Lethal Company Guide#
Lethal Company is a multiplayer co-op horror scavenging game from independent developer Zeekerss, which arrived on PC (Steam) in Early Access in October 2023. You play a contract worker hired by a mysterious company, riding an autopilot ship down to one abandoned moon after another to collect scrap and sell it back to the company, meeting a profit quota that climbs every Quota Cycle — miss the quota, and the company executes you and throws you out into space.
The game’s charm is the chemistry between horror and comedy: four employees shouting to each other in the dark, getting chased into a panic by monsters, and gambling their lives over a few pieces of junk. It is cheap, addictive, and one of the very few co-op games that can make an entire squad scream and laugh at the same time.
Game Overview#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Zeekerss |
| Release date | October 2023 (Early Access) |
| Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Cooperative horror survival |
| Modes | Single-player or up to 4-player co-op |
| Price | Around ¥42 (RMB) |
The Story Behind It#
In the world of Lethal Company, you are employed by a secretive mega-corporation. The company issues you an autopilot ship and a terminal, and sends you to various moons to collect valuable scrap. The planets are riddled with danger — from extreme weather to lethal native creatures — and your employer could not care less; it only cares about the numbers on the report.
The company raises the profit quota every few days, and failing to meet it in time means execution. This cycle of death and quota is the game’s core tension. As for what the company really is, or where the ruins on the moons came from, the game never answers directly — it leaves behind terminal logs and quietly unsettling clues for players to piece together on their own.
The One-Hit Health System#
There is no way to restore health in this game: there are no medkits, the store sells no healing item of any kind, and your health never comes back. Employees effectively run on a one-hit system — the vast majority of predators kill you on a single touch, and only a few large monsters take two. After you take damage the screen reddens and the heartbeat sound grows louder; that is a dying warning, not slack you can push through.
So carve this iron rule into muscle memory: survival is about avoidance, not brawling. The first reaction to danger is always to retreat, hide, or go around — never to walk up and trade blows.
The Day-Night Clock#
The ship lands at 8 a.m. every day, and midnight is the absolute deadline — you must take off and leave the moon before midnight, or the outdoor danger at night escalates sharply; a moon after dark is a different map. Each day’s usable working hours are limited, so leaving daytime for indoor looting and dusk for hauling and extraction is the standard schedule.
The Core Loop#
A full run follows a fixed cycle: pick a moon, land on the surface, enter the building to search for scrap, haul it back to the ship, take off before midnight, sell the scrap for credits, and spend credits on gear and ship upgrades. The whole loop is driven by the quota system — the higher the quota climbs, the deeper you are forced to gamble.
- Preparation: check the weather on each moon at the terminal and pick a suitable target; take stock of the gear aboard the ship.
- Landing and recon: after touching down, confirm the main building entrance and your extraction route, and watch how the outdoor monsters are moving.
- Interior search: enter the facility and loot for scrap, using the scanner to quickly locate high-value items.
- Batch hauling: stage scrap near the exit and carry it back to the ship in unified trips, cutting the number of round trips.
- Settlement: when you want to sell, fly to the Company headquarters, carry the scrap into the building, and place it on the counter to complete the sale; hit the target amount before the quota deadline.
Weather System#
Moons differ from one another mainly through their weather. Note: weather never grants any bonus — it only adds danger. The terminal shows the weather when you pick a moon, and switching to a different moon instead of forcing a landing in bad weather is usually the better deal.
| Weather | Actual effect |
|---|---|
| Clear | No added threat; the ideal working conditions |
| Rainy | Rain comes with lightning strikes; carrying metal scrap outdoors risks drawing lightning |
| Stormy | Lightning strikes even more often; any metal item in your hands is basically a mobile lightning rod |
| Foggy | Visibility drops sharply; outdoor lookout and long-range observation mostly stop working |
| Flooded | Standing water swamps low-lying terrain, squeezing viable routes and escape paths |
| Eclipsed | The most dangerous weather in the game; night monsters pour out in full force even during the day |
Moon System#
The game’s moons are tiered into three risk levels; the higher the risk, the more valuable the scrap — and the nastier the monster lineup.
| Tier | Traits | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | Small maps, few monsters, low-value scrap | Experimentation, Assurance, Vow |
| Medium | Mid-sized maps, more monster variety, moderate scrap value | Offense, March, Adamance |
| Hard | Large maps, high-danger monsters, high-value scrap | Rend, Dine, Titan, Artifice |
Hard moons like Titan are the main source of late-game quota, but one wrong step can end the whole crew. During the early game, practice only on easy moons, and step up the difficulty gradually once you know monster behavior and the hauling rhythm.
The Company System: Quotas and Selling#
Quota mechanics#
Every Quota Cycle the company hands down a profit quota. The initial target is modest, and it climbs every round after that. Remaining days and the target amount are visible on the terminal at any time. Miss the deadline and the game is over — the company throws you out of the airlock in front of your crew.
Selling scrap#
Scrap can only be sold inside the Company building: carry it in, set it on the counter, and the system prices it and books the credit automatically. Be brisk about the handover — the thing behind the counter does not appreciate guests who linger, and ringing the bell too many times will enrage it. Balance selling against continued scavenging; the flight to the Company itself eats into working time.
The store#
The store at the Company building sells gear, tools, and ship upgrades, all settled in credits at fixed prices (occasionally refreshed with random discounts of up to about 80%). There is no equipment locked behind achievements or quests in this game — every tool you can use comes from this store, so plan your spending against the price table below.
Store Item Price List#
| Item | Reference price (credits) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Walkie-talkie | 10-12 | The backbone of team communication once you are beyond proximity voice range |
| Flashlight | 15 | Basic lighting; standard exploration kit |
| Pro Flashlight | 25-28 | Brighter with stronger battery life; the first pick for long expeditions |
| Lockpicker | 20 | Opens locked doors without a key — saves time and lives |
| Shovel | 30 | Melee tool that can repel or even kill some small monsters |
| Stun grenade | 30-40 | Briefly blinds and stuns; an escape tool, not a weapon |
| Extension ladder | 60 | Drops a ladder from the cargo hold to bridge cliffs and high walls |
| Radar booster | 50-60 | Once deployed it becomes a beacon on the terminal radar, easing marking and navigation |
| Boombox | 60 | Plays music to attract or distract monsters; a tactical disruption tool |
| TZP-Inhalant | 80-120 | Boosts movement for a short time; overdosing has side effects |
| Zap gun | 400 | Electrocutes and locks a monster in place, buying teammates an escape window |
| Jetpack | 900 (price went up in v55; previously 700) | Aerial mobility and terrain crossing — lose control on landing and it kills you all the same |
| Spray paint, weed killer, and sundries | 50, 25, and so on | Functional small items; buy as needed |
Ship Upgrades#
| Upgrade | Reference price (credits) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Loud Horn | 100-150 | Sounds the ship’s horn to attract or divert a monster’s attention |
| Signal Translator | 255 | Lets the terminal send custom text messages to crew members |
| Teleporter | 375 | Pulls a crew member on the moon back to the ship instantly — the core life-saving investment |
| Inverse Teleporter | 425 | Randomly teleports someone from the ship back to somewhere on the moon; high risk, high reward |
| Company Cruiser | 370-400 (new in v55) | Hauls cargo and saves legs, but the handling is awful and accidents are constant |
Spending rhythm reference: early on, prioritize a walkie-talkie plus flashlights to stay alive; mid-game, add a lockpicker, stun grenades, and a radar booster for efficiency; once funds are comfortable, move on to the expensive items like the teleporter and jetpack.
Death Rules Explained#
Death checks and consequences#
Employees die to monster attacks, facilities such as mines and turrets, falls, and friendly fire. Because of the one-hit system, death is instantaneous in the vast majority of cases — there is no rescue phase.
- Individual death: the victim drops their carried gear and whatever scrap they were hauling. Teammates must get the body back to the ship before that day’s extraction, or the body and its equipment are lost together.
- Next-day revival: a fallen employee respawns on the ship the next day, but the lost equipment stays lost, and the crew’s firepower takes a round-long step backward.
- Total party wipe: all scrap left on the moon is gone; cargo in the ship’s hold is kept; money already banked is unaffected, and the quota is not reduced because of it.
Managing death risk#
- Reserve extraction time: make the last hour before dark a mandatory withdrawal line — when it arrives, you leave.
- Buddy up in pairs: if a solo player dies, there is nobody to recover the body, and the gear is simply wiped.
- Carry valuables last: move high-value scrap along safe routes, even if it means a longer detour.
- Cut your losses in time: the heavier the load, the slower you move — when retreating, drop low-value items without hesitation. Your life is worth more than the cargo.
Monster Behavior and Counterplay#
The table below only lists behavior patterns and how to avoid them. One more time: outside of a few small monsters, fighting is almost always the wrong choice.
| Monster | Behavior | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Eyeless Dog | Completely blind; locates prey by sound | Stop moving, stay quiet, and crouch-walk around it |
| Bracken | Stalks players and hates being watched | Do not stare at it for long; if it closes in, leave immediately |
| Coil-Head | Freezes while watched; sprints the instant your eyes leave it | One hit kills, so someone must keep eyes on it or seal the corridor |
| Bunker Spider | Spins webs across doorways and ambushes | Detour at the sight of webbing; if it is on you, fight for your life with a shovel |
| Thumper | Charges in a straight line at high speed and turns poorly | Shake the pursuit using corners and doorframes |
| Hoarding bug | Collects scrap and guards its hoard | Leave its collection alone and it leaves you alone |
| Forest Keeper | Outdoor giant predator that swallows employees whole | At the sound of heavy footsteps, get inside a building or clear its patrol area |
| Nutcracker | Scans from a fixed spot; opens fire the moment its gaze lands on you | Move in the gaps between its sweeps and stay out of its line of sight |
| Jester | Winds up over time into a rampage that hunts the whole team | Once you hear its bell, extract as fast as you can — do not linger |
Advanced Survival Tips#
- Navigate by ear: Eyeless Dogs hunt by sound, and moving, opening doors, and talking are all exposures. In dangerous areas, build the habit of standing still and listening before each step; sound is often more reliable than sight.
- Manage the flashlight manually: switch the flashlight on and off as needed once inside a building; do not leave it on. Its light and noise can both draw attention — the Bracken most of all; in the dark, lean on your ears rather than your eyes.
- Counter etiquette: when selling, be brisk and leave promptly; ringing the bell too many times angers the thing behind the counter.
- Leave before sunset: danger spikes as midnight approaches. Keep the last stretch of daylight for hauling and the flight home, and do not gamble your life on one final piece of scrap.
- Manage your load: weight is directly tied to movement speed — the more you carry, the slower you go. On the way out, drop bulky low-value scrap so the whole squad stays light on their feet.
- Knowing monsters beats killing them: memorize each monster’s sounds and behavior patterns; most casualties come from mistaking an unfamiliar monster for harmless scenery.
Beginner Tips#
- Hearing is life: footsteps, breathing, machinery — listen first, walk second.
- Walkie-talkies are mandatory: solo-diving into the facility is the overture to a full team wipe.
- Do not get greedy: one high-value piece of scrap is not worth burying the whole crew.
- Toggle the flashlight on and off: it saves battery and your life.
- Be back on the ship before midnight: the outdoors at night belongs to the monsters.
- People are worth more than cargo: lost gear can be bought again; dead employees do not lower the quota.
- Upgrade the ship’s equipment: the Teleporter is the most cost-effective life insurance in the game.
Final Word#
Lethal Company is a one-of-a-kind game that kneads horror and comedy into the same dough. You may be laughing too hard to breathe as a teammate gets dragged off by a monster, and seconds later scare yourself half to death at a sudden noise in the dark. Remember three things: one hit kills, be back on the ship before midnight, and the quota waits for no one. The rest is up to every night of shouting and screaming with your friends.
This guide is maintained by the NTGame editorial team; last updated in 2026.
Related Games#
- Phasmophobia — co-op horror where poor planning and a shared objective get the whole crew killed
- Escape the Backrooms — co-op horror scavenging built on staying quiet and staying together
- Dead by Daylight — asymmetric horror where reading the threat matters more than fighting it
- Rust — a multiplayer survival game where leaving base to gather resources is a calculated gamble
- Palworld — open-world survival with co-op loops for squads that like shared goals
- Terraria — a 2D sandbox adventure where preparation decides how deep you dare to go
Related Rankings#
Best Co-Op Games · Best Indies 2026 · Best Survival Crafting Games
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner basics, a moon-by-moon guide, the monster bestiary, items and equipment, survival and combat, scavenging strategies, hidden secrets, high-quota challenges, gear builds, and character profiles — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Lethal Company section.
If you read Chinese, the section also carries controls and settings, a full walkthrough, lore and worldview, achievements, an FAQ, practical resources, and the version update log behind the topics listed above.