Developer Saber Interactive is known for a couple of things: immersive all-terrain vehicle simulators and horde shooter games. The same studio that’s well-versed in mud physics is also behind World War Z’s seamlessly endless hordes. So, what happens when you combine these two seemingly distinct ideas into an action-packed game? You get John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is first person horde shooter with immersive vehicle traversal mechanics. Players take control of a member of the toxic commandos, a quirky team of mercenaries tasked with killing an entity called the “Sludge God” after a botched delivery job turned into a battle of survival with the fate of the entire world hanging in the balance. No pressure, though.
If you’ve ever played games like Left 4 Dead or Saber’s own World War Z, then the gameplay loop will be something you will be very familiar with. The twist here is that all the missions occur in a large semi-open sandbox that often necessitates the use of a vehicle. After loading into a mission, your team is tasked with completing a series of mission objectives with a bunch of optional objectives that serve to aid you in the inevitable stand-off at the end of the mission. Standing in your way are groups composed of reanimated sludge-infused zombies and special enemies. A small issue that’s often fixed with loose trigger fingers and a boatload of ammo. The moment-to-moment gunplay was particularly satisfying, and the experience is made all the better with performance being rock solid, despite the numerous hordes, even on my mid-range hardware.
While each of the game’s 4 base classes may seem limited in what they can do initially, there’s no denying that each brings a lot to the table, provided the team is on the same page. This is because the cooldowns for the offensive and defensive classes, Strike, Operator, and Defender, are considerably long, making each activation the one thing that can turn the tide of battle. The Medic class is probably the only class that can afford to skill spam, as their cooldowns aren’t as long. This also greatly encourages players to stick together as often as possible, lest stray players lose out on critical AOE heals.
It should be noted that there are no plans to add a new class to the game, as per the current roadmap. But knowing Saber Interactive and their previous efforts on World War Z and Space Marine 2, it is not a stretch to say that they have ideas for other classes in mind, and they will announce the new classes when it is appropriate. That much I confidently say.
One of the key features of Toxic Commando is the repeatable missions that contain some level of randomness. This includes different starting locations and placement of map objectives. The missions generally follow a two-part setup before terminating at an end location for a climactic final defensive run. I have no issues with the game running this kind of mission structure. Heck, practically every mission in World War Z was structured like this. But it does feel the maps are underutilized, and there is room to have mission types that require the use of vehicles.
This brings me to my biggest gripe with the game – the limited number of missions. Toxic Commando right now only has 9 missions to choose from. To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. World War Z had more content in its base game than this. Running as a solo, I was able to go through the entire story in roughly two play sessions on normal difficulty. A second playthrough on Hard difficulty was more enjoyable. But I had the most fun with the game, playing with friends and randoms in individual runs, provided that you have a teammate who pings directions for the driver and a Medic who actually does their job. As it stands right now, I don’t think there’s enough here to hold player interest for long, despite the friendly asking price.
Aside from that, I found the presentation to be lacking in many aspects. Cutscene facial animations are stiff, and the cutscenes themselves felt like throwaway scenes from a PS3 game. Maybe that’s the point with it having retro vibes, maybe the devs know that people don’t bother watching the cinematics if all they did was blast zombies the entire time. How knows?
I am also not a fan of the game’s Millennial writing and stereotyped characters. A few lines of dialogue were all I needed to hear to identify the designated Star Lord and girl boss of the group. It would have been to get to know a little more about each character, but there’s so little banter during missions that the only time I get a glimpse of their personalities is when I walk into their personal tents. Not that it matters, as the AI companions are barely competent enough to handle simple tasks. They can’t even be relied on to prioritize your safety in most engagements.
One of the things that Toxic Commando does exceptionally well is the rate at which you have meaningful progress. It’s not like in World War Z, where it feels like the only way you get real progress on your weapons is to complete missions on the hardest of difficulties. If you stick to one primary weapon throughout the level, you can expect to level it up at least once or twice if you hit the exp cap for that level. And when you hit level 10, you can prestige it multiple times to unlock up to 3 shifting gun wraps. At the cost of resetting all your unlocks and rarities. No big deal. Unless you have already invested heavily and were unaware that prestige comes with a cost. Oh well.
It is so nice to have the ability to choose your starting weapons before the start of the mission. It has helped me so much in leveling up through prestige levels. But I often wonder what the point of weapons on the ground is when you clearly have a preferred weapon in mind. Maybe it’s for the player who wants an instant ammo refill, or they may want to switch things up mid-mission. I can’t really say. All I know is that I instantly disregard the weapons without a second thought.
Toxic Commando may be the most visually impressive zombie horde shooter I’ve seen in a long while, that actually holds up under heavy demand. Saber’s custom horde engine never ceases to amaze me, and it only gets better with each new game it is added to. I wish I could say the same thing about the music, as the only time I actually notice it there is when I hear the accordion (or bagpipes?) alert that a group of enemies spawned close by.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is an exemplary zombie horde shooter that isn’t afraid to change things up with its own all-terrain twist. I may have an issue with here and there, but none of my complaints actually overshadow my general enjoyment of the game. If you love zombie horde shooters, grinding out weapons, and you don’t mind repeating the same missions over and over again, this might be the game for you. Toxic Commando will only get better with time, but I’m afraid that the people who really like playing this game will be gone before it even hits its stride. But maybe that’s by design, considering the game’s pretty much a bang for your buck in terms of its asking price. I definitely recommend checking back once more content drops arrive. Until then, prestige is like there’s no tomorrow.
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando Review (PC)
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is an exemplary zombie horde shooter that isn't afraid to change things up with its own all-terrain twist.
The Good
- An exemplary zombie horde shooter
- Has milestones and achievements worth pursuing
- PC performance holds up under strain
- Best played with friends
The Bad
- AI companions are often unreliable
- Base game content ends too soon
- Occasional issues connecting to lobbies
- Lackluster presentation
