Everyone has games that live in their head even years after they finished playing them. For me, I have always loved cooperative games. Portal 2 and A Way Out standout as some of my favorites, but I wish there were more great co-op games. The one that always stuck in my mind, though, was Left 4 Dead. Like so many other Valve games that never retrieved that fabled third main entry, Left 4 Dead has always been a game I loved playing. One night in 2009, my friend Robert stayed the night at my place. At the time, I was still pretty new to my Xbox 360. I really only had a couple of games I was playing and didn’t have much of a broader sense for games that weren’t Nintendo-related. Robert and I were big zombie fans, though. When he told me he had a new zombie game for me to try out, I was interested.
Zombie slaying at its finest
Throughout that entire night, I remember becoming completely absorbed in the frantic action of the first Left 4 Dead. Playing splitscreen as we ran through the No Mercy campaign had zombies being thrown at me from every direction. The gargled grunts of an encroaching Boomer and piercing screams of the springing Hunter filled me with both dread and excitement and encapsulated the ideal sleepover a kid could have with their best friend. We were two kids ready to take on the zombie apocalypse. Me, playing as the scared-out-of-his-mind Louis, and Robert spouting off everything he hated in the world like Francis.
The thing I appreciated the most about Left 4 Dead is its simple concept that never became dull even after dozens of replays. You started at point A and needed to reach point B with as many teammates alive as possible, but it was how each run changed dynamically that kept things fresh. The AI Director worked brilliantly at making sure every run felt different. By today’s standards, the changes weren’t anything groundbreaking, but having the horde attacks decided by how well you were doing to that point was a really good idea for difficulty management.
The focus on teamwork was what truly made the game stand out to me, though. Having someone you could rely on to help you when you were trapped by a special zombie or laugh with when they got catapulted off a tower by a Tank was truly a unique experience at the time for me. To that point, I only looked at video games as solo experiences or competitive matches when friends were involved. “Teamwork” was a new concept in gaming for me.
By the time that Left 4 Dead came out, I wasn’t quite ready for the many improvements the sequelhoused. While there is a lot of familiarity between the two games, the sequel made many improvements. Melee weapons could take the spot of pistols and, at the time, felt like the deadliest tool in all of gaming. The Spitter and Charger added new threats to deal with, while the other new special infected, the Jockey, truly freaked me out when it leaped on my face. These new additions also added a new layer of planning when you played Versus, which let two teams of four compete as survivors and special infected to see who could make their way through the level further. The amount of satisfaction that came with a perfectly executed ambush involving all members of your team is a high that I’ve only seen Overwatch replicate.
The focus on team play in Left 4 Dead makes the game as good as it is. While it’s possible to be a rogue agent and make it to the next safe room on your own, one slip up will have you captured by a special infected and at the mercy of your team. That reliance on each other to not only win but survive makes the game so addicting to me.
Imitators need to be quicker to keep up with these running zombies
In the years following Left 4 Dead 2’s release, I was always holding out hope for a third entry. While I would happily welcome Portal 3, and I know the vast majority of Valve fans’ wishes for Half-Life 3, Left 4 Dead 3 has always been my personal holy grail. Unfortunately, I never got that. That’s not to say that Left 4 Dead 2 was short on content. Over time, the game received all of the campaigns from the first game, plus new originals. Even a few community maps were officially recognized by Valve and incorporated into the main game, which is a rare occurrence even today.
Instead, I am stuck looking at games that try to emulate the Left 4 Dead experience. Back 4 Blood is obviously the main one, given that Turtle Rock Studios is the company that developed the first Left 4 Dead. It had its warts, but I felt the game really was as close as I could get to what I am looking for in a cooperative shooter, and I look forward to a potential sequel. Still, it wasn’t quite up to the high standards I have in a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead.
Outside of that, many other games over the years have imitated the Left 4 Dead formula. World War Z was enjoyable for a bit. The Anacrusis never caught on for me. Vermintide was an interesting idea that I couldn’t fall in love with. All of these games have their moments but can’t quite put together the same kind of fast-paced cooperative action packed into tight maps as Left 4 Dead did. That dynamic teamwork-focused fun to have with friends in endlessly replayable scenarios was one of the highlights of my gaming career. Even today, I will go back and load up what is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It’s a cooperative experience unlike any other and I only hope that more games in the future can make an even better version to make a new king in the co-op space.
