I went into this expecting a pretty average Lethal Company clone, but this game actually managed to differentiate itself nicely. The physics-based gameplay really changes how the item collection feels (it's not about inventory management anymore, like Lethal Company was), and the enemy avoidance side of the game is more stealth-oriented, which is neat. The fighting minigame at the end of a run is interesting, and helps keep the tone light after a difficult run, and a potentially frustrating loss.

Some criticisms, though:
- Most of the enemies are dealt with in the exact same way: hide under a table and wait for them to leave the room. Sometimes you'll get lucky and never see them again after that. Other times, they can be really annoying and stick around camping you for a while, which is quite frustrating.
- In general, I don't find the enemies in the game right now to be all too interesting. There's not as much variety as you see in Lethal Company or Content Warning. Some enemies are hardly a threat at all (Gnome, Spewer), while some will kill you in one hit (Huntsman), forcing you to wait for them to leave and halting the pace of the game. Some specific enemies have design flaws, too, like the Upscream being able to softlock you if it happens to catch you near unfortunately shaped level geometry.
- The physics-based item carrying can become frustrating - mostly with especially large items, where it's incredibly difficult to fit them through the fairly cramped maps without bumping them against the walls constantly and reducing their value. You could say this is just part of the game's challenge, but it does sometimes make the game more frustrating than fun. At the very least, dragging objects across the ground should not be nearly as liable to damage them; it feels pretty unfair as-is and doesn't make sense physically either.
- Item distribution can be quite inconsistent. Sometimes, a room will have loot scattered everywhere, while other times, you'll find absolutely nothing and will have wasted your time. It would be nice if things were more even.
- Because there's no time limit like in Lethal Company, there's no incentive to ever put yourself in danger. The optimal strategy is to wait for enemies to leave you alone, no matter how long it takes (and it can sometimes take an irritatingly long time!). I think some kind of time limit would be a good idea to promote occasionally playing in a riskier way.
- The levels start to drag after a while, especially once there are three/four extraction points. A time limit would also help with this.
- It's nice that you can respawn other players partway through a round, but it doesn't completely alleviate the problem of having to wait around doing nothing after you die. It was never a big problem in Lethal Company, where the days are short and you can even vote to leave early if necessary, but in R.E.P.O., without a time limit, you can be stuck for ages waiting for a teammate to finish the next extraction point. Plus, if they don't manage to bring your head with them (or, as happened to me once, your head fell in a pit), you don't get to respawn at all. I don't consider it very fun to sit for 10 minutes watching my teammate silently and slowly collect loot. I'm not sure how this problem could be resolved, but as it stands I think it is the biggest issue I have with the game right now.
- Guns are nearly completely useless right now. This isn't really that big of an issue, I just thought I should mention it. You can barely hit anything even a moderate distance away from you. It's kind of funny, actually.

It's easy to compare R.E.P.O. and Lethal Company, as I've done here quite a bit, but they are decently different games that focus on different things. I really love the physics-based gameplay of R.E.P.O., and while it still could stand to be improved, I do think I prefer it to the inventory management of Lethal Company. It's just more engaging.

On the other hand, I much prefer the macro design of Lethal Company. Being able to choose the moon you go to is interesting, and I really like how the fixed outdoors maps are juxtaposed with the random interiors. The game overall has a sense of place that I don't feel R.E.P.O. does. R.E.P.O. feels more abstract and gameplay-focused; I don't really feel like I'm in much of a defined world, especially when I'm suddenly dropped into a blatantly Harry Potter-inspired castle. There's nothing objectively wrong about R.E.P.O.'s approach, but the game's environments and setting don't stand out to me.

I do also prefer Lethal Company's quota system to R.E.P.O.'s level-by-level structure. While death can be devastating in Lethal Company, it doesn't necessarily mean your run is instantly over. If you die early in a quota, there's still a chance to build back up and keep the run going. R.E.P.O. just ends things immediately. Lethal Company's quotas also allow skilled players to build up a surplus of scrap to make later parts of the run easier. While R.E.P.O. does let you extract more items than required to gain extra profit, the benefit gained by doing so is nowhere near what you get by saving scrap in Lethal Company. As long as you survive the level, you're probably fine, and will still have made plenty of money. Plus, because there's no time limit, getting all the items in a level is a matter of patience, and not necessarily skill. Getting everything on a moon in Lethal Company, on the other hand, is extremely difficult - but you're rewarded for your effort.

Honestly, they're both good games. I like both a lot more than Content Warning. I'm not sure Lethal Company would work with R.E.P.O.'s physics-based item collection, and I'm not sure R.E.P.O. would work with Lethal Company's structure. They're both worth playing - you may like one more than the other, or like both for different reasons. I feel I've been a bit harsh in this review, but I tend to do that with games I enjoy. I want to see this game become the best it can possibly be.

Overall, I'd recommend R.E.P.O., though with only three maps and not a ton of enemy variation, I don't think it has nearly as much replay value as Lethal Company does. Considering this is in Early Access right now, though, this is a very strong start. I'm interested to see how this game develops moving forward; the devlogs Semiwork have released over the last few weeks have made me really confident in the game's future, and I'm excited for what's to come. If you've grown bored with Lethal Company and want something similar (and maybe a bit goofier), definitely give this a try.

I went into this expecting a pretty average Lethal Company clone, but this game actually managed to differentiate itself nicely. The physics-based gameplay really changes how the item collection feels (it's not about inventory management anymore, like Lethal Company was), and the enemy avoidance side of the game is more stealth-oriented, which is neat. The fighting minigame at the end of a run is interesting, and helps keep the tone light after a difficult run, and a potentially frustrating loss. Some criticisms, though: - Most of the enemies are dealt with in the exact same way: hide under a table and wait for them to leave the room. Sometimes you'll get lucky and never see them again after that. Other times, they can be really annoying and stick around camping you for a while, which is quite frustrating. - In general, I don't find the enemies in the game right now to be all too interesting. There's not as much variety as you see in Lethal Company or Content Warning. Some enemies are hardly a threat at all (Gnome, Spewer), while some will kill you in one hit (Huntsman), forcing you to wait for them to leave and halting the pace of the game. Some specific enemies have design flaws, too, like the Upscream being able to softlock you if it happens to catch you near unfortunately shaped level geometry. - The physics-based item carrying can become frustrating - mostly with especially large items, where it's incredibly difficult to fit them through the fairly cramped maps without bumping them against the walls constantly and reducing their value. You could say this is just part of the game's challenge, but it does sometimes make the game more frustrating than fun. At the very least, dragging objects across the ground should not be nearly as liable to damage them; it feels pretty unfair as-is and doesn't make sense physically either. - Item distribution can be quite inconsistent. Sometimes, a room will have loot scattered everywhere, while other times, you'll find absolutely nothing and will have wasted your time. It would be nice if things were more even. - Because there's no time limit like in Lethal Company, there's no incentive to ever put yourself in danger. The optimal strategy is to wait for enemies to leave you alone, no matter how long it takes (and it can sometimes take an irritatingly long time!). I think some kind of time limit would be a good idea to promote occasionally playing in a riskier way. - The levels start to drag after a while, especially once there are three/four extraction points. A time limit would also help with this. - It's nice that you can respawn other players partway through a round, but it doesn't completely alleviate the problem of having to wait around doing nothing after you die. It was never a big problem in Lethal Company, where the days are short and you can even vote to leave early if necessary, but in R.E.P.O., without a time limit, you can be stuck for [i]ages[/i] waiting for a teammate to finish the next extraction point. Plus, if they don't manage to bring your head with them (or, as happened to me once, your head fell in a pit), you don't get to respawn at all. I don't consider it very fun to sit for 10 minutes watching my teammate silently and slowly collect loot. I'm not sure how this problem could be resolved, but as it stands I think it is the biggest issue I have with the game right now. - Guns are nearly completely useless right now. This isn't really that big of an issue, I just thought I should mention it. You can barely hit anything even a moderate distance away from you. It's kind of funny, actually. It's easy to compare R.E.P.O. and Lethal Company, as I've done here quite a bit, but they are decently different games that focus on different things. I really love the physics-based gameplay of R.E.P.O., and while it still could stand to be improved, I do think I prefer it to the inventory management of Lethal Company. It's just more engaging. On the other hand, I much prefer the macro design of Lethal Company. Being able to choose the moon you go to is interesting, and I really like how the fixed outdoors maps are juxtaposed with the random interiors. The game overall has a sense of [i]place[/i] that I don't feel R.E.P.O. does. R.E.P.O. feels more abstract and gameplay-focused; I don't really feel like I'm in much of a defined world, especially when I'm suddenly dropped into a blatantly Harry Potter-inspired castle. There's nothing objectively wrong about R.E.P.O.'s approach, but the game's environments and setting don't stand out to me. I do also prefer Lethal Company's quota system to R.E.P.O.'s level-by-level structure. While death can be devastating in Lethal Company, it doesn't necessarily mean your run is instantly over. If you die early in a quota, there's still a chance to build back up and keep the run going. R.E.P.O. just ends things immediately. Lethal Company's quotas also allow skilled players to build up a surplus of scrap to make later parts of the run easier. While R.E.P.O. does let you extract more items than required to gain extra profit, the benefit gained by doing so is nowhere near what you get by saving scrap in Lethal Company. As long as you survive the level, you're probably fine, and will still have made plenty of money. Plus, because there's no time limit, getting all the items in a level is a matter of patience, and not necessarily skill. Getting everything on a moon in Lethal Company, on the other hand, is extremely difficult - but you're rewarded for your effort. Honestly, they're both good games. I like both a lot more than Content Warning. I'm not sure Lethal Company would work with R.E.P.O.'s physics-based item collection, and I'm not sure R.E.P.O. would work with Lethal Company's structure. They're both worth playing - you may like one more than the other, or like both for different reasons. I feel I've been a bit harsh in this review, but I tend to do that with games I enjoy. I want to see this game become the best it can possibly be. Overall, I'd recommend R.E.P.O., though with only three maps and not a ton of enemy variation, I don't think it has nearly as much replay value as Lethal Company does. Considering this is in Early Access right now, though, this is a very strong start. I'm interested to see how this game develops moving forward; the devlogs Semiwork have released over the last few weeks have made me really confident in the game's future, and I'm excited for what's to come. If you've grown bored with Lethal Company and want something similar (and maybe a bit goofier), definitely give this a try.