Is Co-Op Horror Game REPO the Next Big Thing? Viral Success or Fading Trend?

No matter what happens with Semiwork's co-op hit the horror games lasting popularity on Steam shows the studio knows how to succeed.

As I write this REPO just hit 100,000 reviews on Steam with 96% of them being positive. That’s impressive especially in a time when social media often focuses on outrage. Released in late February REPO is still one of the top ten most played games on Steam nearly two months later. This is a great result for a studio that thought their previous releases might not succeed and expected to fail quickly this time.

REPO is not the first early access game to make more money than expected before its full release. We have seen how these situations can turn out. We have all been disappointed before (I still have not gotten over DayZ) but this multiplayer game does not feel like the type where the developers will just take the money and leave.

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It’s still unclear if the main idea a mix of Phasmophobia Deep Rock Galactic and emojis can keep people interested for years instead of just months. But it is obvious that Semiwork is really passionate about it. A popular comment on their latest update says This is what big game companies wish they had a soul.

While It might not be fair to the many skilled developers working hard at big studios but the point still makes sense. It's hard to picture a big publisher choosing to make a co-op game about putting things in a cart or a major studio approving such a project from its own team.

It is hard to imagine them letting loose with crazy dev diaries like the ones Semiwork has made. These include a talking box called Box Boy a moose fight and scenes where people are thrown onto rooftops. There are also quick jokes that look like they only took a few minutes to film.

These dev diaries are way more fun and well-made than they need to be. All they really have to do is say We released an update. Gravity is now 0.00000002% stronger. But instead they show a group of people who care about the game have ideas and love creating. Big game developers might have the same passion but Semiwork gets to show it.

Good communication from developers is important but the game won’t last if it’s not fun to play. As shown by the 100,000 Steam reviews people enjoy playing it and I don’t think it is just about the games systems or mechanics.

Think of Fall Guys as an example. Imagine you created and launched it then watched in surprise as the world decided it was the biggest thing of summer 2020. During the global lockdown people loved the fun simple game that let them play with 59 others in a silly obstacle course. That's why it became so popular not because of the jelly bean costumes.

When the world started to open up again and Fall Guys large playerbase figured out the best ways to play Mediatonic had two choices: add more minigames and cosmetic items. (Also the Epic deal made it really hard to play on PC.)

REPO is more complex than it seems. It is fun to watch your friends destroy valuable items and criticize them like you are in a funny game. But that’s not why the game became so popular. It is the weirdness of the game world. It’s a strange place where a Taxman uses semi-bots to raid haunted houses and talks only in emojis. The monsters are also odd looking like characters from a kids show but with a creepy twist.

The idea behind the game is interesting maybe a disease turned normal people into monsters and that's why we are controlling bots in their infected homes? This adds depth to the story. The game has many ways it can keep players interested beyond just the fun of moving things around in a quirky physics engine.

We know the Taxman made you, or more specifically the semibots you control during your missions to gather resources. We also know he likes emojis. But what's really interesting are the things we don't know, like who the Taxman really is why he created the semibots what he is doing with the money you are collecting why there are monsters everywhere and what those monsters are or want.

That feeling of discovery works really well with the fun of exploring a creepy place together using features like proximity chat. You also have to deal with things like music boxes that make you spin around uncontrollably bumping into everything.

Of course We can not say for sure if REPO will still be relevant in a year because predicting the games industry is tough. However it's clear that Semiwork has created a solid plan for success whether you are working on a big or small game. Focus on your product add extra detail and worldbuilding stay in touch with your community and maybe include a memorable image like a creepy version of the laughing crying emoji that looks like it is been up for a week drinking white Monster and playing REPO.