7 Minutes in Hell, the latest co-op horror on Steam, wants you to scream over proximity chat.

Videogame developers don't let us forget when a format works: After hits like Phasmophobia or Lethal Company, four player co-op games are the genre of the moment--at least next to extraction shooters--and now we get a new game about as often Tim Sweeney uses the word "metaverse." The latest is 7 Minutes in Hell, which just released in early access on Steam and challenges up to four players to escape procedurally-generated death mazes with as much cash as they can pick up along the way.

Last week, I played 7 Minutes In Hell with PC Gamer's Chris Livingston, Andy Chalk, and myself. My initial reaction was that it had good potential for the'making Discord friends laugh/scream genre', but could have done better to differentiate itself from its competitors.

You and your friends play a deadly game and after buying supplies, like extra batteries for your flashlights you rush into a maze. You have seven minutes to find your way out while avoiding traps such as circular saws and, according to our experience, annoying spiders who are surprisingly resistant when bashed with sticks. (Things get more difficult the longer you play and the screenshots of Steam show scarier monsters than spiders.)

Chris's act of acting on intrusive thoughts was also dangerous. He jumped into the meat grinder, which, as one would expect, killed him. The good news is the seven-minute time limit ensures that players who are not able to be revived never have to wait long. It would have also created some tension if we had been able to find the maze's exit with enough time to spare. We could have run back to the labyrinth in search of more loot or cash, risking our lives by spider, saw, or poison gas, rather than counting our lucky stars and returning to the lobby.

One thing I look out for in a sim-like game is immersive logic. If I combine items in a certain way, does it actually do anything? I didn't find any surprises in my short session with 7 Minutes In Hell. The best I could do was pick up a Boombox and walk around unhelpfully, playing beats. But the developers claim that anticipating players' whims is part of their philosophy. If you put a rock in the grinder instead of Chris, it will apparently produce gems.

Half-Dead 2 is a 2019 game that has a similar premise. However, it was heavily inspired by Cube 2: Hypercube. A fun group of people can make these games enjoyable, no matter how unrefined.

7 Minutes in Hell looks pretty bland, even in a genre that is known for its crudeness. It's difficult to predict which games will be popular and which won't. But my gut tells me that this one, unless it's a big streamer, needs to do more to stand out from the other options like Murky Divers and Phasmophobia.

Gaggle Studios has plans to add new items and objects that can be interacted with over the next few months. They also plan to add a new area, more monsters and mod support. The studio released Goose Goose Duck in the past, a game similar to Among Us that was well received on Steam. It has a rating of "Very Positive".