We discuss ten games like Left 4 Dead you must play. Add these well-recommended games to your gaming library.
Left 4 Dead is a 2008 cooperative first-person shooter from Valve. It sees players dropped into the middle of a zombie outbreak and tasks them with surviving against an ever-growing number of enemies.
What made the game unique was the presence of an AI Director, a system that dynamically alters the game in response to players and their actions. It could spawn enemies and add or remove items to maintain tension and promote replayability.
The game got a sequel a year after its release in 2009, and it’s still as popular as ever. If you’re looking for other cooperative games and more games to take on hordes of infected, then here are ten games like Left 4 Dead you must play.
10 Games like Left 4 Dead
World War Z (2019)
A cooperative third-person shooter, World War Z sees players choose a character from one of seven different classes and join with their friends to see how long they can last against swathes of the undead.
Payday 2 (2013)
Payday 2 lets players live out their criminal fantasies, allowing them to team up with their friends and execute the perfect heist. It’s a first-person shooter, and its various crimes see players robbing banks, shops, and armored cars, producing and distributing drugs, or even rigging an election.
Players will have to come up with the perfect plan to make sure everyone does something. Otherwise, their hard work could be for nothing.
Back 4 Blood (2021)
Seen as the spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood sees players team up in cooperative gameplay to survive against hordes of zombies.
A key part of this game’s appeal is something called the Game Director, first seen in Left 4 Dead. It’s an advanced AI that dynamically places enemies, items, and obstacles and even changes the environment in response to the player’s behavior.
Killing Floor 2 (2016)
Killing Floor 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter that sees players work together to try to control an outbreak of a horde of zombie-like creatures called Zeds. Players take on several waves, with the zombie count increasing each time.
At the end of a series of waves, players will have to bring down a difficult boss.
Dead Island 2 (2023)
Dead Island 2 sees players put on an island packed to the brim with zombies for them to slaughter with many different weapons to choose from.
Players can pick a unique character with different abilities to explore the semi-open world and kill the undead, and they can do this on their own or with friends.
Deep Rock Galactic (2020)
A cooperative game set in a mineshaft, Deep Rock Galactic sees players take control of different classes of dwarves as they attempt to excavate a mineral-rich environment, one that’s infested with aliens.
Each class of dwarves has a unique loadout, forcing players to change their playstyle when they choose different roles.
GTFO (2019)
GTFO sends a team of four players to explore a vast and deep underground complex to meet the mysterious Warden’s objectives. This process isn’t easy, as hordes of hideous monsters have made the complex their sleeping ground.
Players must come up with an effective strategy, watch resource consumption, and stealthily kill surrounding enemies to fulfill the Warden’s demands.
Project Zomboid (2013)
An isometric single-player and multiplayer zombie game, Project Zomboid sees players design their character with appearance and occupation and choose their spawning location.
They will then have to survive against the zombie horde for as long as possible, something that’s made more difficult as players will also have to keep on top of personal needs like hunger, stress, fatigue, and boredom.
State of Decay 2 (2018)
A cooperative game set in the third-person, State of Decay 2 has players build their base to try and outlast the zombie apocalypse and reinforce its defenses. Players have to carefully manage resources and scavenge for food, medicine, ammo, and building supplies. NPCs can be recruited to the base, giving out special bonuses.
No More Room in Hell (2011)
A multiplayer zombie apocalypse that sees players take control of one of eight characters, No More Room in Hell gives players a horror experience in the zombie game genre.
There are two modes to play: Objective, which has players follow instructions given to them by the game, and survival, which sees players stop the incoming horde from reaching certain sections of the map.
Do you have any other recommendations for games like Left 4 Dead? Let us know in the comments below.
