Toxic Commando Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Toxic Commando from developer Saber Interactive is the latest co-op shooter hoping to carve out a name for itself in a genre that has crowded quickly over the years. 

Granted, most co-op shooters don't have a unique twist. 

This one, specifically, has John Carpenter, legendary director of iconic movies like The Thing, assisting in the first-person shooter's zombie-horde survivor design, creating a must-see experience for fans with even a fleeting interest in the space. 

With that sort of hook right out of the gates, Toxic Commando just needs to launch with solid gameplay and a dense bit of content for players to bite into, pun intended. 

Graphics and Gameplay

Toxic Commando looks great, both close up during cutscenes and when the camera skillfully pans out to showcase some of the often staggering zombie hordes players will need to navigate. 

No great shocker here, but it's a grim, darker-toned romp through red-lit tunnels and smoky overworlds, for the most part. 

What really stands out is the symphony of great feedback and sound design that creates some seemingly great-feeling gunplay. Where many in the genre zoom out a bit to go third-person, Toxic Commando makes sure the first-person gunplay is as close to the likes of Call of Duty as possible. 

And it just works. The feel is there, which is what makes all the systems working in concert so impressive. 

Saber Interactive's experience with the massive hordes of enemies in recent hits like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is on full display here. Attempting to navigate these can be tough, especially on foot. 

But Toxic Commando gives players all the fun tools. 

Speaking of Saber Interactive's experience, vehicles are a big part of the game here, which is straight out of their efforts with driving sim SnowRunner. They control well enough and yes, there's indeed some joy to be had by mowing through the crowds (just be mindful, vehicles can down allies). Impressive tech that could have players literally stuck in mud or other traps is an exclamation point on the whole thing.

Players pick from four characters (Clive, Lucy, Omari, Charlet) when they load up a session, then pick a class: 

• Strike
• Medic
• Operator
• Defender

These are standard-fare things in the Left 4 Dead vein, no doubt. But Toxic Commando is pretty unabashed in what it's doing and looking past some of the genericness of it, there's too much fun to be had to complain. 

Enemy types won't shock those with L4D or similar experience, either. There's the gassy ones, the ones set to explode and types of all ranges. It keeps things challenging and communication can be important, especially on higher difficulties. 

Along the way, players hunt for crates with randomly generated assists that cover the expected stuff like healing items and ammo. 

The objectives are simple, yet fun, too. There are main things to chase and clear levels. But side objectives offer up rewards off the beaten path that are worthwhile. Standard stuff like shoot the tentacles or big red glowy bits, but the way the game varies things up on a per-run basis prevents it from feeling like a slog.

Story, Multiplayer and More

The Sludge God is free thanks to humanity's quest to use Earth's core as power and that big bad harms the globe and turns humans to zombies. 

Chaos, naturally, ensues.

It's a fun little romp, but most of it is window dressing for a good time with friends or randoms. It doesn't have the IP ties that something like Space Marine has, but then again, which video gamer or movie lover isn't tied to zombies in some fashion these days?

The game unfolds across nine maps at launch and the scale is impressive. There are vehicles that offers assists (the ambulance heals, the police car gives ammo) and protection. Where L4D classics toyed with the idea of smaller maps while players are on foot, the intense scale of the swarms here means vehicles don't remove a sense of tension. 

As for progression, each of the four classes gets its own skill trees that encourage players to experiment with different types of builds. Layering upon that by coordinating builds across four players in various scenarios, and there's a little more depth here than some might expect. 

That's before mentioning the extensive way players can modify most of the game's weapons with attachments. Those impact performance, while there are cosmetic colors and charms to mess with, too. 

Note that the game properly fills lobbies with AI teammates who offer a pretty good assist. Attempting to solo a stage simply doesn't feel possible, given how quickly things can get out of hand. 

Toxic Commando runs well, which is impressive given the depth of some hordes that pop up and along with an expected gamut of options, those who aren't satisfied with the story mode level of challenge can ramp the difficulty up to Nightmare mode. 

Conclusion

The co-op genre is quietly stacked these days thanks to hits like Space Marine 2, Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic, to name a few. 

Toxic Commando slots right as a worthy member of the club. 

The gunplay and zombie backdrop is great. But where it really shines is the developer's unique experience with swarm tech and driving experience. A hyper focus on scale and replayability just pushes things over the edge. 

With the right post-launch support, which games like Space Marine have more than had, Toxic Commando should enjoy a long shelf life that players in the genre should enjoy.