The release of Back 4 Blood marks yet another entry into the cooperative multiplayer shooter category, a genre that owes its popularity, in large part, to the huge success of developer Turtle Rock Studio’s other series, the legendary Left 4 Dead and its sequel. The basic formula is simple - take the level-based horde mode popularized in games like Gears of War and then add a light coat of story and some linear level traversal to tie it all together. More recent entries into the genre have added things like campaign modes, loadouts, or RPG-like progression mechanics like weapon unlocks and character class leveling to keep players coming back for more.
With so many games utilizing this structure, let’s take a look at the best of the best and see which one reigns supreme. Please note, for purposes of this article we’re focusing on cooperative shooters of the non-looter shooter variety. No Borderlands, Destiny or The Division here, so everybody put the pitchforks away.
Strange Brigade
Developed by Rebellion, the same folks behind the Sniper Elite series (and their spinoff, the Zombie Army series also on this list!), Strange Brigade’s best assets are its pulpy setting of 1930’s Egypt and the arch delivery of its ever-present narrator. Wielding a wry English wit, he comments on every situation imaginable, from enemy actions to the player pausing the game. Strange Brigade also adds a puzzle-solving element to the mix, giving players more to do than just smash the right trigger button endlessly.
Evolve
Not everything Turtle Rock Studios touches turns to gold, evident from the fact that this 2015 release transitioned to a free-to-play model before its servers shut down permanently in 2018. Different from the other titles on this list, as it is an asymmetrical multiplayer game more along the lines of Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th: The Game, Evolve still features the 4 player co-op that the developer is known for, albeit with the focus on taking down one big player-controlled monster vs. hundreds of brainless zombies. You can still enjoy this title through peer-to-peer matchmaking.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Terrorist Hunt Mode
Turning the settings to "Realistic" mode, bumping up the enemy count, and then slowly and methodically clearing rooms of terrorists intent with three other players was a real treat in 2008. With certain death around every corner, tension was nail-bitingingly high, and the unpredictable (and dumb) behavior of the enemy AI only made things more entertaining, with baddies sometimes completely oblivious to your presence, but incredibly deadly just the same. Many gamers have fond memories of clearing "Kill House" for the nth time, calling out corners and flashbanging rooms late into the night.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite
A good Alien game is one of life’s welcome surprises, and Aliens: Fireteam Elite fits the bill quite nicely. The game replaces the more common zombie enemy type with agile, acid-spewing Xenomorphs, and letting players romp through familiar settings inspired by the films. In its more intense moment, the game nails the foreboding sense of doom the Alien franchise in known for, and the addition of different classes such as the Gunner and Recon units with specialized skills and loadouts adds a ton of replayability.
Payday Series
No, not 70's-era money-management board game that taught a generation of kids the drudergies of adult life such as purchasing auto insurance, taking out loans with egregious interest, and hoping to win the lottery. We're talking about the video game that tackled age-appropriate issues like planning heists, taking hostages and mowing down SWAT units without mercy. The Payday series is notable for adding the ability to complete missions using only stealth to the genre, as well as for granting the world's wish to participate in a playable version of the shootout from Heat.
Zombie Army Series
If Left 4 Dead's B movie aesthetic is too classy for you, then you'll love the late-late-night VHS vibe of the Zombie Army series, now on it's fourth (!) iteration. Taking the core mechanics from the Sniper Elite series (as well as many of the same characters), Zombie Army sees you and up to three buds teaming up to face down an undead Nazi army straight out of Roger Corman's nightmares. The latest installment, Zombie Army 4: Dead War, refines the series trademark zombie slaying with a robust campaign mode, creative enemy types and character-specific special abilities. Robust post-game support from Rebellion has also meant a steady stream of content since its release.
World War Z
The bestselling book spawned a movie that was nothing like it, which spawned this game that takes the fast-moving, wall-of-bodies zombies from the movie and combines it with the more sprawling narrative from the book. Taking players across the globe from Moscow to Tokyo, Marseille to New York, World War Z was just recently updated and relaunched as World War Z: Aftermath, adding new levels and the ability to play the entire game in first-person...you know, just like that other zombie-killing game we keep mentioning.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Switching up the setting from modern day apocalypse to dark fantasy realm, and replacing the typical guns with brutal melee combat, Vermintide 2 carves its own path through the Left 4 Dead formula. With five character classes to choose from, each with their own passive and active abilities, and a wide range of bladed and blunt instruments of death to choose from, Vermintide 2 is a breath of fresh air in a genre that can sometimes feel a little undead itself.
Deep Rock Galactic
When you get tired of killing zombies on earth, Deep Rock Galactic is here for you with space dwarves fighting hordes of bugs while trying to get their mine on. The titular entity is a greedy mining enterprise that wants valuable ore stripped from the planet Hoxxas VI, tasking players with delving into dark caves and surviving an onslaught of creepy-crawlies. Deep Rock Galactic does a lot right, from its use of light as a gameplay element, to the various cool abilities it gives each of the character classes. But it's real strength is how it builds an incredible amount of tension as players strive to make their exit to the dropship via their own carved tunnels as an unforgiving clock ticks down the seconds until their doom.
Back 4 Blood
Left 4 Dead 3 in all but name, Back 4 Blood sees original developers, Turtle Rock Studios, returning to the playground of cooperative zombie shooting, but with some new tricks up their sleeve. Players can now choose from 8 characters with unique abilities and the addition of the new card building system enhances the replayability. The gunplay has also been overhauled, with an attachments and optics system that can increase the effectiveness of your chosen weapon. All in all, Back 4 Blood is a successful retooling of the Left 4 Dead formula for a new generation.
Call of Duty Zombies
Call of Duty never met a successful genre it didn't want to absorb into its world-eating maw (see Fortnite), and it struck when the iron was hot for zombie games and never looked back. First introduced in 2008's Call of Duty: World at War, COD Zombies has been featured in many entries since with a persistent narrative that needs its own Wikipedia page to understand. For moment to moment fun, COD Zombies is pretty hard to beat, combining the finely-tuned gunplay the series is known for with a deep customization and perks system.
Left 4 Dead Series
The OG cooperative zombie shooter is still the best, and its secret is in its simplicity. Without classes and progression to worry about, players can focus solely on the stellar gunplay and ebb and flow of the game's dastardly levels. The games' wide variety of special infected, including Hunter, Smoker, Boomer, Spitter, Charger and Jockey, are still among the genre's best, with the terrifying wailing of the Witch engrained in many a player's mind as a harbinger of certain doom. The original player characters are all memorable archetypes, with spoken one liners that are still quoted to this day. And incredible set pieces like having to refuel a car in the midst of a shopping mall while mowing down hordes of the undead are simply unforgettable.