Check out the top 11 games like Left 4 Dead and keep the horror fest strong.
Sometimes we just want more of the same thing, but with video games we’ve got to be innovative. Check out the following games to satiate that Left 4 Dead craving that’s been eating you up.
11. How to Survive (2013)
Developer: EKO Software
Genre: Horror, Action
Theme: Man vs wild, man vs zombie
Sometimes life would be easier if we had a guide book for everything, luckily for us we have How to Survive. This game is a survival horror RPG where the player is shipwrecked on an island with zombies.
Take control of one of three characters, each with their own skill trees and characteristics. Players can pick from an archer, brawler, or all around character. In order to make it out alive, players will need to collect pages of a survival guide that will teach them extremely useful things. Players will be taught the basics such as the importance of finding resources like water, food, and shelter.
Who doesn’t love a good archer?
Without basic resources players will lose strength, fight poorly, and reduce their ability to stay alive. But not all lessons are quite so simple. Players will learn that meat fills them up, but it must be cooked because the animals on the island are diseased. Also, meat will attract zombies quickly, is this a risk you want to take?
There are four distinctive islands to explore that are all well stocked with items. Players can create over 100 handmade weapons and tools, ranging from Molotov cocktails to trusty shotguns. Not only will players need to worry about zombies, but wild animals pose a danger too. Don’t forget about wild zombie animals either.
Players can play with friends in story mode or in eight challenges, doubling their inventory slots and health. The game features several game modes: survival, escape, and barricade mode. It’s never too late to prepare yourself for the worst.
10. Cry of Fear (2012)
Developer: Team Psykskallar
Genre: Horror, adventure
Theme: Man vs unknown horrors
Want a horror game that makes you feel nostalgic for the old horror games we love? Cry of Fear is ready to give you a trip down horror memory lane and leave you with so much more.
Cry of Fear is a psychological horror game set in a deserted town ailed with horrific entities. Players take control of Simon who is traveling throughout the city of Faversholm, searching for answers. The game begins with Simon waking up in a dark alley, struggling to understand what happened to him.
A face only a mother could love
This game is a mod of Half-Life 1. That’s right, the first Half-Life game. Don’t let the dated engine stop you from playing this game. Cry of Fear features new character models and textures as well as great cutscenes and first person animation.
This game features classic horror elements like jump scares, limited health and ammo, and obscure puzzles. The inventory management is very strict allowing players to carry only six items at a time. Players need to collect keys, find clues, and crack codes if they want to succeed.
Cry of Fear features so much content it could be its own game. There is an eight hour campaign, multiple endings with over 20 unlockables, an additional campaign that is unlocked after beating single player, and a co-op campaign for up to four players. The game also features modding support and even has requests for the modding community.
Be warned, this game contains very dark and heavy themes such as suicide, child murder, and drug abuse. If this game feels like a good fit for you, it’s a must play. Even better, it’s free.
9. Immune (2015)
Developer: Vidiludi Games and Entertainment
Genre: MMO, action
Theme: Man vs zombie, man vs man
Ever think you’d fight a zombie to the death wearing bunny ears? Now you can. Immune has got you covered on all of your zombie slaying fashion basics.
Immune is an open world survival RPG with sandbox elements. Players need to survive in a wasteland as they scavenge for materials and food, craft, and fight. Players will learn how to grow and harvest their own food and be ready to fight mutants, bandits, and rogue players at any moment.
Become the zombie killing playboy bunny of your middle school dreams
The game features a robust crafting system. Players can create weapons and housing for themselves. It’s always important to have a secure base. Players can build their dream fort, fencing, and doors that only they can open, unless a player with a really powerful weapon comes around.
Players level up through crafting and fighting, enabling them to unlock more to craft. Finding crafting materials is pretty easy. Players can punch trees, punch rocks, punch pigs, punch a ton of things and get resources. There are also various accessories that players can wear like gas masks and mighty bunny ears.
Make sure you keep your items safe. Players can store there things in chests or bury them, but other players will still have access to them. When you run out of health you’ll drop your backpack full of loot, you can pick it up later if others haven’t gotten to it first. Plan carefully.
Immune is still an early access game and has ways to go, but it frequently updated. For where it is now, it’s a messy fun time.
8. No More Room in Hell (2011)
Developer: NMRiH Dev Team
Genre: Survival Horror, Shooter
Theme: Man vs zombie
Maybe what you need is a free and amazing game mod. No More Room in Hell is everything you’d want from a mod and so much more. This game is a mod of Half Life 2 and is a FPS with co-op for up to eight players.
Players enter into a world on the verge of collapse from an unknown and destructive disease. Though the chances of survival are slim, there are people still fighting to survive amongst the millions of zombies. Perhaps you’ll be able to help the other uninfected fight towards salvation.
Even the zombies are awed by your sick moves
The game features over 30 weapons to pick from, ranging from pistols to chainsaws. There’s a variety of areas to explore like large cities, abandoned churches, graves, sewers, and many other environments. Voice and text communications are limited by distance, so the further you are from others, the harder it will be for them to hear you.
No More Room in Hell is unforgiving and will punish players for every mistake. Every small detail will factor into your and your group’s success, or lack of it. If you get bitten by an infected you have the option of informing your team so that they can get rid of you when the time comes or keeping quiet and hoping for a zombie cure.
Maybe you won’t think twice when you need to shoot down an infected party member, but what will you do when you’re the infected one?
7. State of Decay (2013)
Developer: Undead Labs
Genre: Survival horror
Theme: Man vs zombie
It’s time to find out the secret to success in a zombie infected world. State of Decay is ready to teach players that influence is just as critical as firearms and medkits.
State of Decay is a third person survival action game set in an open world. As players travel across the world, they will be searching for supplies, recruiting survivors, and maintaining relationships with the people encountered, in and outside of their party. This game’s currency is called Influence and is obtained through completing missions, items scavenged, and upgrading your base. Influence can be spent sending out radio calls to possible survivors for recruitment, asking for the backup of a fellow survivor, among other things.
Your mission is to protect that gazebo at all costs
Players can rescue playable survivors who offer unique skills such as the ability to repair vehicles and craft weapons. To increase their chances of survival, players are able to switch between characters and utilize their unique skills.
It is critical to be well prepared in a game where death is permanent. Make sure that your base is well designed and fortified with an outpost and plenty of traps. If you find yourself in a bind stay crafty and remember that that zombies can be distracted with noticeable lights and sounds like gun shots and flares while you and your party try to get the upper hand.
You’ll never underestimate the power of influence again.
6. Dead Island Riptide (2013)
Developer: Techland
Genre: Survival horror, action RPG
Theme: Man vs zombie
Dive back into the Dead Island series with Dead Island Riptide. This game takes place on the island of Palanai, located on the Banoi archipelago, and is infested with tons of zombies and only a few struggling survivors.
Just like with the original game, the Dead Island series is still as crazy as ever. Dead Island Riptide combines first person action, a vast open world, and multiplayer co-op. The game features new enemies, skills, locations, an additional playable character, and most importantly, powerful weapons.
Only a rare few can zombie slay in heels
Players can mod weapons and create items like an electric shot gun and bat covered in barbed wire. There are also many skills that players can unlock that will improve their character’s recovery time and weapon accuracy, among many other perks.
Don’t forget to protect your base either. Keep your home away from home safe by building fences and carefully laying mines. Once your base is safe there are tons of side quests to tackle and extras in co-op.
There’s no better time to travel back to Banoi.
5. Killing Floor 2 (2015)
Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Genre: Horror, FPS
Theme: Man vs zombie
If you are craving some gore look no further than Killing Floor 2, it’ll fulfil your creepiest slaughter house dreams.
Killing Floor 2 takes places a month after the events of the first game. The government has collapsed, communications have failed, and the military has been eradicated. In order to take on the mass of zombies, a group of mercenaries and civilians have joined together.
And pop goes zombie brains
This game has tons of new features such as characters, monsters, and weapons that build upon the original game, especially gore. Killing Floor 2 features an extreme amount of gore like severed limbs, entrails, and spurting blood that will be abundant as players fight enemies. You’ll be painting the streets with your enemies’ blood and organs in no time.
Killing Floor 2 has six player co-op for a good zombie slaughtering time. Players have a multitude of characters that they can play as whether they are playing alone or in co-op. There are several of weapons to pick from and players have control of the melee attacks at their disposal. These factors make for an extremely personalized experience.
Can you stomach the carnage?
4. Dead Island (2011)
Developer: Techland
Genre: Horror, action
Theme: Man vs zombie
With all of this horror and zombie killing going on you’ll need a little vacation to get your mind off of things. Dead Island might be a little more than what you bargained for in a leisurely vacation.
On the island of Banoi a mysterious zombie outbreak occurs, cutting the player off from the rest of the world. The player’s only chance for survival is to fight through the chaos and try to find their way off of the island before a zombie can get to them first. Apart from taking on gruesome zombies, players will need to explore Banoi, discover new areas, collect items, create weapon modes, and complete side quests if they want to make it out alive.
In Sam B we trust
This game has of customization options. Players can develop their character as they’d like through RPG style elements allowing them to learn new tactics and skills. Since firearms and ammo are scarce, players will need to find items and craft them into unique, makeshift weapons. These mods will allow weapons to do tons more damage and have special abilities like toxic damage.
Dead Island also features multiplayer for up to four people where players can seamlessly join together through the game’s drop in function. The entire game can be played this way. Who better to have your back than your pro gaming buddies?
3. Dead Space 3 (2013)
Developer: Visceral Games
Genre: Horror, sci-fi
Theme: Man vs alien
Dead Space 3 shows us just how terrifying space can be and how it can destroy us. In this installment in the series Isaac's has been sent to a frozen planet called Tau Volantis where he’ll face off new horrors.
This game features various and amazingly detailed locations that range from a destroyed spacecraft to a suffocating tundra. In order to survive players need to fight terrifying necomorphs. The game offers a wide roster of enemies that require players to determine how to best take them down. Decide if you want to cut off some alien limbs for the heck of it and not just you want to ensure running the heck out of a scary situation.
Space monster stare down
This game also features a weapon crafting system that adds an extra layer of strategy. Players will need to scavenge for supplies to upgrade their weapons to their liking. Now you can be equipped with the acid grenades you have always dreamed of.
Rather than keeping Dead Space 2’s competitive multiplayer, this game has drop-in co-op that allows two players to experience the game's campaign together. Players get introduced to John Carver in this mode. His tragic past will only get explored in co-op mode, adding some extra narrative to the game.
It’s always good to use the buddy system, especially with killer space monsters afoot.
2. Left 4 Dead 2 (2009)
Developer: Valve
Genre: Horror, action
Theme: Man vs zombie
Return to the series you love with Left 4 Dead 2. In this co-op FPS players will be traveling across the South, navigating through swaps, cities, and carnival grounds.
Players take control of one of the four new survivors in the game. If players want to survive they’ll need to work as a team. Each party member needs to understand what they need to do and what they need their fellow members to do. You and your party members can call for help, weapons, ammo, and health.
Zombies never stood a chance
The campaigns and environments are far more detailed than the first game. Left 4 Dead 2 features three new Special Infected and five new uncommon infected. There’s the Jockey who will jump on your head, Charger who rams into you, and Spitter who shoots acid. Players will need to fight through zombies to get to the safe houses at the end of each map.
This game contains an entity known as the Director. The Director is an AI that plans out each stage. Each gaming session is personally tailored by the Director, meaning that the amount of enemies, enemy types, and more will be unique to each session. If the Director made things too hard then it will alter the stage a bit to make things easier.
Left 4 Dead 2 also has several other modes for players to tackle. In Realism mode the helpful glowing outlines around your teammates and items are removed, allies won’t respawn until the team reaches the safe house, and zombies are tougher to kill. Reality can be pretty harsh.
1. Far Cry 3 (2012)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Genre: FPS
Theme: Man vs wild, man vs man
In need of a tropic vacation but don’t want to leave your home, Far Cry 3 has got you covered. In this FPS players take control of Jason Brody as he and his friends get taken captive by a gang while vacationing on an island. Jason must desperately try to rescue his friends before the madness of the island kicks in.
The island is extremely large and diverse, featuring beaches, swamps, and mountain ranges. Players will be able to hunt a multitude of different animals, uncover relics, and play mini-games. Far Cry 3 features over 200 side missions that range from killing an animal with a specific weapon to stealth kills which will keep players plenty busy.
A friendly face will guide you on your island adventures
The game features tons of customization where players can customize their weapons, skills, and approach for each mission. Regardless if you are player that prefers stealth, run and gunning, sniping at a distance, or a mix of everything, you'll be able to play to fit your style.
Far Cry 3 features a four player co-op campaign where you and your friends will experience the island through a crew on their quest to survive against the horrors of the island. Players have to support each other if they want to survive and even level up. Reviving fallen allies, calling in support, and screaming out some battle cries will ensure success for you and your party.
How long will Far Cry 3 keep you captive?
Feel like you got your horror game bases covered now? Or is there a fantasticly terrifying game that missed the list? Comment below with some horror must haves and check out the following horror articles!
10 Best Multiplayer Horror Games You Should Play With Your Buddies
