There are plenty of games that ask you to enter dangerous environments, collect valuable resources and somehow make it back alive. There are considerably fewer that send you through an unstable dimensional rift to collect bizarre ingredients for a secret brewery hidden beneath a traditional British pub. Hazard Levels is certainly not short of unusual ideas, and that wonderfully ridiculous premise is arguably its greatest strength. Developed and published by Wales Interactive, this cooperative survival horror adventure takes the familiar extraction formula, throws in physics-driven looting, otherworldly creatures and experimental drinks, then gives the whole thing a distinctly British sense of humour.
The basic idea is deliciously simple. Players work alone or alongside up to three friends, venturing into unstable rifts to gather strange ingredients and valuable objects before returning to safety. However, these expeditions are anything but straightforward, with procedurally generated environments, unpredictable hazards and creatures waiting to make life difficult. The deeper you venture, the stranger and more dangerous things become, meaning every decision carries a little more weight. You might arrive with a shopping list and the best intentions, but there is no guarantee you will return with everything you set out to collect.
What makes Hazard Levels particularly interesting is that it does not rely on conventional shooting mechanics to deliver its chaos. Instead, much of the experience revolves around the Gravity Gauntlet, a device that allows players to grab, carry, stack and throw objects using physics-based interactions. It is an unusual approach that gives the game an identity of its own, while creating plenty of opportunities for both hilarious accidents and genuinely tense situations. Beneath the eccentricity, there is a surprisingly compelling survival experience built around risk, teamwork and knowing when it is time to head home.
The Gravity Gauntlet Changes Everything
The Gravity Gauntlet is arguably the most important piece of equipment in Hazard Levels, and it is also the mechanic that sets the game apart from more traditional extraction adventures. Rather than simply walking around collecting objects through conventional inventory interactions, players can manipulate multiple items using the gauntlet. This turns gathering resources into something much more physical, requiring care when transporting valuable ingredients through dangerous environments.
There is something inherently entertaining about trying to manage a collection of strange objects while creatures lurk nearby. Carrying several items at once might seem like an efficient way to maximise a trip, but the more you attempt to transport, the more complicated things can become. Objects need to be handled carefully, and the physics-driven nature of the system creates situations where a seemingly straightforward collection run can quickly descend into chaos. A valuable ingredient becoming separated from the group at the worst possible moment is exactly the sort of problem that can turn a successful expedition into a disaster.
The ability to throw objects also gives the gauntlet a useful role beyond simple resource gathering. It encourages experimentation and creates opportunities to interact with the environment in ways that feel more immediate than traditional inventory management. The system is not necessarily about mastering complicated controls, but about understanding how to make the most of the equipment available while keeping an eye on everything happening around you.
Of course, physics-based mechanics can occasionally be unpredictable, particularly when several players are trying to manipulate objects simultaneously. There is a fine line between amusing chaos and frustration when items do not behave quite as expected, and the occasional clipping or multiplayer synchronisation issue can interrupt the flow of an expedition. Nevertheless, the Gravity Gauntlet is a genuinely inventive alternative to the usual approach, and it gives Hazard Levels a gameplay hook that is easy to remember.
Every Rift Is a Different Kind of Nightmare
Procedural generation is another important part of the experience. Each expedition takes players into a dimension with its own combination of biomes, shifting layouts, hazards and escalating threats. This keeps exploration unpredictable, because learning one environment does not necessarily mean knowing what to expect on the next visit. Rather than following a fixed route, players need to adapt to the conditions they encounter and make decisions based on the resources available.
The changing environments also reinforce the feeling that these rifts are unstable places that should not be taken lightly. You are not simply entering another level, clearing out a collection of enemies and moving on. There is an underlying sense of uncertainty, particularly as expeditions become more dangerous the further you venture. The promise of better ingredients and potentially more valuable resources encourages players to take risks, but there is always the possibility that greed will leave the entire team in trouble.
This risk-and-reward structure is essential to the game’s appeal. Do you continue exploring in the hope of finding something particularly valuable, or do you turn around while everyone is still relatively safe? It is a question that becomes increasingly important when the group has already collected a worthwhile haul. One more room might contain exactly what you need, but it might also contain something considerably less welcoming.
The Rift Scanner and Rift Stabilising Device provide the means to locate anomalies and open portals into these strange dimensions. They help establish a sense of preparation before each expedition, making the process feel like a deliberate operation rather than simply selecting another mission from a menu. There is a satisfying rhythm to identifying a suitable anomaly, opening a portal and stepping into the unknown. It gives the game a clear structure while leaving plenty of room for unexpected encounters once the team is through.
Monsters, Mayhem and Knowing When to Run
Survival is a central part of Hazard Levels, and the creatures inhabiting the rifts provide much of the tension. These are not environments where players can simply wander without paying attention to their surroundings. Threats need to be studied, their behaviour understood and their weaknesses considered before deciding how to approach an encounter. Sometimes fighting is the sensible option, while at other times keeping your distance is likely to be the wiser decision.
This emphasis on judgement gives the expeditions a welcome sense of vulnerability. Players are encouraged to consider their available equipment and the potential consequences of engaging with something dangerous. A confrontation might be manageable when the entire group is together, but a separated teammate can quickly find themselves in a much more uncomfortable situation. The tension comes from knowing that even a successful encounter can cost valuable time and resources.
There is also an enjoyable contrast between the game’s horror elements and its more ridiculous mechanics. One moment, players might be cautiously exploring a dark environment, listening for signs of something approaching. The next, somebody might be frantically trying to retrieve a pile of ingredients after an unfortunate encounter has scattered everything across the floor. Hazard Levels understands that cooperative horror can be just as entertaining when things go wrong as when they go right.
The proximity voice chat is particularly well suited to this approach. Communication becomes part of the atmosphere, with teammates’ voices fading as they move away from one another. A warning shouted from a nearby corridor can provide a genuinely useful moment of tension, while a voice suddenly disappearing during an encounter can be considerably more concerning. It also creates the potential for some wonderfully memorable multiplayer moments, particularly when everyone is trying to explain what has just happened.
A Secret Brewery Beneath a British Pub
The Fox Hole Arms is one of Hazard Levels’ most distinctive ideas. Rather than a conventional military base or futuristic research facility, the game places its secret operations beneath a traditional British pub. It is an inspired setting that gives the experience a personality beyond its extraction mechanics, providing a welcome contrast to the unsettling dimensions players must explore.
The pub serves as a place to regroup, prepare for another expedition and make use of ingredients collected during previous runs. Its secret brewery is where the real eccentricity comes into play, allowing players to turn their otherworldly discoveries into special drinks. Completing brewing orders and increasing the potency of these concoctions provide another reason to collect resources, giving even the strangest ingredients a practical purpose.
The drinks themselves can grant powerful abilities, but not everything that comes out of the brewery is necessarily helpful. Some concoctions introduce chaotic side effects, an entertaining extension of the game’s willingness to embrace unpredictability. The idea of preparing for a dangerous expedition by drinking something brewed from bizarre dimensional ingredients is wonderfully absurd, especially when the resulting effects might make the next mission considerably more complicated.
There are additional activities to enjoy between expeditions, including customising outfits, reviewing mission information, mixing perk drinks and spending a little time around the pub. The jukebox is another nice touch, helping establish the Fox Hole Arms as somewhere players can actually enjoy returning to rather than simply treating it as a functional menu. The Landlord also adds a little personality to the setting, with the warning not to annoy him adding to the pub’s eccentric atmosphere.
This hub is arguably one of the game’s strongest features because it creates a memorable identity. Plenty of cooperative horror games have safe rooms, but considerably fewer have a secret research facility beneath a British pub where the next round of experimental drinks might be just as dangerous as the creatures waiting beyond the portal.
Cooperative Chaos Is the Real Attraction
Hazard Levels supports between one and four players, offering flexibility for different groups. However, its mechanics and overall design clearly have their greatest potential when enjoyed cooperatively. Coordinating resource collection, watching for threats and deciding when to extract all become more interesting when several people are involved. The proximity chat adds another dimension, making communication feel like a natural part of the world rather than simply another multiplayer feature.
There is a particular pleasure in watching a group develop its own approach to an expedition. One player might concentrate on collecting ingredients, another might keep an eye on potential threats, while somebody else attempts to organise the increasingly precarious collection of objects the team is carrying. These roles do not necessarily need to be formally assigned, but the opportunity for players to develop their own routines gives each group room to create its own stories.
Naturally, things rarely go entirely to plan. Somebody will inevitably wander off, another player will become distracted by something valuable, and the person insisting that everyone should leave immediately will probably be ignored. These are the situations that make cooperative games memorable, and Hazard Levels has plenty of ingredients for creating them.
Solo play is available, which is welcome, but it does not seem to offer quite the same appeal as taking a group into the rifts. Much of the game’s personality comes from shared discoveries, frantic communication and the unpredictable interactions between players and physics-based objects. Those looking primarily for a solitary survival horror experience may find that the game’s strongest qualities are less apparent when playing alone. It is certainly good to have the option, but this is a game that feels most comfortable with a full crew.
Atmosphere, Presentation and British Personality
The visual contrast between the Fox Hole Arms and the rift dimensions is an effective part of the presentation. The pub offers a familiar, relatively comfortable environment, while the otherworldly locations introduce a much stranger atmosphere. This contrast helps establish the game’s identity and makes the transition between preparation and exploration feel more significant.
The audio design also plays an important role in creating tension. Ambient noise, distant creature sounds and the sense of something lurking beyond the player’s immediate view make the rifts feel uncomfortable places to explore. Proximity chat builds on this by making communication less predictable, particularly when teammates move apart. Returning to the pub brings a welcome change of pace, with the more familiar sounds of the hub providing some relief after a difficult expedition.
The British pub setting deserves particular credit for giving Hazard Levels a distinctive tone. There is an enjoyable absurdity in combining traditional pub culture with secret research operations, dimensional anomalies and experimental brewing. It could easily have felt like a collection of unrelated ideas, but the brewery provides a natural connection between resource gathering and hub activities. The result is a game that knows how ridiculous its premise is without allowing the humour to completely undermine the horror.
Verdict
Hazard Levels is a wonderfully inventive cooperative survival horror experience that deserves credit for trying something different with the extraction formula. The Gravity Gauntlet gives resource gathering a physical, unpredictable edge, while procedural rifts encourage exploration and make every expedition feel like a fresh gamble. The creatures pose genuine danger, and the need to decide when to fight, when to collect and when to head home creates an enjoyable sense of tension.
Its greatest achievement, however, is its personality. The Fox Hole Arms and its secret brewery are fantastic additions, giving the game a memorable setting that sets it apart from more conventional multiplayer horror adventures. Turning strange ingredients into experimental drinks is an entertaining progression system, while proximity voice chat helps create the kind of chaotic situations that friends will still be laughing about long after an expedition has ended.
There are some rough edges. Physics interactions and multiplayer synchronisation can occasionally interrupt the experience, while solo players may find the game loses some of its appeal without the shared chaos of a group. Nevertheless, these issues do not overshadow the creativity behind the central concept.
Wales Interactive has delivered something that feels refreshingly different, combining tense exploration with ridiculous physics, strange creatures and a distinctly British sense of humour. Hazard Levels is at its best when played with friends, particularly when a carefully planned expedition collapses into a desperate scramble to get everyone back before last orders. Just remember to bring the ingredients, keep an eye on your teammates and, whatever you do, don’t upset the Landlord.
