What is Meccha Chameleon? Everything you need to know about Steam's latest hit

It’s that time again: another “friendslop” game is taking Steam by storm. Meccha Chameleon comes from Japan-based developer lemorion_1224. At the time of writing, it has peaked at more than 200,000 concurrent players, according to SteamDB. It’s also sold more than two million units as of June 15, and made nearly $10 million in the process. Clips of it are going viral on social media, showing players camouflaging themselves against the environment.

What is Meccha Chameleon?

That’s essentially what Meccha Chameleon boils down to: when the round starts, players must hide somewhere within the level. The twist is that the hiders are able to paint themselves to blend into whatever they’re next to, like a chameleon can change its colors in real life.

Meccha Chameleon shares plenty of traits with Prop Hunt, the party game that originally began life as a mode in Garry’s Mod before spreading to other online games, such as Call of Duty. Some players begin the match as hunters, while the chameleons hide. Once discovered, chameleons become hunters. If the setting is toggled by the server host, hiders will periodically whistle to give the hunters a hint to their location.

Image: lemorion_1224

The painting element adds another layer to the game for the chameleons because the more artistically talented you are, the more effectively you can hide. There are some plain surfaces, such as walls, which allow you to coat yourself in one shade, but due to shadows and the 3D model of your character, hunters will find you fairly easily.

However, if you’re capable of blending in with a complex design, such as a painting or patterned wallpaper, you become less obvious. Hunters aren’t as likely to spot you there, because surely nobody could mimic such a finicky design, and you’ll camouflage better overall. If you’re not quite the next coming of Vincent van Gogh, look for dark spots on the map, crevices and the like to stand the best chance of survival.

Meccha Chameleon price and platforms

Image: lemorion_1224

Meccha Chameleon is on the rise right now, just like other “friendslop” games that have succeeded over the last couple of years, such as Peak, Lethal Company, and REPO. The novelty of the painting mechanic may eventually wear off, but for the time being, it’s a cheap laugh with some mates at just $5.99 USD. It’s also only available on Steam, with no sign of a console release any time soon.