Species: Unknown

Species: Unknown is a co-op survival horror game from WanadevStudio built around high-risk missions set aboard a derelict ship haunted by something that very much wants you dead. You play solo or squad up with up to three friends online, scavenging gear, completing objectives, and retreating in a panic when the creature decides it's hungry. The loop is tight and readable: go in, grab what you need, get out alive, upgrade your loadout, repeat. It is the kind of structure that works well for a two-hour session with people you trust to watch your back. The creature-hunt tension is the obvious centrepiece, and when it lands it lands hard. Narrow corridors, unreliable lighting, and audio cues that keep you second-guessing where the threat is coming from all do real work. The gear upgrade system gives longer play sessions a sense of forward momentum, which is important for a horror game that could otherwise feel repetitive once you learn the ship's layout. Early Access status is worth flagging openly: content is limited right now and the experience will grow substantially as updates roll out. From a squad-play angle, the 1-to-4 co-op design holds up well. Communication matters more than raw reflexes, which means a mixed-skill group can still have a genuinely good time without one player carrying everyone else. There is controller support, which is welcome. Split-screen is not present, so the couch crowd is limited to passing a single screen, but online sessions with friends over voice chat scratch the same itch. For the "four friends in a Discord call on a Friday night" use case, this absolutely earns a slot in the rotation. The catch is that Steam review score. Eight percent positive out of nearly eight thousand reviews is a striking number that demands honesty. At the time of writing, something about the current state of the game is landing badly with a large portion of players, whether that is bugs, missing features expected at Early Access launch, or performance issues. The "Very Positive" label sitting next to that figure is a data display quirk, not an endorsement of overall reception. Dig into recent reviews before buying, because the gap between the rating label and the actual percentage is genuinely confusing and you deserve the full picture. If WanadevStudio patches the rough edges and fills out the content, Species: Unknown has a clear identity and a fun core. Right now it is a buy for patient horror co-op fans who enjoy following an Early Access project from the ground up, and a wait-and-see for everyone else. Riley, Scout Team