Left 4 Dead

 PC
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 4339 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,834 out of 4339
  2. Mixed: 339 out of 4339
  3. Negative: 166 out of 4339
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  1. scotd
    Jan 1, 2010
    9
    what do you get when you mix: -four friends -five campagnes -4 game modes -8 weapons -an ai that actualy populates the level as you progres -and a whole buttload of zombies? you get the most replayble game ever made, you can easily spend 20-40 hours on this game just play the base four campagne, and that not includeing the dlc and user created content for pc!
  2. StuartR
    Jan 21, 2010
    9
    Fun, realistic zombie movie experience... way too hard when using single player though - the bots are just not smart enough....
  3. J.Midnight
    Jan 25, 2010
    9
    Zombies, Guns and Online Co-Op. That's all this game really is. Though it may be a very, very simple premise; Left 4 Dead is an outstandingly enjoyable game. Not a true 10 only for one reason. NO STORY. Simply put: THIS IS NO SINGLE PLAYER GAME. To truly enjoy this you need an active Internet connection. While many will see this as a fault, this is an inspired move. As Left 4 Dead Zombies, Guns and Online Co-Op. That's all this game really is. Though it may be a very, very simple premise; Left 4 Dead is an outstandingly enjoyable game. Not a true 10 only for one reason. NO STORY. Simply put: THIS IS NO SINGLE PLAYER GAME. To truly enjoy this you need an active Internet connection. While many will see this as a fault, this is an inspired move. As Left 4 Dead has only one goal in mind and that is replayability. Thus, the total lack of ending helps create and bring that one fact home: every time you play, every time you pick up your pistol, every night you will spend playing this game over and over and over is a new and horrifying experience. No Way Around it: Fun Fun Fun.… Expand
  4. mmaas
    Jan 20, 2010
    10
    DAVID N you have any idea what you are talking about?? metacritics please remove his comment this is a AWESOME GAME and its no mods
  5. RomanO
    Jan 8, 2010
    10
    Video killed the radio star. Very sad but what had to be an expansion for L4D, but became L4D2 killed this game. Why Valve? :(
  6. IanGrahame
    Jan 8, 2009
    9
    I find it humorous that so many idiots were so very compelled to come here and give 'Left 4 Dead' a 0 to "contradict the other reviews." What kind empty, pathetic lives do you lead? Anyway, as I've sort of hinted, discount the "0's" in here. (Hey, even the one guy admitted "would have given this game a 6-7 out of 10" but he apparently had to "balance out all the other I find it humorous that so many idiots were so very compelled to come here and give 'Left 4 Dead' a 0 to "contradict the other reviews." What kind empty, pathetic lives do you lead? Anyway, as I've sort of hinted, discount the "0's" in here. (Hey, even the one guy admitted "would have given this game a 6-7 out of 10" but he apparently had to "balance out all the other guys." 'Left 4 Dead' is a masterful shooter. The gameplay is terrifically intense, yes, there are only four "movies" to play through, each one has tremendous replayability. It changes each and every time it is played. The music is just awesome. Incredibly ominous stuff, that. And though the the number of movies is certainly a flaw, it is absolutely NOT a reason to pass by 'Left 4 Dead'. This is the closest we're gonna get to an actual zombie apocalypse. Probably :)… Expand
  7. AnonymousOne
    Dec 31, 2009
    9
    How can anything this simple and repetitive be so entertaining? I stopped asking myself that question after the first hour. Left4Dead has become one of my all time favorite Source games.
  8. 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!
  9. MagnusT
    Jan 23, 2010
    9
    I have one...rather huge beef with this game. The happy part is, it's not a problem that has been caused by the game itself. However, this problem is so huge and towering as to block out the sun. The game itself and everything about it easily earn the 9 I am giving it. However, the brutal fact that a healthy portion of its online players are quite possibly the scum of the earth, the I have one...rather huge beef with this game. The happy part is, it's not a problem that has been caused by the game itself. However, this problem is so huge and towering as to block out the sun. The game itself and everything about it easily earn the 9 I am giving it. However, the brutal fact that a healthy portion of its online players are quite possibly the scum of the earth, the evolutionary low, the creations that God shudders at when he realizes he created them, can really wear on the more serious players. I am trying not to be a whiny hater noob about this. I get 1st place on every chapter, literally 9/10 times I play, no matter what difficulty, in all of the important aspects. Despite this fact, in almost every match I've ever played, there has always been, at bare minimum, one incredibly anti-social sadist who wants to ruin the experience. Every. Single. Time. If this were a PvP/TvT FPS, I wouldn't care. People will be posturing lunatics in such games as CoD4 or FEAR2 or CS:S or whatever...but seriously? Can you even pretend to care about a team? If you are not one of those people and you don't want to deal with the infinite stream of madmen, idiots and TKers, skip this one. If you ARE one of the above, please...PLEASE, for the love of God, don't buy this game. Leave us serious people in peace so we can actually have fun playing this game with people who actually give a second crap about playing with a half-sane team.… Expand
  10. AndrewG.
    Nov 18, 2008
    10
    This game is absolutely perfect! The graphics on the source engine have been drastically improved from previous games, the faces and characters look almost identical to that of new engines like Cryengine 2! This game relies completely on teamwork, a concept many FPS games often lack. There is more strategy in the game than you think, particularly in Versus mode.
  11. FredB
    Dec 15, 2009
    10
    It is such a awesomem game graphic wise and violence wise because the whole world has the full violence version and the game hardly gets boring.
  12. SteveL.
    Dec 18, 2009
    10
    I love this game.
  13. HenriM
    Dec 29, 2009
    8
    Great game. This game has exellent graphics and gameplay, it doesn't have much of a story, and I admit it gets a bit boring after a while. It is very amusing too. Not all people in multiplayer are jerks, you might even make friends. And if you people complain it's too easy, try other difficulties, it gets less boring that way aswell.
  14. TenzinD
    Dec 18, 2009
    10
    its the best zombie game ever i cant wait to the left 4 dead 2
  15. RMW_Critic
    Sep 24, 2010
    9
    This game has all of the basic elements that a shooter should have and more. It gives the hardcore a mode, the director is one of the smartest ever created and it's cheap right now. Left 4 Dead is probably the best zombie shooter ever. Yet. I hope that Valve can release even more great games.
  16. KNIGHT52
    Sep 25, 2010
    10
    It is the best game in the world! In it there is all - Replaying, fascination, she class, interesting. I say thank big to developers! In Russia game costs 600 roubles - the real price for such game! First a part of game much more interesting - she interesting and characters is more attractive than the second part better...
    All I shall advise to get this game, you will not regret cent, you    It is the best game in the world! In it there is all - Replaying, fascination, she class, interesting. I say thank big to developers! In Russia game costs 600 roubles - the real price for such game! First a part of game much more interesting - she interesting and characters is more attractive than the second part better...
    All I shall advise to get this game, you will not regret cent, you will be keen in this game for a long time and if you have friends - that tell and let they will buy it, they will not regret!    … Expand
  17. Frostbite
    Oct 9, 2010
    10
    Zombie games aren't exactly in a famine these days. With so many games focusing on surviving against zombies, it can be hard to pick any good games from the crowd. But with Left 4 Dead, I believe all other games have just been blown out of the water. In L4D, you play as one of four survivors- Bill, Francis, Zoey, or Louis. Each has their own little back story and their own personality,Zombie games aren't exactly in a famine these days. With so many games focusing on surviving against zombies, it can be hard to pick any good games from the crowd. But with Left 4 Dead, I believe all other games have just been blown out of the water. In L4D, you play as one of four survivors- Bill, Francis, Zoey, or Louis. Each has their own little back story and their own personality, something that helps you connect. Like Francis, who hates stairs, helicopters, zombies, walking, and generally anything and everything. There are multiple campaigns in the game, each with a different set of locales and atmospheres. Like the first campaign, No Mercy, which has you moving through a city to rendezvous on a hospital skyscraper rooftop. Each campaign is broken into chapters, which have you getting from the start area to a safehouse. At the last chapter, you face a thing called a finale, where you get a bunch of supplies, an area to hole out in, and a trigger to start it. When you activate the trigger, a massive horde of zombies rush at you. And the game features a "Director," who controls how the chapter is going. For example, you might hole out in a parking lot in one area and defend against a wave of zombies using gas canisters in one playthrough, and maybe the next the canisters won't be there and the zombies will come from behind. And killing zombies in this game is FUN. You start out with a single pistol, and can pick up an smg or a shotgun. Later in a chapter you find upgraded weapons, which are a hunting rifle, an auto shotgun, and an assault rifle. The game gets pretty gory when using a shotgun or hunting rifle, as headshots will take zombie heads clean off and shotgun blasts will tear off limbs. If you like FPS games, or zombie games, this is the game for you.… Expand
  18. Zombeh
    Dec 14, 2010
    10
    Amazingly fun game. Buy it NOW! It is very fun survival mode and versus mode, and you can play with friends and just have a good time blowing zombiw hordes apart! What more do you want?
  19. xZippy
    Mar 29, 2013
    8
    I'll never forget that feeling the night I bought this game and played it for the first time. It was magic. A co-op zombie shooter with many twists and turns and a "Director" to alter the game every time it was played. How could a gamer pass that up? Good weapons, character development, graphics and a zombie apocalypse atmosphere.
  20. FFStudios
    Jun 6, 2012
    8
    Having not played a zombie shooter before (except for COD zombies on the iPad), it was with some nervousness that I bought Left 4 dead on Steam not really knowing what to expect. Thankfully, I can say that Left 4 Dead is one of the best multiplayer games I've played in years. Communication with other players becomes more vital and you inevitably build up a connection with the charactersHaving not played a zombie shooter before (except for COD zombies on the iPad), it was with some nervousness that I bought Left 4 dead on Steam not really knowing what to expect. Thankfully, I can say that Left 4 Dead is one of the best multiplayer games I've played in years. Communication with other players becomes more vital and you inevitably build up a connection with the characters and other players. If you're into co-op or if you just like Valve games, then this is a must buy: although if you're sensitive to gore or prefer a densely packed narrative then you might want to give this one a miss. As for me, the AI director and co-op has kept me playing for more than thirty hours despite its insubstantiality.… Expand
  21. heychrisfox
    Oct 26, 2012
    8
    Okay, so maybe Left 4 Dead doesn't have the deepest plot. But if you're not looking for anything particularly engaging and enthralling, and simply want to unload as many bullets as possible into fast moving targets who are hungry for you, Left 4 Dead is a great game, especially if you have some friends to help you survive through the bullet riddled repetition.
  22. gzy91
    Nov 24, 2013
    8
    Comparing to the L4D2, this one is a little weak in weapon and infected diversities. But overall it's a great game for co-op. Also the VS mode is greeeeeaaaaat! Love acting as a zombie!
  23. prossnip42
    Aug 30, 2016
    8
    Man does valve know how to make good multiplayer games.. and this game is no exception. So onto the review then.

    Pros: -For an arcade zombie game where you have almost infinite bullets the game can be surpirsingly scary. Especially the witch...good god please not the witch. -The gameplay is great. You'd think that shooting a up big hordes of zombie while walking from point a to b    Man does valve know how to make good multiplayer games.. and this game is no exception. So onto the review then.

    Pros:
    -For an arcade zombie game where you have almost infinite bullets the game can be surpirsingly scary. Especially the witch...good god please not the witch.
    -The gameplay is great. You'd think that shooting a up big hordes of zombie while walking from point a to b would get boring pretty fast but it doesn't. That's because there's multiple types of zombies, the level design is very good and there's a lot of guns for you to blow somebody's brains out
    -But this game is at its best when you play with friends...it's so much fun and it requires a lot of teamwork.

    Cons:
    -This really goes if you're playing alone. The a.i partners can be pretty dumb sometimes and it can get repetitive but only if you're playing alone and even still it's a lot of fun

    In conclusion Left 4 Dead is a really good game that any FPS or zombie fan should check out.    … Expand
  24. IQDecIined
    Dec 9, 2015
    10
    Easily one of my favorite games in existence. The necessity of teamwork was a concept lacking in most contemporary titles at the time, atleast to the degree inherent to L4D.

    Stylistically awesome, and really capable of making player(s) feel the suspense, tension, desperation or panic appropriate to travelling through environments spilling over with the 'infected', who are more similar    Easily one of my favorite games in existence. The necessity of teamwork was a concept lacking in most contemporary titles at the time, atleast to the degree inherent to L4D.

    Stylistically awesome, and really capable of making player(s) feel the suspense, tension, desperation or panic appropriate to travelling through environments spilling over with the 'infected', who are more similar to the runners in 28 Days Later than the typical Romero zombie.

    Louis, Zoey, Francis and Bill become well-known to the player through multiple sessions - the dynamic nature of the AI 'director' ensures for varying experiences through multiple playthroughs.

    Co-Op on Expert mode with your friends is satisfying as hell when you manage to pull through, and Versus offers a competitive game mode and chance to play as the original special infected.

    As always, I did see potential for improvement, but if any game deserves a 10/10 it's this one.    … Expand
  25. DeletedContent
    Apr 5, 2016
    7
    Okay, so by the score I've given, you probably want to crucify me, but please hear me out. This game is the first zombie game of this kind to incorporate the hordes of unique zombies and a squad of players against all odd-... oh what, that's Killing Floor. So yeah, while the game is innovative, it didn't start the genre like people thing, sort of like how people credit COD4 for startingOkay, so by the score I've given, you probably want to crucify me, but please hear me out. This game is the first zombie game of this kind to incorporate the hordes of unique zombies and a squad of players against all odd-... oh what, that's Killing Floor. So yeah, while the game is innovative, it didn't start the genre like people thing, sort of like how people credit COD4 for starting off the modern FPS from WW2, when Battlefield 2 did the same thing 3 years earlier, and COD4 just drew inspiration (as a matter of fact, BF2 was inspired by the Desert Combat mod for BF1942, which technically makes most modern military FPS inspirations of inspirations of inspirations). But back to Killing Flo- I mean L4D. The gunplay is really neat and satisfying, though the weapons can sometimes feel really stiff and the lack of any sort of sights or zoom-in option is kind of annoying in my opinion (noticing a trend here Valve; it was fine for Half-Life and TF2, but it can get annoying in a game like this). The animations are also kind of stiff and the outlines on objects now look laughably outdated, but the textures still hold up for the most part.

    But lets tackle the immediate, the games biggest strength and greatest weakness: the core gameplay loop. This loop is as addicting as it is mind-numbing, and it depends on your style. If you get easily bored by repetition in gameplay, then stay as far away from this game as possible. If you LIKE this sort of repetition, then go ahead and get the damn game. You WILL be happy with your purchase. Ultimately, I managed to squeeze out around 50 hours of gameplay before I got bored and took a long break from the game. The reason I couldn't last as long here when compared to other horde-mode survival games like PAYDAY 2 or Killing Floor is due to the lack of permanent progression. The two games I just mentioned have skill trees, which give you something to work towards from match-to-match, and even when you reach the max level (or in the case of KF, the max level of each class), there is still loads of experimenting to be done with skills and the like. L4D lacks that sort of thing; each new round is a fresh start and the only skills that you retain through the hours are those embedded your head, not in code. Another problem I have with this game when compared to its competitors is the lack of weapons. There are but a few weapons in the game, though to be fair they all play pretty differently (L4D2 fixed this somewhat with new guns, and I'll be reviewing the two games like one, because L4D2 is less of a new game and more of a rehaul pack). However, this lack of initial content is somewhat remedied by the same sort of thing that allowed Half-Life to become the greatest FPS of all time and what allowed me to clock over 1000 hours into Minecraft over around 4 years: MODS!!! The modding community for L4D, while not as substantial as for other Valve games like HL2, is still very very large. These mods add at least 10 extra hours, from making the Tank zombies into giant Kool-Aid men, to all-new maps, weapons, and even the occasional character re-skin or new zombie type. Also the characters are awesome.

    Conclusion: A repetitive, but addicting horde game with a lack of initial content and a "sequel" with the same issues, which is partially remedied by mods which can double the gameplay time. 6/10 without mods, 8/10 with mods. Also, don't get it on consoles, though I'm pretty sure that's a given for a Valve game.    … Expand
  26. FilemonBR
    Aug 20, 2016
    8
    Um jogo bacana, joguei muito na epoca, porem ele nao me agrada totalmente, mas eu acho muito melhor que o 2, porem...é divertido sim, da para se diverti com amigos
  27. Aginagala
    Nov 5, 2017
    7
    A fresh and fun take on zombies in video games as the franchise was seemingly becoming over used and boring this game made it fun again, pure zombie killing fun. You'll find yourself playing 'one more game' more times than you care to admit as this game still to this day has a gigantic fan base with full lobbies even now outshining modern zombie and normal shooters. Moreover a fun andA fresh and fun take on zombies in video games as the franchise was seemingly becoming over used and boring this game made it fun again, pure zombie killing fun. You'll find yourself playing 'one more game' more times than you care to admit as this game still to this day has a gigantic fan base with full lobbies even now outshining modern zombie and normal shooters. Moreover a fun and witty campaign make this game fun for whatever gamer you are.… Expand
  28. creptor
    Dec 30, 2010
    10
    The game is amazing. Great Graphics and the increasing hordes makes the game very addicting as well as zombies being in different places each time you play the campaigns. Great game with nice weapons. I recommend it!
  29. Higher_Standard
    Aug 17, 2010
    10
    The base concept of moving from area to area killing hordes of zombies is nothing new. How they go about making it is remarkable, however. The game forces teamwork and with the help of the ai director you can play this game over and over and over and almost never have two similar situations. Defiantly a groundbreaking achievement in the gaming world.
  30. not_batman27
    Oct 8, 2012
    10
    best zombie game ever! the characters, the zombie models, the special infected, the co up, the versus! all so fun! i always wanted a game which had easily killed zombies but still had to use team work to survive, probebly the best co up game i can think of in the moment, nope its the best i know!
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Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PC Game of 2008
4
#4 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
10
#10 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 58
  3. Negative: 0 out of 58
  1. IGN
    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.
    Read full review
  2. GameSpy
    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.
    Read full review
  3. IGN UK
    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.
    Read full review
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