When it comes to greatest video game enemy types, it’s hard to come up with a better candidate than zombies. Undead enemies have served as adversaries in practically every genre; story-driven experiences like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead, top-down shooters like Dead Nation, open-world games like Dead Island 2, and round-based survival modes like CoD Zombies. Two of the many standout examples of zombie games are DayZ and Dying Light, and fortunately for Steam users seeking a new game to add to their Steam wishlists, The Left Behind is seeking to combine elements from both of these experiences.
Obviously, DayZ and Dying Light are hugely different takes on the zombie genre, so it’s impossible for a game to fully replicate both at the same time. When players try Steam’s The Left Behind, they won’t find DayZ’s PvP social interactions or Dying Light’s parkour. Instead, they’ll find the former’s focus on exploration, camera perspective, and world design as well as the latter’s tact of making nighttime scary. Hopefully, these two aspects (as well as the option to play solo or with up to 3 other friends) will make for a quality experience.
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The Left Behind Features at a Glance
- EXPLORE post-apocalyptic Dutch landscapes where every single building can be entered and looted.
- SURVIVE with or against 3 friende in the same open-world.
- MANAGE hunger, thirst, and health, making food items valuable commodities.
- EXPERIENCE a story mode and wave-based mode in addition to the survival experience.
- UNLOCK new ranged and melee weapons and areas the longer you play.
- FIGHT various humanoid zombies as well as animal threats.
Left Behind is a solo and co-op post-apocalyptic survival game. Explore a typical Dutch open-world landscape at daytime and beware of hordes of enemies coming in at night. Loot and hunt to survive. Each night, the game becomes increasingly challenging. How long will you survive?
What’s That Weapon?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
The Left Behind Seems Like a Hodgepodge of the Zombie Genre’s Best Elements
Based on the feature lineup for this upcoming Steam game, it really feels like it’s trying to merge the best elements from the entirety of the genre. Sure, players shouldn’t expect a cutscene and character-heavy storyline given that the game has a small budget — its name will likely be the only similarity to The Last of Us franchise — but it still offers a “mysterious” narrative to piece together. On top of this story-driven mode, there’s the co-op survival mode, where you have to survive alongside your friends (or take them out) for as long as you can. Whether you work together to manage your resources and reach a high score is your decision, though keeping the loot for yourself will likely be tempting. And if that wasn’t enough, fans of CoD Zombies or Resident Evil’s Mercenaries mode will be thrilled to know that the game includes a wave-based option as well.
The moment-to-moment gameplay of The Left Behind is where the similarities to Dying Light and DayZ kick in. The exploration and looting process is sure to feel familiar to DayZ fans, as is the combat and camera perspective. If you see a building, you can be certain it’s able to be explored, though with some of them said to have “personalities” of their own, zombie hunters should be ready for a fight. That need to be prepared only becomes more prominent once night descends on the survivors, as though there doesn’t seem to be Volatiles like in Dying Light, large groups of the undead will hone in on the player and move faster. In addition to these nocturnal undead, players can expect to battle wildlife, though it is unclear if it’s infected or not.
As you splatter heads with bats or gun down enemies from a distance, you’ll have to manage hunger, thirst, and health bars at every turn. This should ensure every bit of loot has value, as you could need water or something to eat just as badly as they require more rounds for their weapon or choice. Speaking of weaponry, the Steam description states that players will unlock new ranged and melee weapons as they go, so a proper feeling of progression should be present. Whether these unlocks come via character levels, blueprints that require crafting, or discovery in new world zones is currently unclear, but the idea that you will constantly be getting new pieces of gear in this particular zombie game is exciting. With developer Extrude promising a “handcrafted” world to explore, a story to piece together, multiple game modes, and a variety of weapons and foes, The Left Behind could be perfect for groups of four seeking out their next co-op adventure.
