Left 4 Dead Review

 (Originally published to Glitchwave on 3/1/2021)

[Image from igdb.com]

Left 4 Dead

Developer: Valve

Publisher: Valve

Genre(s): Action Horror, First-person Shooter

Platforms: PC, Xbox 360

Release Date: November 17, 2008

Remember when zombies were absolutely everywhere? From 2007-2013, the zombie outbreak ran as rampant in our cultural zeitgeist as in the works they are present. The Walking Dead was one of the most popular television shows, Zombie movies were being churned out by the numbers, and of course, they also made their way into video games. They even made appearances in games that didn't initially have zombies, like Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption. Like all fads, zombies died off after years of over-saturation. Was the zombie craze all that grand when it was at its prime? In my opinion, not really. Zombies were the cannon fodder of their day. They were a vehicle for gore and violence, easier on the sensitivities than pitting humans against humans. We liked them because they were fun to kill. We almost forgot with this over-saturation of zombies that they were supposed to be scary. The only piece of entertainment during this period that reminded us that zombies were supposed to be something to fear was Valve's 2008 game Left 4 Dead.

How exactly does Left 4 Dead accomplish this? By sticking to the simple fundamentals of the zombie genre. Zombies are only terrifying if there are an overwhelming number of them. One zombie on it's own isn't anything to worry about. It might be a bit grotesque, but it can be easily dealt with if you have a firearm. The dread of a zombie outbreak is the fear that there aren't enough bullets in the world to defend yourself from it. Left 4 Dead capitalizes on this feeling of dread, unlike any other zombie game. It makes you feel helpless against the seemingly unending hoards of the undead. Not only that, but these aren't the slow-moving, decrepit zombies from the Romero films. These are the modern zombies that are vicious, and they will bite and scratch their way through an armored car. The zombie threat is also so vast and overwhelming that you must rely on others to make it through the game. You aren't a zombie-slaying government soldier like Chris Redfield here. You're a group of ordinary people fighting to survive. You CAN NOT plow through this game by yourself, or you will die; that is a guarantee. Sometimes, other people aren't very reliable, making the aspect of working together stress-inducing. It also helps that every level in this game has a dark, spooky atmosphere that amplifies the horror factor. This isn't a game where it's fun to kill zombies. This game makes you relieved when you get to take an earned respite from the undead chaos.

This game is also effective because it's a blast to play. Every moment your team is out on the field feels like holding your breath; you're just going to become more strained and panicked until you finally get a moment of relief. Every moment is exhilarating. Maybe this is just due to my questionable skill at the game, but I feel as if one of the biggest appeals of this game is always making it to the safe-house by the skin of your teeth. Even though you need to rely on your teammates, you'll carry your team as the AI partners aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. They will get incapacitated often and even die. Fortunately, this game is merciful with error, as your teammates can be resurrected. It never feels like you can make a clean getaway in this game.

To aid you in combating the zombie hoard, the game gives you plenty of options for defending yourself. You can choose between pump shotguns, automatic rifles, and sniper rifles. Plenty of ammo is scattered around the level, but you can always fall back on your pistol if you run out of ammo. There is also a Gatling gun in some areas that are primarily used on special occasions. A type of item that is scarce in this game is the healing item. Health kits replenish about 70% of your health, and pills heal the same amount, but it depletes over time. Dividing the health kits between yourself and your teammates requires a bit of strategy as it is crucial to keep your teammates alive just as much as yourself.

The playable characters are like the main characters in a typical zombie film. They are a breakfast club of different people who wouldn't be associating with one another if not for the outbreak. Francis is a thirty-something white dude, Bill is an elderly white guy, Louis is a young black man, and Zoey is a young white woman. None of these characters are given any backstory before the zombie epidemic, most likely to make them seem insignificant in the grand scheme. The little things we learn about the characters are conveyed through the little blurbs of dialogue. Like in the case of Team Fortress 2, Valve puts so much effort into making what are essentially avatars into fleshed-out characters through great voice acting and charming banter between the characters. They never have to do this, but it's always nice that they make the extra effort. Whichever character you play doesn't matter as they all play the same, but if you are playing with AIs, be forewarned that Zoey will be a problem because she insists on using the sniper rifle.

Characters that are as important to Left 4 Dead as the survivors are the special infected. Among the hoards of zombies, there are outliers with unique attributes. These guys are the reason why you can't trek through the outbreak by yourself. If one of these guys pins you down, you need to rely on your teammates to free you from their clutches, or you will fail. The ones that pin you down are the Hunter and the Smoker. The Hunter will pounce on you and rip you to shreds, while the Smoker will drag you with their tongue and strangle you from a distance. The Boomer is an obese special infected that looks like a walking blackhead whose vomit attracts hoards of zombies. The Witch is an emaciated, crying hag who will not attack you unless you attack her or draw attention to herself. Encountering each of these special infected is always alarming, but the scariest special infected by far is the Tank. He's a giant hulking special infected that will wreck your team with his brute strength. The Boomer and the Witch may have subtle musical cues indicating their presence, but the Tank is such a formidable force that he has his own theme that accompanies his encounters. Fun fact: Mike Patton of Faith No More/Mr. Bungle voiced each of the infected. Bungle. Who better to make scratchy, inhumane yelps and belching noises for zombies than him?

The game is also pretty simple, which is also a significant strength of this game. Each of the levels is relatively short and easy to navigate. The final level of each campaign caps off staying in one area and surviving hoards of zombies and special infected until a rescue helicopter comes. Unfortunately, there are only four different campaigns, and each gets old upon further playthroughs, but at least each campaign is different from one another. No Mercy is in an urban setting and is probably the most brutal campaign. There are tons of claustrophobic environments, and it had the only final level where you can die from getting knocked off a building by a Tank. Death Toll is set in a moody rural area alongside a lake. Dead Air is set in an airport and is the easiest of the four campaigns. Blood Harvest is set along a mountainside. It's hard to say which one of these is the best, but at least I don't have a least favorite of the four. Consistency is the strength when it comes to the campaigns.

Left 4 Dead is a simple game that capitalizes on the strengths of the zombie genre. It's the only piece of media from the time of the zombie craze. It is effectively scary because the game focuses on the survival aspect of a zombie outbreak instead of the bloody novelty of killing zombies. Making your way through the levels with your friends, making your way to the safe-house battered and bruised never gets old.