The “Quota Horror” genre, popularized by the meteoric rise of Lethal Company, has spawned a fascinating sub-genre of co-op survival games. The formula is simple but effective: you are an expendable employee, the environment wants you dead, and the Corporation demands profit. Planet Hoarders, the debut title from indie developer Imago Games, enters this crowded arena with a twisted proposition. What if, instead of scavenging scrap metal, your job were to kidnap adorable alien wildlife with a mallet?
Released into Early Access on December 17, 2025, Planet Hoarders mixes the aesthetic of a creature collector with the tension of a dungeon crawler. It’s a game where you coo at a fuzzy little alien one second, and frantically smash it over the head the next because your oxygen is running out and something with too many teeth is breathing down your neck.
After spending a few shifts as a vat-grown replicant, trying to meet my quota while hiding disguised as a literal cube, it’s clear that Planet Hoarders has a hilarious, chaotic heart, even if it’s currently buried under a layer of Early Access jank.
The Job: Bonk, Bag, and Run
The premise is delightfully dark. You are a replicant, grown by “The Corporation” for the sole purpose of venturing onto dangerous planets to collect local fauna. These aren’t just any animals; they are undeniably cute critters that squeak and bounce. Your tool of the trade? A large hammer.
The gameplay loop will be familiar to fans of the genre. You land on a planet, enter a procedurally generated dungeon, and hunt for loot—in this case, living creatures. The mechanic for “collecting” is simple: you whack the creature to stun it, then bag it up. As one Steam reviewer aptly put it, “Hitting cute little critters with a hammer is diabolical.”
It creates a tonal whiplash that is genuinely funny. You and your friends are essentially intergalactic poachers working a 9-to-5. But the planets fight back. While you are chasing a two-headed bunny, distinct monsters are hunting you.
Survival of the Fittest (or the Quietest)
The horror elements in Planet Hoarders are surprisingly robust. The dungeons are dark, atmospheric, and filled with entities that do not want to be bagged. The game features a variety of monster archetypes—some hunt by sound, others stalk you silently, and some just rush you down the moment they see you.
This is where the game’s unique defensive mechanic comes into play: Prop Transformation. If you are too scared to run or fight, you can literally turn into a cube. In this form, enemies might ignore you, mistaking you for dungeon debris.
This mechanic leads to some of the game’s best moments. In one run, my teammate panicked, turned into a cube, and I had to physically pick him up and carry him back to the ship while being chased by a shadow demon. It adds a layer of physical comedy to the horror, distinguishing it from its peers. You aren’t just saving your friend; you are hauling them like luggage.
Corporate Chaos: Co-Op and Comms
Like any good quota game, Planet Hoarders shines in multiplayer. It supports up to four players with proximity chat and walkie-talkies. The spatial audio is crucial, not just for coordination, but for the comedy of hearing your friend’s scream cut off abruptly as they get snatched into the dark.
Teamwork is enforced through environmental puzzles and carry mechanics. Some cargo requires two people to move efficiently. The game also promises future “teamwork features” like carrying explosive barrels, which sounds like a recipe for friendly fire disasters (in the best way possible).
However, the multiplayer experience is currently the source of the Early Access “mixed” rating. Players have reported choppy connections and synchronization issues that cause them to lose control of their screens. It’s a bumpy ride right now, and if you don’t have a high tolerance for lag or bugs, you might want to wait for a few patches.
The Early Access Struggle
Planet Hoarders is undeniably rough around the edges. With only a handful of reviews sitting at a “Mixed” rating, the game is in a delicate state. The primary complaints revolve around a lack of polish and clarity.
One significant issue highlighted by players involves the Headquarters (HQ) loop. After meeting a quota, players return to HQ to deposit their goods. However, the mechanics for this were initially unclear. Players found themselves shoving creatures into a vending machine with no feedback, unsure if they were actually progressing. One user recounted getting stuck in a “diagnostic capsule” that essentially soft-locked their game.
To the developer’s credit, Imago Games is extremely active and responsive. The developer replied directly to that negative review, explaining the mechanics and immediately uploading a patch (version 0.11.5) to fix the confusion and the capsule bug. They admitted, “Quota completion just isn’t very apparent right now,” and promised to include a large quota board in the next update. This level of transparency and speed in addressing feedback is a promising sign for the game’s future.
The Future of the Corporation
The roadmap for Planet Hoarders is ambitious. The developer plans to keep the game in Early Access for 12 to 18 months. Planned features include:
- New Biomes: Green tropics, office themes, and castle dungeons.
- Story Events: Moral decisions regarding the Corporation and the truth behind your replicant nature.
- Surface Events: Weather systems and interactable scanners.
- Upgrades: More movement options and hammer upgrades.
Currently, there are 5 planets, 10+ critters, and 10+ monsters. It’s a decent foundation for $7.99, but it needs variety to sustain long-term play. The developer has also noted that the price will increase with the 1.0 release, making now the cheapest time to jump in if you believe in the vision.
Planet Hoarders is a diamond in the rough—or perhaps a cute alien bunny in a very dark, very buggy cave. It takes the Lethal Company formula and injects it with a “Creature Collector” twist, creating hilarious moral dissonance. Turning into a box to hide from monsters while your friends scream over walkie-talkies is a peak co-op experience.
However, the technical gremlins are real. The UI needs work, the multiplayer stability needs tightening, and the gameplay loop needs more signposting. But for the price of a sandwich, it offers a distinct flavor of chaos that is well worth experiencing with a group of patient friends.
The Corporation doesn’t care if the game is buggy; the Corporation only cares about the quota. Do you?
| The Good | The Bad |
| Hilarious Concept: Catching cute critters in a horror setting creates a funny, dark tone. | Lack of Polish: Multiplayer lag, choppy movement, and bugs are currently common. |
| Prop Transformation: Turning into a cube to hide (or be carried) is a brilliant mechanic. | Unclear UI: The quota submission process at HQ is confusing and lacks feedback (though a fix is incoming). |
| Atmosphere: Procedurally generated dungeons offer a good mix of spooky and sci-fi. | Soft-locks: Bugs involving environmental interaction (like the diagnostic capsules) can ruin a run. |
| Developer Activity: The dev is quick to respond to feedback and push hotfixes. | Low Player Count: With very few active players, you need to bring your own friends; public matchmaking is empty. |
| Price: At $7.99, it is an accessible entry point for a co-op party game. |
Planet Hoarders: Planet Hoarders is a chaotic, funny, and tense co-op horror game that successfully puts a new spin on the quota-gathering genre. The mechanic of bonking cute animals and turning into a cube for stealth is genuinely fresh. However, it is currently held back by significant Early Access jank, including unclear objectives and multiplayer instability. It’s a "wait and see" for solo players, but a "buy for the laughs" for adventurous co-op groups. – Flare