Roughhousing is a 4-player co-op horror-comedy game set in a 1970s grindhouse aesthetic. Players control teenagers who break into haunted locations to vandalize the environment, loot valuables, and attempt to escape alive. The game combines physics-based environmental destruction with deduction and betrayal mechanics across three main pillars: Destruction: Players earn experience points by causing creative, chained, and spectacular damage to the environment, such as smashing furniture and setting fires. Deduction: Instead of passively gathering evidence, players actively summon entities through specific reckless actions. Players must deduce which combination of behaviors triggers rare entities to fill out the "Spectredex"—a collection-by-summoning bestiary featuring a deterministic gate with a probabilistic unlock system. Deception: Players can deliberately sabotage their teammates by crafting and distributing identical, tainted items (such as rigged cigarettes or spiked drinks). The game features a gritty, retro visual style influenced by 1970s exploitation cinema, utilizing crushed shadows, tungsten lighting, and period-accurate grime.
