Left 4 Dead cover
SeriesLeft 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead

Critic score7 critics
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First release
Nov 17, 2008
Engine
Source
Genres
Shooter · Action, Horror, Survival
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox 360

Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter set during a zombie outbreak on the East Coast of the United States. Four players control survivors who must fight through hordes of infected humans, creatures transformed by a rabies-like pathogen that causes extreme aggression and loss of higher brain function. Gameplay emphasizes teamwork, with colored outlines showing teammate positions through walls, shared healing items, and friendly fire creating consequences for careless shooting. An AI system called the Director dynamically adjusts enemy placement, item spawns, and pacing based on player performance. Beyond common infected, players face five special mutated types with unique abilities. Campaigns are divided into levels connected by safe houses, each culminating in a desperate last stand for rescue.

Also known as left4dead.exe, L4D

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
An outbreak of a pathogen nicknamed the Green Flu sweeps across Pennsylvania, causing extreme aggression, loss of higher brain function, and rapid mutation in its victims. Two weeks after the first infection, four immune survivors find themselves stranded together in the city of Fairfield: Bill, a Vietnam veteran; Zoey, a college student; Louis, a district account manager; and Francis, an outlaw biker. As the group fights through city streets, subways, and countryside in search of evacuation, they discover that the military's containment efforts are failing and that the infection is producing increasingly dangerous mutations in some of its hosts. Each rescue attempt leads to another setback, pushing the survivors further from safety and forcing them to rely entirely on each other to stay alive.Read more

An outbreak of a pathogen nicknamed the Green Flu sweeps across Pennsylvania, causing extreme aggression, loss of higher brain function, and rapid mutation in its victims. Two weeks after the first infection, four immune survivors find themselves stranded together in the city of Fairfield: Bill, a Vietnam veteran; Zoey, a college student; Louis, a district account manager; and Francis, an outlaw biker. As the group fights through city streets, subways, and countryside in search of evacuation, they discover that the military's containment efforts are failing and that the infection is producing increasingly dangerous mutations in some of its hosts. Each rescue attempt leads to another setback, pushing the survivors further from safety and forcing them to rely entirely on each other to stay alive.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Nov 17, 2008
Mac
Nov 17, 2008
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Nov 18, 2008
All 5 release dates
Xbox 360
Nov 18, 2008
Mac
Oct 27, 2010
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
16h
Main + Extras
32h
Game modes
Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player
Perspective
First person
Keywords
zombies, helicopter, post-apocalyptic, bloody, death
… All 104, insanity, steam, witches, achievements, apocalypse, undead, mutants, campaign, artificial intelligence, easter egg, resurrection, cross-platform multiplayer, darkness, explosion, steam achievements, digital distribution, xbox controller support for pc, steam cloud, throwing weapons, game critics awards, pig, based on - comics, bink video, human, polygonal 3d, unlockables, extreme violence, fake in-game advertising, retail games with steam activation, 4 player co-op, ragdoll physics, falling damage, downloadable content, xbox live, melee, real-time combat, a.i. companion, in-game map editor, instant kill, infinite ammo, friendly fire, vision obstruction, difficulty level, in-game achievement menu, internet culture reference, steam play, survival mode, respawning, destructible environment, non-linear storytelling, interactive environments, sadism, xbox one backwards compatibility, achievement attempt detection, games on demand, valve anti-cheat, never-ending, horde mode, voice chat, banter during gameplay, drop-in drop-out, linear gameplay, meme origin, local and online players together, griefing, dedicated servers, camera shift, overweight character, bpjm indexed, undead invasion, matchmaking, color blindness, dual wielding, zombie protagonist, character models based on actual people, bots, severed limbs, infinite spawn, text dialogue, fully customizable controls, swarming enemies, developer commentary, tomboy, no respawn, war veterans, dynamic difficulty, objective-based team gameplay, machinima, professional gaming, novint falcon support, pc to console port, team killing, bafta games award, multi-monitor support, viral achievement, zombie virus, pax 2008, interactive achievement awards 2009, spike video game awards 2008

At a Glance

Critic Score
85
Main Story (IGDB)
16h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
32h
OverviewHow it playsMediaCommunityBehind the gameRelated

Overview

Steam review summary

Steam users rate this Overwhelmingly Positive, 58,537 reviews in all languages, recorded 16 October 2026

Valve's summary of Steam user reviews. Valve counts only reviews from purchases on Steam, not key activations, and leaves out review periods it has marked as off-topic. It isn't part of the CritScore score.

Review summary: SteamSteam data provided via the Steam Web API (opens in a new tab)Not affiliated with Valve →

Multiplayer

  • Online multiplayerIGDB · 1 Nov
  • Online co-opIGDB · 1 Nov
  • Local co-opIGDB · 1 Nov
  • Shared or split screenIGDB · 1 Nov
  • LAN co-opIGDB · 1 Nov
  • Co-op campaignIGDB · 1 Nov
  • Drop-in, drop-out co-opIGDB · 1 Nov

Feature data: IGDB

About storefront and compatibility information

Compatibility, feature and availability information shown on this page is recorded from the storefronts and services named against each fact, on the dates shown. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks of Valve Corporation; Steam data is provided via the Steam Web API. Other product and service names are trademarks of their respective owners. CritScore is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by Valve Corporation or any other storefront or platform holder, and does not itself test or certify any game.