With Lethal Company and Content Warning, video games might have finally nailed the horror comedy

Outside of maybe rom-coms, horror is probably one of the most diverse genres out there. There’s just so many sub-categories of it, whether it be slashers, supernatural, survival, gothic, folk, sci-fi, fantasy, even Christmas, it has something for every horror fan. One of my favourite subgenres is the horror comedy, which in and of itself has a breadth of titles – Shaun of the Dead, Scream, Evil Dead 2, even American Psycho, none of these films are quite like the other, but they all undeniably an important part of film history.

Importantly, they also all work so well because they’re funny, using comedy as a way to heighten the scares. Laughter makes you feel safe, but the safety is only temporary, only offering a brief reprieve before you s**t yourself at the next jumpscare. Horror comedies are a staple of the genre, but I don’t think it’s one that’s translated all that well to video games just yet. There are horror games that people find funny, like the original Resident Evil, without its awkwardly translated and delivered dialogue (obligatory Jill sandwich reference here), and there are actual horror comedies like Lollipop Chainsaw, though here I think some of the “horror” element is lost.

And then, last year solo developer Zeekerss released Lethal Company, a four player co-op horror game where you scavenge for scrap and do your best to survive both the cryptids that await you and your job itself. Since then I’ve been waiting to see if anyone could replicate Lethal Company’s formula, taking its spirit and turning it into a whole genre itself. Now, with the arrival of instant success Content Warning, I think that video games are finally placing their own stake in the horror comedy.