User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 4339 Ratings

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  1. HelpU
    Jul 19, 2009
    2
    The fact that you play as a team holds you back. It takes only one bad player on the team to make a crappy score in survival. The other mode makes you wait for the action when survival throws you in it so I pick survival. In this game the only reliable player is you. When you think someone has a good score sometimes its because they glitched so you can rely on that either. This game The fact that you play as a team holds you back. It takes only one bad player on the team to make a crappy score in survival. The other mode makes you wait for the action when survival throws you in it so I pick survival. In this game the only reliable player is you. When you think someone has a good score sometimes its because they glitched so you can rely on that either. This game isn't for people who want to become good at it. Expand
  2. MichaelV
    Jul 18, 2009
    10
    This game is so far the best game I have ever played. I'm very addicted to this game and i can't stop playing. I'm always thinking about this game at school and everywhere I go. Sadly my 360 broke so I have to wait for a long time. I'm very sad. I just wanna kill some zombies now!!! This game could just improve in the amount of guns. There's only a few. I wish This game is so far the best game I have ever played. I'm very addicted to this game and i can't stop playing. I'm always thinking about this game at school and everywhere I go. Sadly my 360 broke so I have to wait for a long time. I'm very sad. I just wanna kill some zombies now!!! This game could just improve in the amount of guns. There's only a few. I wish there was like an L85A1, Fama, AWM, Aug Para, M60, M249, Ak47,and some new pistols like a Desert Eagle, P228, Dual Pistols, Mac 10, really I just want a lot of guns. But the game is good with the guns they give us. Expand
  3. NicholasS
    Jul 18, 2009
    5
    Why are you bothering to read this review to buy L4D? It will be an inferior game in less than 3 months. You will have next to no further content for these next 6 months due to L4D2's attention. Still reading? You sure? Fine. Buy this game and you can kiss the next 10 weeks of free time you thought you had. This game is exponentially addictive, with its Survival, Versus, Campaign, Why are you bothering to read this review to buy L4D? It will be an inferior game in less than 3 months. You will have next to no further content for these next 6 months due to L4D2's attention. Still reading? You sure? Fine. Buy this game and you can kiss the next 10 weeks of free time you thought you had. This game is exponentially addictive, with its Survival, Versus, Campaign, and Single player mode. If you are handy with the DPS's steel, dive right into a Online Campaign game, grab an uzi or a shotgun and start blating away. Be careful, friendly fire hits are actually realistic here, especially in Expert. Accidentally shoot your teammate in the back with an uzi? He is going down.... fast. Cover each other and remember to always move forward. Maybe wanna see how brains taste? Jump into a versus game and cooperate with you teammates to set up ambushes and deadly traps, maybe hit that damage pounce off the building, maybe peek around from a corner and vomit over them..... or just sneakily pull the last one over the side of whatever vertical object makes the biggest SPLAT! Want to play that endless zombie panic, where ammo is tight and you wish you had a baseball bat? Check out survival... grab some propane tanks and gasoline cans, set them out at key choke points, flip the switch and start mowing them down, blowing them up, or making them do the zombie disco inferno. My origonal score for this game would have absolutely been a 10, but the lack of content is a killer. more than a year after release all they could come up with is hijacking the MOD community's ideas. 1 new minimap, not a full campaign. Good news is the mods are making up for Valve's stupidity, creating their own maps, betaing them, fixing them, and releasing them to the public. Even though the game is a year old and change, still expect some bugs, some more annoying than others. Steam's platform is questionable as well, often not allowing you to connect to something as simple as a friends list, not allowing you to one-click-join a friend's game from desktop. It adds up, and quickly at that. Lastly, you have the first promised main update to l4d1, which was to include new guns ("no re-skins whatsoever", valve's own words) and a bazooka, RPG, whatever your name preference..... Still waiting. 9 months. GG True score for this game should be 50/100, because being pathetically late on your promises and cashing out just a year in, is just ridiculous. Hindsight says the only time this game was worth buting was a 1/2 price weekend deal for $20. Even then, its questionable. Expand
  4. Anonymous
    Jul 15, 2009
    10
    Well, i cant really say anything bad about it, other than the players, if you've had this game for awhile and are decent at it you know how bad some public players can be, but the gameplay is amazingly addicting, especially being able to play as zombies, the weapons admittedly get old after awhile, but, i usually use the same weapon for a long time, til i get bored of it, then i Well, i cant really say anything bad about it, other than the players, if you've had this game for awhile and are decent at it you know how bad some public players can be, but the gameplay is amazingly addicting, especially being able to play as zombies, the weapons admittedly get old after awhile, but, i usually use the same weapon for a long time, til i get bored of it, then i switch to a different weapon, then repeat! the infected classes, boomer, smoker, hunter, and tank, are all playable and can all be fun depending on your gaming style, hunter for fast paced, smoker for snipers/tacticle players, boomers for.... eh.... im really not sure but i have friends that love the boomer, and the tank for basically owning everything, when playing online a lot of strategy can be involved, but im not gonna sit here and explain it to you, you'll just have to get it and find out yourself. Expand
  5. JonathanS
    Jul 10, 2009
    10
    Left 4 Dead is the greatest co-op game I've ever tried! It is making it even better, when it's online! The good thing about the game is that it's a rare kind of game and that kind is not made often!
  6. hello
    Jul 7, 2009
    9
    This game is addictive and fun for the up to 8 people playing. With the ability to build your own levels, battle zombies until you and 3 others die, verse each other as a zombie or survivor, or just get from point a to point b without dying this game has everything EXCEPT a story mode. Well there isn't a long one, just a few quick ones that can be beat in about an hour, but This game is addictive and fun for the up to 8 people playing. With the ability to build your own levels, battle zombies until you and 3 others die, verse each other as a zombie or survivor, or just get from point a to point b without dying this game has everything EXCEPT a story mode. Well there isn't a long one, just a few quick ones that can be beat in about an hour, but that's cuz this game is meant to be played with friends, and that is wat makes it FUN!!!!!!!! Expand
  7. GrimS
    Jul 6, 2009
    9
    Let's start with something I have to say. I do not like zombie games. The idea of mowing down a horde of brainless flesh simply doesn't appeal to me. I do however, love L4D. Why? The zombies have brains (almost). Upon picking up the game at my local store (For 19.99), I was shoved into a scenario called Dead Air, which takes place in an airport. The graphics in the game Let's start with something I have to say. I do not like zombie games. The idea of mowing down a horde of brainless flesh simply doesn't appeal to me. I do however, love L4D. Why? The zombies have brains (almost). Upon picking up the game at my local store (For 19.99), I was shoved into a scenario called Dead Air, which takes place in an airport. The graphics in the game aren't thrilling, but it's source. Source is becoming old technology. However, if you're not a graphics nut, and gladly jump into the original Doom and enjoy it (as I do) you have nothing to worry about. The suspense throughout the game is great. I often found myself looking behind me, guns ready only to find that it was my ally closing a door. The immersive qualities combined with the weakness of a lone wolf character make sticking together vital. The most impressive feature of the game (aside from the gameplay) is the audio. Different boss zombies make different noises when they become a threat. The Witch cries and shrieks, and the Tank stomps and is accompanied by a music change. (play with headphones) The gameplay is the flawless shooting you've come to expect from valve. Fully customizable controls (on PC), fermiliar weapons (for CS players especially) and great hit detection, all of the guns feel satisfying and rival each other in performance. One aspect of the guns I loved was the fact that according to the situation ahead (This only happens on a re-run of a level) I would change weaponry. E.g. Use a shotgun for the corridors in No Mercy, and switch to an assault rifle for the rooftop shootout. The game utilizes player mistakes to increase the difficulty. If a survivor shoots a boomer right next to the party, Loads of zombies swarm in. Cooperation between survivors is essential to survival. On the negative side, There arent many weapons to fool around with. Oh, and my fiancee keeps yelling at me for stumbling into bed at 6am. Expand
  8. NathanS
    Jul 4, 2009
    10
    Game is well balanced. Team play is very well though out, you don't have to rely on 5 million people but its not just you either. Updates are continuous and address the current concerns of the gaming community.
  9. LouisS
    Jul 3, 2009
    10
    I am a kid. I like this game because I can shoot lots of monsters. Sometimes I do a funny thing, I open the door and shoot the zombies.
  10. AlexC
    Jul 2, 2009
    7
    I give this game a 7 for many reasons 1st love the team work in the new surrival mode its wonderful very good graphics play it 20 hours in two weeks the only reason i didnt give it a 10 is some tweaks they need to put on 1st everytime i click quit it doesnt quit it crashes so i have to control+Alt+Del evertime 2nd when your playing with people theres no cancel button enough of the bad I give this game a 7 for many reasons 1st love the team work in the new surrival mode its wonderful very good graphics play it 20 hours in two weeks the only reason i didnt give it a 10 is some tweaks they need to put on 1st everytime i click quit it doesnt quit it crashes so i have to control+Alt+Del evertime 2nd when your playing with people theres no cancel button enough of the bad stough good game love it big fan and still play it but,,,,,single player dont know why they have it cause its boring im actually not excited for the new one cause its going to be the same stuff with different levels very good game not worth 49.99 more like worth 29.99 Expand
  11. JasonBlack
    Jul 1, 2009
    10
    I think this game is sick and it is by far one of the most fun games in America, but thats my opinion. This game was the second game I purchased on Steam. PS: I cant wait until Left 4 Dead 2 comes out, that will probally be even betterI think this game is sick and it is by far one of the most fun games in America, but thats my opinion. This game was the second game I purchased on Steam. PS: I cant wait until Left 4 Dead 2 comes out, that will probally be even better than the first game! Expand
  12. BurtonJ
    Jun 18, 2009
    10
    I'm a major zombie fan and always wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of an infection. This hits it right on the bull's eye. Horde everywhere, nowhere is really 100% safe and they do not stop once your found. This game is great for co-op because you'll be needing eyes in the back of your head and another trigger to keep the special horde off you. All I can I'm a major zombie fan and always wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of an infection. This hits it right on the bull's eye. Horde everywhere, nowhere is really 100% safe and they do not stop once your found. This game is great for co-op because you'll be needing eyes in the back of your head and another trigger to keep the special horde off you. All I can say is I wish my friend had internet and a copy of this game for PC. It Rocks! Expand
  13. NikkiJ
    Jun 17, 2009
    6
    While the game is visually stunning, and the mood makes you sit on the edge of your seat, skin to horror movies of old. The lack of solid variety and content ans the minimal replay value make the game rather luke warm after the second play through. I was hoping for more given the 49.99 price tag
  14. RyanC
    Jun 16, 2009
    10
    one the best games out there. I can play it on the highest graphics settings and it is amazing. Online is fun same with the new Survival mode. Expert Difficulty will keep you occupied if you get bored.
  15. CorvinousV
    Jun 14, 2009
    7
    A great game on its own merits, and entertaining the first time through the single player. Obviously however, the multiplayer is where this game really shines. Despite the different game modes, and the ingenious devices that promote a cohesive team, the excitement all wears off pretty quickly. The lack of variety stifles the game. The 16 maps, all grouped into quads of 4 called campaigns, A great game on its own merits, and entertaining the first time through the single player. Obviously however, the multiplayer is where this game really shines. Despite the different game modes, and the ingenious devices that promote a cohesive team, the excitement all wears off pretty quickly. The lack of variety stifles the game. The 16 maps, all grouped into quads of 4 called campaigns, seem small after a few hours of play, and very repetitive. Valve was late releasing a map kit for L4D, and only showed a modding community the love after announcing L4D 2, killing anyone desire to mod the game, and smashing any hope of getting additional content for it. The game is fun however, and is worth getting when it hits the 10 dollar bargain bins. Expand
  16. AnonymousMC
    Jun 13, 2009
    10
    This is quite possibly one of the best first-person-shooters I've ever played. The action is constantly thrilling, the idea itself is absolutely brilliant, and the recent addition of Last Stand makes 4 player co-op a must. All in all, this is one of the greatest things Valve Software has ever put forth. This stands alongside with some of the best PC games created since the original Half-Life.
  17. EmeryA
    Jun 13, 2009
    10
    This is easily one of my favorite games, and I don't usually enjoy FPS that much. It's exciting, suspenseful, and full of 28-Days-Later type rage zombies! If there were uninfected people in the game (forcing you to carefully pick your targets), or more campaigns, I would vote 11!
  18. BT
    Jun 13, 2009
    10
    Great game, can be very competitive, even though very few say that there is not much content the levels are very massive and nothing ever happens the same twice and with almost every multiplayer game there will be a couple of favourite maps that the majority only want to play on, you could consider this barely any content if you only play on a couple of maps, yet L4D is great the whole Great game, can be very competitive, even though very few say that there is not much content the levels are very massive and nothing ever happens the same twice and with almost every multiplayer game there will be a couple of favourite maps that the majority only want to play on, you could consider this barely any content if you only play on a couple of maps, yet L4D is great the whole way through, and for the fact that theres not many weapons, there's no need for more they have basically got all they need a long range sniper, short range shotty and mid range assault rifle. Expand
  19. P0nwz0rTheNoob
    Jun 5, 2009
    9
    Left 4 Dead is a fantastic FPS that does someting different: letting you slaughter millions of zombies instead of headshoting terrorists/soliders. The weakness of this game is the single player part and that it contains few levels. But whit a splendid multiplayer mode and the Source SDK tool, it doesnt mather much. The gameplay is perfect, the grapichs is as good as you can get whit Left 4 Dead is a fantastic FPS that does someting different: letting you slaughter millions of zombies instead of headshoting terrorists/soliders. The weakness of this game is the single player part and that it contains few levels. But whit a splendid multiplayer mode and the Source SDK tool, it doesnt mather much. The gameplay is perfect, the grapichs is as good as you can get whit Source and the sounds are awesome. You will love the scary piano riff that plays when exploring dark, abondend rooms! Expand
  20. SvenR
    Jun 4, 2009
    5
    IF the game starts, its a lot of fun to play it. Untill it crashs. Unfortunately, it crashs almost everytime when you play it, so its just worth a 5/10. This game includes more bugs then Gothic 3 and this us quite unbelievable, didnt think that a game can beat the buglvl of G3, but it happened. Congratz to Valve for this. Support? nothing. Bugfixes? Maybe you have to define for Valve what IF the game starts, its a lot of fun to play it. Untill it crashs. Unfortunately, it crashs almost everytime when you play it, so its just worth a 5/10. This game includes more bugs then Gothic 3 and this us quite unbelievable, didnt think that a game can beat the buglvl of G3, but it happened. Congratz to Valve for this. Support? nothing. Bugfixes? Maybe you have to define for Valve what that means. Expand
  21. JoostL
    Jun 1, 2009
    8
    Great fun, decent game. The first campaign will leave you wanting more and more. Yet as soon as you play the other campaigns you notice that they are all sort of the same. Its still a fun game but the lack of variety in modes and the after a while predictive enemies makes this game give you a unfinished feeling. Yet, for some reason it feels like everyone should try this one at least once.
  22. mattm
    May 31, 2009
    10
    L4D is and always will be a great game. Shure the campain gets old after 10 or so runs on expert, but the coop is some of the best iv ever seen. Most people who rate it low complain about not having RL buddies to own with. This isnt very logical because if you enjoy the coop but just dont have RL friends, there are other options. Such as clans, steam friends with the game (almost all of L4D is and always will be a great game. Shure the campain gets old after 10 or so runs on expert, but the coop is some of the best iv ever seen. Most people who rate it low complain about not having RL buddies to own with. This isnt very logical because if you enjoy the coop but just dont have RL friends, there are other options. Such as clans, steam friends with the game (almost all of my friends on steam now own this game), or even people you see at school (IDK if this counts as RL buddies cause u might not like em). Not having friends does not give any reason to give it a score of 1 and no reason to dislike the game. I have 3 RL buddies that live about a mile from me that have the game and about 100 clan members, all of which can play L4D and stomp the average pub. Then going into content wise, some people who can actually use their pc will mod L4D with different maps that are used by many and play with buddies, and Valve has already givin us lighthouse and there might be more maps in the future, (my L4D has all custom skins, witch and tank sounds, and about 30 custom campains/survival/versus maps on it that I use on a server that I have admin on. So just because you cant make buddies online or off to play with you please dont rate L4D low on those weak standards. Iv had tons of fun playin it and am hopein that PDXLAN will give us an L4D tourny so our |-DNB-| clan can win some nice GTX 295 graphics cards. So please dont spam hate messages cause u cant get buddies, so far I have found the gameplay nothing less then enjoyable, and hopefully you will get a good experince playing sometime in the future. (Also if people kick you without exlaining why, its probably because that if they tell you that they are kicking for a buddy, most people start shooting them or jump off an edge resulting in player death and a handicap to their team. Im speaking from experience, its happened to me many times so please dont judge the game based on those standards eaither, because the above is most likly the case and they are just trying to play with their buddies. Expand
  23. S.T.A.R.S.
    May 30, 2009
    8
    Some good words to describe the game are awesome, fun, addicting, intense. It's biggest drawback however is the lack of content. Only four campaigns? This is coming from someone who, litterally, has beat the game inside and out, then played it more, and still plays it to this day. I've played co-op, campaign, even the newly released survivor modes. I have every achievement Some good words to describe the game are awesome, fun, addicting, intense. It's biggest drawback however is the lack of content. Only four campaigns? This is coming from someone who, litterally, has beat the game inside and out, then played it more, and still plays it to this day. I've played co-op, campaign, even the newly released survivor modes. I have every achievement possible, done all there is to do. But... only four campaigns? I was hoping for more campaigns, not a single level you can't escape with a light house. Sure, the developer kit will probably be released soon and people can make their own maps... but if there aren't some more official maps released as well Im going to be let down again. There's only so much we as a community can do, honestly. What makes a big part of the game fun is the survivors, their quirks, the dialogue they say to one another. From Francis's frequent reminders of everything he hates to Bills constant complaint about walking up and down stairs and so on, there is absolutely nothing new we as a community can do to make that ourselves. There's just so much more Valve could have added to the game by now and they haven't. I know plenty of my friends I've played with stop to "take a break" from the game because they feel the same, whether they actively say it or not. For how much it cost, there should have been more content. Sure, the replayability is awesome. I've spent over a hundred hours, probably closer to two, playing about 4or 5 hours worth of content. So think how much better the game would be with another 4 or 5 hours of content. That's right... I want at least another 4 campaigns... and no, I don't want a left for dead 2, I want more for this one. I've already heard about it... really what's stopping that from being more new content? New characters to play as, new levels to choose from? I think Valve would be doing everyone like me a diservice if they did anything less, especially considering games like half life and the super fantastic orange box. Seriously, look at all your fans cheering you on here, giving you the benefit of the doubt. Don't let us down. I'm not even saying give us our money's worth... live up to your already stellar reputation... give us what you already know your loyal community deserves. Once again, prove you can go above and beyond all our expectations, it's what put you where you are now after all. Until then, I don't think I can give the game anything better than an 8. Expand
  24. DaanB
    May 27, 2009
    10
    This is such an awesome zombie shooting game, a wicked combo of slow zombies, fast runnin zombies, and some special zombies ! :D it rox ! if you love shooting / wasting / burning zombies, this is your game!
  25. FarskeH
    May 27, 2009
    10
    A truly polished game. You have the casual coop style version where you and your mates can plod along in easy mode, or scream in intense expert/hard mode. Then you move onto the survival, the cresendo events where you hold out for as long as you can, earning awards. Then the cream of the game. The Versus mode, how this is fun! Whilst newbs have commented on it stating its unbalanced, its A truly polished game. You have the casual coop style version where you and your mates can plod along in easy mode, or scream in intense expert/hard mode. Then you move onto the survival, the cresendo events where you hold out for as long as you can, earning awards. Then the cream of the game. The Versus mode, how this is fun! Whilst newbs have commented on it stating its unbalanced, its fair. You play it in halves, you swap sides after. The developers said the aim of the game and the design was that the survivors have a slim chance of reaching the end. It shows skill if you do (or a complete lack of skill on the infected side). After the annihilation you swap over. They KEY to the game is friends, play with friends or skill full people and you WILL love it, You can see the people who have rated this game low are clearly kids or n00bs. Its a shame this game has a low score because of that. Its a gem. Expand
  26. JamesP
    May 26, 2009
    10
    Get a good team of survivors togeather, practice, get good, play against others...Addiction ensues. Finally a game where you MUST rely on the people around you to succeed. Excellent Valve, a round of applause. This game is phenomenal. Valve release regular updates and map extensions AND new campaigns to be created soon! Plus TONNES of new gear and stuff! This is anything but a stagnent Get a good team of survivors togeather, practice, get good, play against others...Addiction ensues. Finally a game where you MUST rely on the people around you to succeed. Excellent Valve, a round of applause. This game is phenomenal. Valve release regular updates and map extensions AND new campaigns to be created soon! Plus TONNES of new gear and stuff! This is anything but a stagnent game. Do not judge from the box. P.s. NOT SINGLEPLAYER. Expand
  27. JasonS
    May 26, 2009
    10
    Truly an addictive experience. The gameplay and the graphics are amazing, along with the differences in survivors and infected playstyles make this game hard to put down.
  28. ToddC
    May 24, 2009
    9
    Though there are many movies of zombies, games of zombies, comics and books of zombies, not many of them are recognized as great zombie-themed media or game. Left 4 Dead managed to be the top (in my opinion) in contributing to "zombie apocalypse" theme in the game category. Though not a very horrifying or scary game, it does a wonderful job at keeping you aware of your surroundings and on Though there are many movies of zombies, games of zombies, comics and books of zombies, not many of them are recognized as great zombie-themed media or game. Left 4 Dead managed to be the top (in my opinion) in contributing to "zombie apocalypse" theme in the game category. Though not a very horrifying or scary game, it does a wonderful job at keeping you aware of your surroundings and on your toes. There will be at times where the suspenseful music plays and waiting for a massive horde to come, or when things are just too quiet that it makes you wonder what will happen next. The AI director does a good job in maintaining a well-balanced fps game that requires some team work (especially in higher difficulties) to eliminate tanks (high health "hulks") and protecting vomited-on teammates from hordes that are only attracted them. Though the game may become repetitive after playing 20 or so times, it still has some fun and play value with the different players that aid you every time. So far, I've played this game for over 5 months and still enjoy it. If you like run-and-gun, massive hordes, tons of shooting, coop games, all in a zombie-themed game...this might be the game for you! Of course, if you don't like that kind of stuff, this might not be a great game for you. Though I've seen people complain that this is like a Half-Life zombie mod for Valve, I do have to agree to some extent. However, it is probably the best "zombie mod" of all if it had to be compared so lowly as to be called a "zombie mod". Overall, great game of its kind! Expand
  29. DrewB
    May 23, 2009
    10
    A pretty fantastic game. Sure it could be longer, but at least what is there woeks great and is really fun to play with friends. The community surrounding it is L4D's only real down side.
  30. CharlesB
    May 22, 2009
    1
    While excited about the thought of a good zombie shooter, I found myself really not liking this game. I enjoyed the single player aspect of the game very much. The problems began when I started to play the multi-player version. It seemed that people were kicking others out for no reason. One guy got booted and did nothing wrong. I couldn't save him because we entered the safe area While excited about the thought of a good zombie shooter, I found myself really not liking this game. I enjoyed the single player aspect of the game very much. The problems began when I started to play the multi-player version. It seemed that people were kicking others out for no reason. One guy got booted and did nothing wrong. I couldn't save him because we entered the safe area when the vote was called. Had another person kill other players as soon as they got in the game. I would rate this game much higher if I had RL friends to play this game with. Expand
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 58
  2. Negative: 0 out of 58
  1. 90
    There's absolutely no doubt that Left 4 Dead is one of the most social and exciting multiplayer games that we've ever played. It's almost pitch perfect in how it captures the tension and the action of a Hollywood zombie movie.
  2. 90
    The inventive and highly entertaining competitive multiplayer mode just adds to the experience, and we're looking forward to seeing what Valve's got planned for the game's future. Out of all the titles that have shaped the Year of Living Cooperatively, this may be the best experience of them all.
  3. 92
    One of the finest zombie games ever made, and one of the finest co-op games ever made. The potential for everything to go so, so wrong without warning, or conversely to pull off the most spectacular escapes against all odds, means this is an online shooter you can tell your finest anecdotes about without boring everyone else to tears.