Giant Games' 'Supernatural Operations Team', launched on the 27th, has garnered attention for its content reminiscent of Lethal Company and its charming, unique characters. This is largely due to a combination of factors that make it appealing: it's a party-based co-op game playable for free on mobile, and its casual visuals present a low barrier to entry. Notably, the game gives the impression of being effortlessly enjoyable, thanks to its short playtimes, smooth random matchmaking, and special rewards obtainable through repeated play even without achieving the main objective.

The game begins from the perspective of rookie agents who, having been duped by exaggerated advertisements promising astronomical salaries, apply to a company called 'Supernature Company'. During the tutorial, players gain experience by exploring uncharted ruins filled with all sorts of bizarre monsters and deadly traps. While the initial impression felt similar to the low-risk Lethal Company, we soon realised there are quite a few differences.

The game requires players to collect valuable treasures, deliver them to the company for rewards, and strive for promotions. Rather than a heroic adventure of accumulating wealth and fame, it's no different from the life of a typical office worker obsessed with performance metrics. The fortunate aspect, however, lies in the short play times and the intuitive feedback on achievements.

Explorations, which typically conclude within 15 minutes at most, are settled by the target amount, calculated from the total value of treasures acquired by all party members. The worth of the items you collect directly translates into in-game currency in your inventory, incentivising you to dive into the ruins despite the threat of monster attacks.

When playing solo, carefulness was required to evade monster pursuit, along with nimble movement to gather treasures and meet the target value in the vast ruins. In contrast, playing with friends or new acquaintances offered a relatively lower difficulty where the fun of searching densely for multiple enemies and treasures, and hoarding items, took centre stage. The Korean voice acting, heard before and after the game begins, also added to the immersion.

The ruins, serving as the stage for adventure, impressed with their starkly different atmospheres across regions and difficulty levels. While the low-level ruins feature a more planar terrain and single-level structures, the C-class areas, entered after shedding the 'rookie' tag, present a significantly clearer variety of enemies, wider expanses, and distinct elevation changes, demanding careful stamina management. Notably, the interior of the ruins changed with each stage, and as the difficulty increased, so did the number of enemies patrolling the exterior, keeping you on edge until all rewards were safely stowed.

Fortunately, there are various content elements available to compensate for these randomised aspects. For successful expeditions, players can utilise a diverse range of items, from those aiding in searches to those effective against enemies or even those that restore health to prolong exploration. For instance, night-vision goggles offer superior duration and persistence compared to flashlights, enhancing search comfort, while backpacks expand the limited inventory space, allowing players to carry more items.

A rather unique aspect is the 'weaponry'. While weapons in other co-op survival games are typically used for defence, 'Supernatural Operations Team' allows for a more proactive utilisation. They can be employed diversely depending on enemy characteristics, and particularly with the revolver, the frustration of having to flee is dispelled with a single trigger pull, providing a sense of cathartic firepower.

As you progress through gameplay, the randomly occurring effects occasionally led to more extreme scenarios. For example, a tremendous amount of chicken baskets once appeared within the ruins, and there were moments of head-scratching as enemies swarmed in unexpectedly high numbers, accompanied by a 'Misfortune' message. The way these varied, unpredictable elements are used to regulate the tempo, preventing boredom, was quite impressive.

The funds acquired from surviving expeditions are used in the shop to purchase equipment that enhances survival chances, which can be stored in the inventory beforehand and retrieved when needed. With the aid of these various items, obtaining more treasures in more ruins seems to be the core of 'Supernatural Operations Team'.

The 'Codex', where you can view artifacts obtained through repeated play or monsters encountered in one place, provides separate abilities upon fulfilling certain criteria. This felt like feedback for diligent play, ensuring that even in case of failure, while there might be disappointment, there wasn't a sense of overwhelming loss.

Within 'Supernatural Operations Team', in addition to this type of episodic play, an infinite mode is provided for users familiar with the game to challenge extreme situations with friends. Furthermore, content has been prepared for users who frequently fail expeditions or begin to find stages monotonous. The 'Monster Farm', where you request hired monsters to cultivate and manage crops after purchasing seeds from the shop, along with housing systems and other collection- and decoration-focused content, also warrants attention.