While Valve are likely going to take their time with “Left 4 Dead 3” and they aren’t going to bring the game out anytime soon, the genre of four-player cooperative shooters has been gaining more and more popularity lately, and there have been various takes on the concept, some more successful than others. The latest entry in the “Warhammer” franchise seems to draw a lot of inspiration from Valve’s zombie shooter, and the game has been enjoying some positive reviews from critics since it came out.
And in fact, the game has been drawing direct comparisons with “Left 4 Dead”, some even going as far as to claim that it’s a good enough substitute for the zombie shooter until it releases, and calling it “Left 4 Dead 3” in a joking manner. The idea of the game is quite similar to that of “Left 4 Dead” too, as players team up in a group of four and travel through various maps set throughout the world of Warhammer, battling hordes of enemies and finding new, better equipment for themselves.
The game even implements a similar idea to the AI Director from “Left 4 Dead”, and there have been some very positive comments about that aspect of the gameplay, with some gamers even claiming that the system feels slightly more refined than its original counterpart and that the game plays very smoothly because of it.
On the other hand, there are some unique elements to the gameplay of “Warhammer: The End Times: Vermintide”, such as various kinds of unique events triggered by the Director, as well as a different approach to the inventory and skill system of all players.
And yet, some gameplay elements are obviously lifted from “Left 4 Dead” with varying degrees of subtlety, from medkits to grenades, and it’s clear that this game has been designed with the idea of taking everything that worked well from “Left 4 Dead”, and combining it with some original creative ideas that further improve the gameplay and make it even more refined in some areas.
Does it work out well in the end? Most critics have been very positive towards the new “Warhammer”, and the majority of reviews about the game have been in an approving tone. There are some minor criticisms here and there, but the problems of the game are nothing that a few patches can’t fix, from what it seems.
Some have been expressing negativity towards the copying of gameplay elements from “Left 4 Dead”, but it’s fair to say that this is how the industry has worked as a whole since the beginning, and it’s nothing new under the sun for companies to “borrow” gameplay elements from one another when they would fit within their own games nicely enough. It’s certainly true that this game has benefited a lot from copying some elements from the zombie shooter, and some have even gone as far as to say that it could have taken even more.
Meanwhile, what’s the latest word on the actual “Left 4 Dead 3”? Sadly, we still know pretty much nothing at this point, and Valve are typically quiet about their plans and progress. It’s been rumored for a while now that the studio has something major going on behind their doors and they are preparing a major announcement soon, but we don’t know what that could be and what they might have been working on.