Left 4 Dead

About

Left 4 Dead is a 2008 co-op first-person shooter survival horror game developed and published by Valve. The game follows a group of four survivors during a zombie infection outbreak who are forced to make way for safety through zombie-ridden urban and rural areas. In 2009, sequel Left 4 Dead 2 was released.

History

On November 17th, 2008, co-op first-person shooter survival horror game Left 4 Dead, developed and published by Valve, was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360.^[1] The game follows a group of survivors of a zombie outbreak as they make their way to safety through a number of zombie-infested areas. On September 27th, 2010, Left 4 Dead was released for Mac OS X.

Sequel

On November 17, 2009, one year after the first game was launched, Valve released Left 4 Dead 2 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360, with September 10, 2010 release for Mac OS X.^[2] The sequel followed another group of four survivors. Chapters from the original Left 4 Dead game were later added into the game.

Fake Left 4 Dead 3 Teaser

On May 2nd, 2019, YouTube used Clusterflu961 uploaded a video titled "20190611wVLACgXBSwO4eVv.021162_h264".^[3] The video, made to look like a game trailer, showed the aftermath of a zombie-related event, with several elements being direct references to Left 4 Dead series. The video gained over 575,000 views in five days.

Following the appearance of the video, numerous users speculated whether it could be a leaked teaser for yet-to-be announced the third main installment in Left 4 Dead series.^[4][5]

On the same day, Valve confirmed that the teaser was fake.^[6]

The Last Stand

On September 24th, 2020, the community-created update The Last Stand for Left 4 Dead 2 was released.^[9][10] The update, developed by a group of Left 4 Dead 2 community members and officially approved by Valve, featured a new campaign, new survival and scavenge maps, previously unused dialogue lines, balance readjustments for the PvP mode, bug fixes and multiple other changes. A trailer^[11] for the game, uploaded on September 17th, 2020, received over 1.1 million views in one week.

Gameplay

In the Left 4 Dead series, players take on roles as one of four survivors who must make their way through zombie-filled areas in order to reach safety. Each campaign playthrough involves using weapons in order to kill the attacking zombies, referred in the game as the Infected. Some of the Infected possess special abilities which allow them to split the Survivors, deal heavy damage or disable one of the players, requiring the rest to come to their assistance.

In the main game mode, Campaign, one to four players play through five game stages, moving from one safe house to another, with a goal of reaching the means of escape at the end. Another mode, Versus, allows the players take on the roles of the Infected and attempt to prevent the other team from reaching safety. Other game modes include Survival, Single-Player and Scavenge (added in Left 4 Dead 2).

Characters

In Left 4 Dead, four playable characters, referred to as the Survivors, are available: Bill, a Vietnam veteran, Francis, a biker who hates everything, Louis, a systems analyst at an information technology company, and Zoey, a college freshman and a horror movie fan.

In L4D2, a new cast of Survivors is featured, Coach, a high school football coach, Nick, a gambler and con artist, Rochelle, a TV news producer, and Ellis, a car mechanic.

Reception

Left 4 Dead received positive reviews, maintaining an 89 score on Metacritic with 58 reviews, and 9.1 user score.^[7] The game was named the Best Multiplayer Game of 2008 by IFN, GameSpy, Spike TV, NoFrag and BAFTA, and the Computer Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.^[1]

Sequel Left 4 Dead 2 maintains an 89 score (8.4 user score) on Metacritic with 55 reviews.^[8]

Related Memes

Karma Charger

Karma Charger is a term used to refer to a Charger that attacks lone players while teammates refuse to help, often as revenge for griefing by the victim, hence the name karma charger.

Grabbin' Pills / What Happens When X gets Y

Grabbin' Pills, or What Happens When X gets Y, or are types of Gmod videos featuring characters from various games obtaining a certain item followed by an overreaction by the character while versions of a sound edit of Louis by Youtube user ASecondOpinion1501 plays in the backround.

Francis Hates X

In the first L4D, the character Francis says that he hates a variety of things, such as stairs, elevators, doctors, lawyers, libraries, etc.

X beats up Y for no reason

A Youtube fad that began when RubberFruit uploaded the video "Louis beats up Rochelle for no reason".

X's Y is not a Horse

X's Y is not a Horse:https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xs-y-is-not-a-horse is a Youtube fad that began when Rubberfruit uploaded "Francis's bike is not a horse" on March 7, 2010.

Cheeseburger Apocalypse

Cheeseburger Apocalypse:https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cheeseburger-apocalypse is a phrase said by Coach in the second L4D, in the Fairgrounds chapter at the Dark Carnival.

Coach

Coach is a playable character in Left 4 Dead 2. On YouTube, a 3D model of the character has frequently been used as the protagonist in various animated short films created using Valve's Source Filmmaker software.

Search Interest

External References