Some players have reported more severe issues, including frequent crashes and save file corruption, which are obviously deal-breakers for many. While some bugs are expected in early access, performance issues like these can make the game frustrating to play, especially if you’re losing progress.

6. Communication from the Devs – Some Transparency Would Help
One of the things that could improve the situation is clearer communication from the developers. Early access games live and die by how transparent the development process is, and right now, it feels like there’s a bit of radio silence. While patches are coming, more frequent updates or a public roadmap would go a long way toward reassuring players that the issues are being worked on and that there’s a plan for the game’s future.

Without that, it’s easy to feel like the game is stuck in limbo, and for a title with so much potential, it would be a shame for it to lose momentum because of a lack of communication.

Final Thoughts – Can Lethal Company Reach Its Potential?
I want to love Lethal Company. The concept is great, and when it works, it’s a genuinely fun and tense co-op horror experience. But right now, it’s held back by too many bugs, performance issues, and a lack of content variety. Early access is a chance for the game to grow and improve, but it’s going to need some serious attention in these areas if it’s going to hold players' interest.

If the devs can address the major issues—particularly with optimization, AI, and more content variety—this could be a standout co-op horror game. But until then, it’s hard to fully recommend it in its current state unless you’re willing to deal with some frustrating setbacks.

Who else has been playing? What have your experiences been, and what do you think needs to be improved the most?

Hope that clears things up! If you found this discussion helpful, a Steam Award would be much appreciated. 😊✨

[Richard Roe]

the game is made and devloped by 1 person who is currently puting focus on a new working title of their's untill october 31st

they started the project as a way to help out with creative burn out

mainly what we need to do as a community is file together a clear and concise list of fixes for when they come back.

such as addressing bracken door camping or eyeless dogs agro loop when they walk into a company cruiser that's turned off (watching a eyeless dog maul a wreckage for a minute and then just pause for the rest of the day is a massive immersion breaker)

[mathis90200]

We need to improve as a community, some of us have been horrible

My personnal experience :
The best 10 bucks i've spent in my life, i am not kidding

Improvements :
-Reintroduce the fox with a slight nerf (that's what he's going to do anyway)
-More game elements
-An actual lobby system, the current one sucks and is the biggest reason i play using steam invite links with people on discord servers
-An anti-cheat. There's a group of cheaters going around and ruinning your save file. to my knowledge, there's a french group and an english group