Alien Swarm

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 457 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 331 out of 457
  2. Mixed: 106 out of 457
  3. Negative: 20 out of 457

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  1. Gliphy
    Mar 13, 2023
    8
    Интересная, но репетативная игра с видом сверху, которая очень напоминает Left 4 Dead, где приходится больше думать.
  2. Artomer
    Jul 9, 2021
    8
    Very good and fun game that you can play with friends. Highly suggest you to try.
  3. DebelaPrasica
    Jul 12, 2015
    10
    I have never played this game, however it is free. From what i have read it is an isometric shooter with alien bugs, which is amazing. Hopefully this review is helpful to those in need of such a great review. Thank you. Notice I have no misspelled words.
  4. indirazzi
    Jan 28, 2014
    10
    The game shows you HD resolutioned graphics with online and offline co-op game mods.The game is wide view thirdperson but you can use firstperson using some console commands.Also On Steam Greenlit "Alien Swarm First Person now available to release. The Game supports customizable GUI like other Valve games (maps, huds etc).You should not spend your time reading more comments about game.The game shows you HD resolutioned graphics with online and offline co-op game mods.The game is wide view thirdperson but you can use firstperson using some console commands.Also On Steam Greenlit "Alien Swarm First Person now available to release. The Game supports customizable GUI like other Valve games (maps, huds etc).You should not spend your time reading more comments about game. Download it and play game!… Expand
  5. Meatoburrito
    Sep 19, 2013
    8
    I was recently introduced to this game with some friends, and its a blast.

    You can play though fine on lower difficulty with new people and has enough of a challenge for veterans. While a simple and small game, the controls are tight and the graphics vivid leaving me non butt-frustrated except when I goofed up. I would recommend this game to anyone with a couple of friends that    I was recently introduced to this game with some friends, and its a blast.

    You can play though fine on lower difficulty with new people and has enough of a challenge for veterans.

    While a simple and small game, the controls are tight and the graphics vivid leaving me non butt-frustrated except when I goofed up.

    I would recommend this game to anyone with a couple of friends that want a co-op experience.    … Expand
  6. Grouchygaming
    Mar 9, 2013
    9
    A very good game the perspective from which you view your characters is great. Although, there aren't very many players playing this game you can easily play with 3 of your friends on your own dedicated server
  7. igor-qwe
    Feb 20, 2013
    10
    I remember "Alien Swarm" being announced the day before it's release. "Where is the next Half-life" question still makes gamers nervous, but back then it seemed like a big joke to release a game that nobody was expecting. Yet Valve never disappointed me, this time was not an exclusion. "Alien Swarm" is 3rd person action shooter that may be called a clone of "Alien Breed". Frankly speaking,I remember "Alien Swarm" being announced the day before it's release. "Where is the next Half-life" question still makes gamers nervous, but back then it seemed like a big joke to release a game that nobody was expecting. Yet Valve never disappointed me, this time was not an exclusion. "Alien Swarm" is 3rd person action shooter that may be called a clone of "Alien Breed". Frankly speaking, I would never pick up a game like that if it was not a product of such company as Valve. But it would worth any dollar.
    All levels of the game could be completed in less than an hour. But co-op experience and dynamic generating of alien hordes make each try a unique experience. Smart achievements, all of them I managed to unlock, added some more sense in replaying "Alien Swarm"
    The fact that the game is free of charge, makes me love it even more Needless to say, after release there were couple updates and that was all. The game was not supported any further by Valve, even developers never remembered it in any interview (it seems, everybody's mind is kept on HL, CS, TF, L4D and Portal). Try it, it is worth spending an evening on it.    … Expand
  8. t0bssu
    Jan 7, 2013
    8
    One of the best free games in Steam. Seriously worth loading and getting achievements to this is really fun. Valve should use some time for updates to this game because it's not bad at all. And quite many people play it.
  9. Rihfok
    Jul 17, 2012
    9
    A wonderful, fast-paced action shooter. Spent a total of 45 hours playing the game, sure, the number of missions is small, but their fun, and can be played over and over. Don't bother with easy difficulty - real men start with normal right away, and eventually climb to Insane, and those who have the guts - Brutal (which I passed only once from start to finish. Something of the negativeA wonderful, fast-paced action shooter. Spent a total of 45 hours playing the game, sure, the number of missions is small, but their fun, and can be played over and over. Don't bother with easy difficulty - real men start with normal right away, and eventually climb to Insane, and those who have the guts - Brutal (which I passed only once from start to finish. Something of the negative - flamethrower is the most viable weapon on higher difficulties, often incompetent team members, and the fact that so few people want to play medic that I'm probably one of the best medics around in the game now. Regardless, the game is free, and and you should make the most of it. You will not be disappointed.… Expand
  10. Cinetyk
    Jun 18, 2012
    9
    This is a very good and fun game to play with your friends! Heavily inspired by the 2nd Aliens movie, it takes all the best from that sci-fi Aliens-like lore. The execution of the game's storyline is nice and of the gameplay elements just brilliant, powered by the Source engine. It plays as a top-down view 4-player co-op tactical shooter. There are 4 well designed classes of marines, eachThis is a very good and fun game to play with your friends! Heavily inspired by the 2nd Aliens movie, it takes all the best from that sci-fi Aliens-like lore. The execution of the game's storyline is nice and of the gameplay elements just brilliant, powered by the Source engine. It plays as a top-down view 4-player co-op tactical shooter. There are 4 well designed classes of marines, each with its strengths and weaknesses: Sarge, Weapons Specialist, Tech and Medic. You'll need each of them, so the game inuitively encourages the co-op of 4 friends and is at its best in that. As you play and work together you will feel engaged and rewarded for cooperating and coordinating with each other. The campaign has a good pace with multiple missions and a nice variety of objectives and situations, like those you would expect from the Aliens series. Before each mission there's a briefing screen when you can review the map and objectives and select the best gear for it. There's also lots of weapons and items to unlock as you level up. There are some really nice touches, like being able to draw on the mission map with your mouse, either in the briefing or during missions, to help plan and coordinate strategies, or reviewing your performance after a mission with different charts and an animation of the teams progress on the map. Connecting your friends together in the same game is effortless via the main menu. It lets you create public or friend-only games and lists friends playing and friend-created games available, which you can join with a click - no dedicated servers needed nor ip details. The only downsides I found are that the in-game voice chat support had some noise and that there is only one official campaign. But you can always use skype for voice chat and there are more fantastic fan-made maps and campaigns, like for instance the MapPack 1.2 which you can easily find. All in all, an amazing free to play game with lots of fun to be had especially in a group of 4 friends.… Expand
  11. ScottReid
    Apr 28, 2012
    10
    Again, fantastic visuals from Valve. The gameplay is very, very fun (even more so with real players)

    It's free. So you can't complain. Infact, I don't see why you'd complain at all. I see nothing wrong with Alien Swarm (well, other than when you join a match you get the usual high-level snob with their remarks on how low your level is, so therefore you must be a bad player) That's not    Again, fantastic visuals from Valve. The gameplay is very, very fun (even more so with real players)

    It's free. So you can't complain. Infact, I don't see why you'd complain at all. I see nothing wrong with Alien Swarm (well, other than when you join a match you get the usual high-level snob with their remarks on how low your level is, so therefore you must be a bad player)

    That's not Valve's fault.    … Expand
  12. ChoicestGames
    Mar 3, 2012
    8
    A nice, little sci-fi co-op shooter game compliments of Steam - too bad it only comes with one campaign which you can finish in under an hour, but you can't complain about the price!
  13. Mushe
    Jan 17, 2012
    9
    This game has beautiful graphics / sounds pretty good and flashy (Use the Source Engine), promotes the game to continue playing with a system of rewards (Exp, Lev, Weapons, etc.) and Steam achievements. At the same time also to encourage replayability of these maps have a system that changes the location of the items and the spawn of vermin or other factors, to make each game differentThis game has beautiful graphics / sounds pretty good and flashy (Use the Source Engine), promotes the game to continue playing with a system of rewards (Exp, Lev, Weapons, etc.) and Steam achievements. At the same time also to encourage replayability of these maps have a system that changes the location of the items and the spawn of vermin or other factors, to make each game different from above. This very well optimized for the online and singleplayer. The CO-OP of the game is very good and very well done this is really interesting as they all depend on everyone. The only downside is that not much variety of maps (only 6 missions in a campaign), but the good thing is that you can add other mods using. And not forgetting the most important thing of this game, which is free, therefore it is extremely advisable to play it.… Expand
  14. Gerivaz
    Jan 4, 2012
    8
    When I found out about a free source-powered game with aliens, I immediately felt like giving it a try, since I love the whole half-life continuum and alien-themed games in general. The game wasnâ
  15. Firebad
    Dec 25, 2011
    9
    I liked the game, it was a long enough game to really sink some time into, while at the same time there was enough content in the game to unlock to keep it fresh, as well as give you goals to look for. the unlock-able content helped to make the game worth multiple playthroughs, and hey, even if it was awful, which it wasn't, you can't beat free.
  16. TAMPjackoon
    Oct 7, 2011
    8
    A generally good game, make that a generally great game. This gives you a new reason to stay up late, it's not scary, that's not what I meant, I mean it's addicting. Don't even THINK of going ahead, you'll need your team. It feels good blasting alien guts open with your friends, and it's a lot like L4D, but it's top-down and aliens instead of zombies. Bring your friends and it will give aA generally good game, make that a generally great game. This gives you a new reason to stay up late, it's not scary, that's not what I meant, I mean it's addicting. Don't even THINK of going ahead, you'll need your team. It feels good blasting alien guts open with your friends, and it's a lot like L4D, but it's top-down and aliens instead of zombies. Bring your friends and it will give a good night...or day.… Expand
  17. Flash_Over
    Sep 21, 2011
    8
    The game lacks content, but it is truly a fun and addicting game allowing customizations and real time tactical game play with friends. and Oh did I mention it's Free?
  18. Tarkus
    Sep 9, 2011
    9
    Alien Swarm is a delightful game, especially being free. I remember when this was originally a mod for UT2004, back then it was extremely difficult. Now it's significantly more player friendly. Though not nearly as many players are online now, it is a great way to make friends. After beating the campaign the speed-runs are a wonderful way to draw that friendship even tighter as theyAlien Swarm is a delightful game, especially being free. I remember when this was originally a mod for UT2004, back then it was extremely difficult. Now it's significantly more player friendly. Though not nearly as many players are online now, it is a great way to make friends. After beating the campaign the speed-runs are a wonderful way to draw that friendship even tighter as they require nearly perfect coordination amongst players. The game is dreadfully short, but that's perfect, because it honestly left me wanting more, which is the sign of a good game. With server's so empty now, the worst thing about the game is that host lag will kick your butt. Seriously, everyone should have this game installed, for those nights when you don't want to pay any money, but want to play a great game.… Expand
  19. wlmeng11
    Aug 10, 2011
    10
    This game is free, and it's made by Valve. Those 2 are reason enough to get it. Anyone who gives it a bad rating because of some minor bugs should think again. Since it is free, you have to compare it to other free games. You can't compare it with a paid game, since that would be unfair. Since this game is all about coop, don't blame someone else for your bad ping, and complaining aboutThis game is free, and it's made by Valve. Those 2 are reason enough to get it. Anyone who gives it a bad rating because of some minor bugs should think again. Since it is free, you have to compare it to other free games. You can't compare it with a paid game, since that would be unfair. Since this game is all about coop, don't blame someone else for your bad ping, and complaining about friendly fire is stupid, because that only happens if you are playing with noobs or trolls. The only slight downside is that there is only 1 official campaign with 7 maps, but that is okay, since they have a lot of replay value. (For example, trying to get a speed run or playing on a higher difficulty, as the difficulties range from easy to brutal.)
    Overall, being a free game, it gets a 10 out of 10 from me, since there are very few free games that can match this.

    PS: Don't complain about Steam, it's the best network once you learn how to use it. All the "unnecessary" regulations are to prevent spammers, and some can be disabled if you don't like them.    … Expand
  20. Pomornik
    Jul 23, 2011
    9
    Pretty cool game, since its free there is no reason why you shouldnt try it. Only thing that pisses me off is the amount of peeple who have no idea how to play, and usualy go leeroy jenkins style instead of co-operating, but thats problem with the people and not the game, try to get a friend to play with you and you should be ok.
  21. r4mes
    Jul 22, 2011
    8
    Very well made top view shooter.
    Alien swarm is a hectic top-down view shooter, which is best played with a few friends, although still very fun online.
    Each player fulfills his or her role as either medic, sergeant, support or technician, while fighting hordes of different alien creatures with each their strengths and weaknesses. It IS a team based game, the longer you move up the    Very well made top view shooter.
    Alien swarm is a hectic top-down view shooter, which is best played with a few friends, although still very fun online.
    Each player fulfills his or her role as either medic, sergeant, support or technician, while fighting hordes of different alien creatures with each their strengths and weaknesses. It IS a team based game, the longer you move up the difficulties you will realize this.
    Although it is very fun and challenging, the small amount of maps is a major downside. Although they are very replay-able, they will get very boring when you have played the maps 2-3 times.
    That said, the game is free to play, so it is a must to download and try out.    … Expand
  22. Thugann
    Jul 22, 2011
    9
    Alien swarm is, for a free game, is really well produced. Graphics are adapted, game play is easy to understand, and a great particularity is the non-human shape of aliens, which really is a plus in the game.

    There is no maps enough, but hopefully they can be created by players, which make this game complete, and really fun to play.
  23. oblivion2011
    Jul 3, 2011
    8
    For a free game, it actually has enough to keep you entertained. The main thing that brought this score down is the adrenaline mechanic, especially if you don't have a good enough video card...
  24. MrMayge
    Jun 13, 2011
    8
    Alien Swarm, for those who don't know, is a free game on (the mighty and honorable) Valve's game engine, Steam. It's very, very similar to Valve's zombie-apocalypse-shooter, Left 4 Dead; there are regular alien bugs, that the game refers to as "Swarm", just as Left 4 Dead refers to the generic zombies you mow down as "Common Infected". There are also several kinds of more powerful swarm,Alien Swarm, for those who don't know, is a free game on (the mighty and honorable) Valve's game engine, Steam. It's very, very similar to Valve's zombie-apocalypse-shooter, Left 4 Dead; there are regular alien bugs, that the game refers to as "Swarm", just as Left 4 Dead refers to the generic zombies you mow down as "Common Infected". There are also several kinds of more powerful swarm, like shield-bugs, which can take a near infinite amount of punishment from the front, and still ridiculous amounts from the back, like L4D's "Tanks".
    The game plays like a dream, once you customize the controls to your preferences. Playing by yourself with bots is fun, but you don't accomplish all the things you do online, like new levels and weapons.
    There is only one set of missions to play through, though there is a free map editor for the game, which requires many tutorials and walkthroughs to use.
    The game online is one of the most fun co-op experiences I've ever had. My friends and I play the campaign straight through some nights!
    I would reccomend this game to anyone who can afford it...oh, yeah, and it's free.    … Expand
  25. slowjerk
    May 26, 2011
    10
    The game is free, runs excellent, has a decent amount of replay value, and it's really fun. If you play the game without taking friends with you, you won't enjoy it as much but it's still fun. The only real gripe I have with it is that there isn't a tutorial to explain some stuff. It isn't hard to pick up but knowing the details of stats, guns, some of the game options when creating theThe game is free, runs excellent, has a decent amount of replay value, and it's really fun. If you play the game without taking friends with you, you won't enjoy it as much but it's still fun. The only real gripe I have with it is that there isn't a tutorial to explain some stuff. It isn't hard to pick up but knowing the details of stats, guns, some of the game options when creating the game, and other misc. stuff helps a little bit. I think this game really shines when you are playing with friends. It is kind of like playing L4D with or without friends.

    All in all, I'd recommend this game because it is free and chances are likely that you will like this game.    … Expand
  26. pro7otype
    Mar 14, 2011
    8
    Frantic COOPERATIVE Free Fun. In a world of mainly PVP games it's lovely to play some CO-OP again. The game can be quite brutal and some of the weapons are not that easy to use, but with a bit of patience and three friends, you can have a quite enjoyable evening!
  27. HuMaGe-040
    Feb 18, 2011
    9
    I am one of the 'old guys', started gaming waaay back in the days that 8bit systems ruled the planet. And your imagination created the game, and not the graphical artist who was involved developing it. When I found this little gem I didn't know what to expect, something for free can't be that good, or can it?

    Well guess what, Valve really hit the nail on the head with this one: This is    I am one of the 'old guys', started gaming waaay back in the days that 8bit systems ruled the planet. And your imagination created the game, and not the graphical artist who was involved developing it. When I found this little gem I didn't know what to expect, something for free can't be that good, or can it?

    Well guess what, Valve really hit the nail on the head with this one: This is clearly inspired by the old "Alien Syndrome" games (SEGA), which made their way to the kids back in the late 80's on the commodore Amiga. In which mass slaughtering aliens with a big arsenal of weapons was basically the entire gameplay in a nutshell. Unlocking new items and weapons due to your previous achievements was what kept you coming back for more... the same can be said for this title.

    There has been a remake of Alien Syndorme on the PS2 and Wii, but both lacked on many of the attributes that motivated me back in the days. This title, which is clearly a hommage to the old series, does what it supposed to do. It is simple, addictive, multiplayer gets you going for a really long time (players can build custom maps!) and it is easy to drop in and out... The positive:
    +Free, no charge
    +Good multiplayer
    +Nice graphical design
    +Awesome weaponary
    +Custom maps

    The negative:
    -Not a big variety of enemies
    -Very short (when not looking at the custom maps feature)

    Both thumbs up for this title!    … Expand
  28. Exogenesis
    Jan 4, 2011
    8
    This is easily the best free game ever made, i would easily pay 10-20$ for this great title, it may lack a bit of contend but i cant wait to see what the community will come up with!
  29. Itsapaul
    Dec 26, 2010
    8
    Not exactly a game you'll be playing forever, but it was fun all the way through hard mode. You rarely the get "run forward for the loot" crowd like with Borderlands, and it really feels co-op where you need everyone in the group. It definitely made me curious where this game engine's headed.
  30. Mikester7
    Dec 22, 2010
    8
    Not really an amazing game to be honest, it is fun for a good few hours, but gets boring very quickly. However, I believe rating this game very low would be harsh as it is free. Now days nothing seems to be free, but to make a video game free is very generous.
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Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best PC Game of 2010
32
#32 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. MEGamers
    85
    Addictive. Fun. Community driven. Free. Where can it go wrong?
    Read full review
  2. Gameplanet
    85
    Simply put, anyone with a capable PC should download this and try it.
    Read full review
  3. Destructoid
    75
    Despite the issues of repetition and somewhat contrary design choices, Alien Swarm is an enjoyable shooter at an absolute steal of a non-price.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »