Mimesis Preview

An enemy type I simultaneously love and loathe in videogames is mimics. As their name entails, these devious creatures appear to be benign items, such as treasure chests or a coffee cup, only to sprout razor-sharp teeth when you get close enough. While the concept itself is unsettling, even worse is the sense of paranoia their simple existence can add. It is this mistrust that Mimesis banks on.

On the surface, the game is very similar to the other extraction looters the market is currently bountiful with, such as R.E.P.O. and Lethal Company: you and up to three friends are tasked with collecting various items in a hostile environment to accrue funds used to meet a monetary goal of some description. You can carry a set number of items, which need to be brought back to your trusty vehicle, and the areas you spelunk are often dark and home to weird, unpredictable creatures.

The plot of Mimesis is simple: one night, a strange rain covered the world. Anyone caught in its waters was changed into something horrid, and those not transformed were quickly overtaken… except you and your team. Finding safety in an old tram car, survivors go from station to station, hunting for scrap to sell and resources to keep their mobile home on the rails.

The general loop of the game is much the same as others in the genre. You travel to a location, embark on a scavenger hunt for scrap, then, hopefully, return to your railbound base to travel onto the next. After every third delve or so, you will visit the maintenance bay, wherein you can use your hard-earned scrap to buy items, wash off the gunk you’ve gathered, and, most importantly, keep your tram running.

You see, your tram is not exactly A-grade and needs continuous, costly repairs, which act as the goal of your run. If you can’t repair the tram, it will fall apart, leaving you with no protection from the toxic rain of the world and leading to the end of the run.

Now, so far, the game is very much like its contemporaries. Where Mimesis differs, however, is in the titular creatures, the Mimesis. If a human succumbs to the toxic rain or simply dies, they change into a violent monster equipped with the ability to copy voices and the memories of the body they inhabit. These beings are absolutely fantastic and equally scary, as they look exactly like other players.

Using recorded dialogue from the players while also acting somewhat like a player, these monsters are honestly brilliant in how unnerving they are! Sure, it’s easy to recognise a Mimesis if you try to talk to them, but they are convincing enough that you do start to doubt who is and is not a threat. If you let a faux friend get too close, they will quickly rush in and strangle you, adding one more to their number.

I think this feature is fantastic, and I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try with your friends if you ever get the chance! However, it should be noted that the game also has the same weakness that most, if not all, titles in the genre have: the people you play with. When played with a group of friends without taking it too seriously, it’s a great time with laughs and frights aplenty, but if you go into it with a mindset of “beating” the mechanics, it may lose some lustre. You need to play into the horror aspect a bit to get the best experience.

In terms of design, the game is an interesting mix of cute and terrifying. Take the player characters, for example: wearing jumpsuits and plague doctor masks with glowing goggles, these little guys are adorable… until you run into one standing still in a dark room. There is definitely a nice balance of whimsy and horror to be found.

The build we had access to had one map for us to explore — an abandoned asylum or schoolhouse — in addition to a few different enemy types to tango with and scrap to find. While it’s not much in terms of variety, and did get repetitive, it was plenty to get to grips with the mechanics and features Mimesis has to offer.

I think the game has a lot of promise, as the core idea is well executed. The Mimesis are believable enough to cause doubt, while the core loop keeps things going. I do think it does have some longevity and replayability issues to figure out before the release, as the genre is infamous for burning bright but fizzling out quickly. If you’re in the market for a spooky, but hilarious, co-op title to scratch that R.E.P.O. itch, Mimesis is definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

Mimesis is set to be released in Q3 2025 on Steam.