This game is Genius. It's LIVE LEAK simulator but this game achieves that organically instead of relying on scripted sequences.
I think the game is GENIUS. the game litterally limits your vision with glares from lights, scratches that shine at certain angles, and limited FOV
like jesus ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ christ the helmet you wear in game is perfect because it borders on 'kinna annoying - i can't see enough' without being annoying
this game plays with your vision, it even gimps its own resolution to great effect. the jump scares are ORGANIC instead of scripted.. HAH!! Funny how it took us 12 years and 11 months to put "Amnesia" & "L4D2" together. Raw genius untapped, staring us in the face for more than a decade.
There's a game called 'Duskers' where you use console commands to control robots and open doors. Duskers is punishing with a skill curve few enjoy and LETHAL COMPANY takes this idea and makes controlling things with commands a fun thing ANYONE can do, so players jump right in. Because it's simple & because you ALSO use the terminal to navigate and buy things, it's unbelievably intuitive.
This game is like hero brine simulator, it gives you the same feeling as those hero brine images from 2009, only it's PLAYABLE.
The game makes excellent use of RNG without using it too much.
Sprinting is super fast, YET when you're out of stamina you feel so helpless. You can get lost, you can get separated from everyone. It's GENIUS that sometimes you have to turn off your radio so your friends don't give a monster your position
There's LOADS of goofy things you can do in the game. You can taunt monsters, troll your friends, get someone killed accidentally. You're constantly learning new nuances between monsters and store item. Every trip is different because the goals & stakes are different, the monsters are different, the maps themselves mess with your vision in different ways, and your quota and goals are always different. Players come up with strategies & change them accordingly. Players learn how to be cost efficient with their credits. Players assign buddy systems and follow whoever happens to feel like the leader of the group. The game is small with a modding scene brimming with talent.
i wasn't going to write this much originally, but here we are!

Edit: I still love this game. I'm having so many memorable moments with friends. I never buy into a game's hype because it's always a fad BUT i am SOO HAPPY i did not write this game off as a fad.

Double Edit:
>be lethal company
>give players a truly real sense of uncertainty & vulnerability
>degrading visibility helps to accentuate uncertainty
>players are likely to fumble/run out of time by design to accentuate vulnerability
>wild clutch saves are rare heart pounding scream fests
>EVERYONE LOVES YOU
>players love the uncertainty & vulnerability & rare clutch moments
>players don't like low visibility
>players don't like how inadequate, clunky & inconvenient everything is
>players don't like how difficult clutch plays are to pull off
>players use mods so they can see everything & always be certain
>mods that remove how inadequate, clunky & inconvenient everything is, become popular.
>suddenly players **never** fumble & **never** run out of time
>they're **always** certain & **always** pull off the clutch save
>wild clutch saves become common shrug-worthy banter fuel
>gamers stop playing your goofy crowded minion yipee fart reverb ear ra*pe amongus goku ass
>you're suddenly not as good as the dull AAA games of today
>all of your charm and genius has been squeezed out by dipshi*ts who think running away from monsters is what made you special.