Hazard Levels Beginner Guide — First Crawl Basics

What is the core loop in Hazard Levels?

Wales Interactive markets a simple rhythm: enter unstable rifts, survive, bring back bizarre loot, and fuel the secret brewery under a British pub. The Steam store copy follows the same order: scan for a rift, loot it, survive the creatures, then brew back at the pub.

Your headquarters is The Fox Hole Arms, a traditional pub that hides The Family research facility. Between runs you customize outfits, review intel, mix drinks, or use the jukebox—official copy warns you not to annoy the Landlord.

How does a first rift expedition work?

Official descriptions break the crawl into scouting, entry, looting, and escape:

1. Find an anomaly with the Rift Scanner (state-of-the-art scanner copy on Steam).
2. Deploy a Rift Stabilising Device to tear open an unstable portal.
3. Enter a procedural dimension—biomes, layouts, hazards, and threats change each time.
4. Loot with physics using the Gravity Gauntlet to grab, carry, or throw multiple objects while avoiding creatures.
5. Sell or extract bizarre ingredients (rift stations are mentioned on the store page) and return to the pub before last orders.

Should you play solo or in co-op first?

Either is supported. Steam categories include Single-player and Online Co-op, and marketing repeatedly says solo or up to three friends (1–4 players total).

Co-op adds proximity chat chaos; solo lets you learn scanner pacing and gauntlet juggling without friendly fire from thrown cocktails. Version 1.0 ships Tutorial+ specifically for new players and friends joining on launch day—use it before judging difficulty.

For platform matchmaking and crossplay scope, see our co-op and crossplay guide.

What happens after you survive a crawl?

Successful runs feed the brewing metagame. Hidden Brewdragon’s Secret Brewery (door beside the cash register—see the Fox Hole Arms hub guide) hosts the Brewing Station, order ledgers, and dozens of perk cocktails. Some drinks grant abilities; others cause chaos, and 1.0 lets you throw cocktails at teammates (including gag effects mentioned in the 1.0 patch notes).

The store screenshot above shows a Brewing Station recipe board: each recipe lists ingredients by category (Mineral, Fruit & Veg, Alien). If you want the unlock path only, read how brewing works. If you want the recipe rows we could read from official screenshots, check our cocktail ledger.

What new hazards appear in version 1.0?

Returning players should read Rift Surges explained for instability events (oversized heads, icy floors, inverted worlds) plus new trap rooms. Random surges can hit any rift at any time, so even veterans treat routing as provisional.

What mistakes should beginners avoid?

We only list pitfalls backed by official sources:

• Planning for a bigger party than four. Steam and the developer both say 1–4 players—check your group size before buying for a large Discord server.
• Ignoring audio range. Proximity voice chat is enabled, so teammates who wander far away are harder to hear.
• Skipping the tutorial. The 1.0 launch post adds a fully integrated tutorial and more signage; the developer recap lists a lot that changed since April Early Access (brewing, weapons on the Double Decker bus, the Challenge Room).
• Expecting a static map. Procedural rifts generate new biomes and hazards each run, so layouts you learned will not carry over.

Gear details live in the rift equipment overview. Creature study tools sit in the Rift Bestiary overview.

Store screenshots show how different the rift biomes look from one another:

Hazard Levels 1.0 launch trailer — YouTube

Hazard Levels 1.0 launch trailer

Sources

• Steam store — Hazard Levels (app 1374680) — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374680/Hazard_Levels/ — accessed 2026-11-13
• Steam community news — «Hazard Levels 1.0 is Out Now!» — https://steamcommunity.com/app/1374680/announcements/ — accessed 2026-11-13
• Wales Interactive — Hazard Levels product page — https://www.walesinteractive.com/hazardlevels — accessed 2026-11-13