John Carpenter's Toxic Commando Review

Saber Interactive has been on a streak, churning out co-op shooters that seem almost obsessed with packing in hordes of enemies and chaotic combat. From the throngs of World War Z to the grim battlefields of Space Marine, they know how to make you feel surrounded and dangerously engaged.

So when John Carpenter's Toxic Commando was announced back in the summer of 2023, it felt like Saber was expanding that formula into something a bit more experimental. Originally slated for 2024, the game hit delays, but now it's finally here, offering another dose of cooperative zombie-slaying action, with some unique twists designed to set it apart from the pack.

One such component that frequently trips over itself while attempting to punch above its weight is the narrative. To be honest, the plot is simple: you are in charge of a self-described group of mercenaries whose job it is to deliver an enigmatic container. As anticipated, everything goes awry, and once the squad is infected, you have to cooperate with your newfound allies to eliminate the infection's source.

It's a premise that should be perfect for chaos-driven action, yet the dialogue is awkward and stilted, and the characters rarely show chemistry. The humor misses, cutscenes linger, and the scripting feels like it belongs to an old B-movie, yet at least you can skip most of it if you want to get to the shooting.

Speaking of which, the action is where John Carpenter's Toxic Commando shines.

If you've ever wanted a Left 4 Dead-style experience with minimal gimmicks, Saber delivers here. Enemies wander the maps on their own, then swarm in waves, forcing you and your teammates to focus on threats while desperately trying to stay out of their reach. You’ve got the typical arsenal: shotguns, assault rifles, SMGs, pistols, and melee weapons like bats and crowbars.

There are special weapons all over each map, from grenade launchers to a railgun that can cut through tougher enemies. There are a lot of different weapons to choose from, but once you pick one, you'll have to use it for a long time to level it up and get attachments. The grind is normal, and getting money at normal difficulty doesn't feel very rewarding, but the core shooting is still fun.

The skill trees for each class add something, but they also have some problems. I focused on the striker and turned a simple palm blast into a powerful aerial attack that killed enemies below. But a lot of nodes are boring and only give you things like more grenades or faster reloads.

Even so, the shooting's responsiveness and the ability to customize it make for a satisfying combat rhythm. As the mobs grow and special infected appear, the challenge gets harder and harder. You need to work together to avoid being overrun. Some enemy types, like tanks that grab you and slam you to the ground, are familiar from other games. Others, like the stalker that wraps vehicles in roots, have clever "why aren't we moving?" moments that require the player to step in.

What adds an additional layer of fun is how infection powers change the flow of combat.

As your character is slowly consumed by the toxic sludge, you gain abilities that turn your deteriorating body into a weapon. Launching electrical bolts, temporarily enhancing speed or strength, and even generating small area-of-effect attacks feels good, even if cooldowns keep the spectacle brief. It lets you feel slightly more like a radioactive superhero while still relying on guns and teamwork to survive the bigger waves.

The combination of weapons, powers, and vehicle tactics creates a turbulent yet engaging loop that never fully gets boring. The maps give you some freedom to make strategic choices. You can drive different kinds of vehicles all over the game world, each with its own purpose. For example, ambulances can heal people, trucks can have weapons mounted on them, and cars can even be used as bait for explosives.

The controls are good, and even though vehicles can get stuck in mud without a winch, the way the terrain interacts with the vehicles adds tactical depth. You can use vehicles in the combat loop to run over enemies while coordinating turret use or shooting from passenger windows.

The goals of the puzzle and the mission are different, but not by much. You might have to start machines that are constantly under attack or protect areas where people are being taken out. To reach your goals, you often have to split up your squad, explore different parts of the map, keep an eye on vehicles, and avoid waves of zombies.

Environmental dangers, like pools of toxic sludge that slow you down or buildings that fall down and crush both you and the zombies, keep you on your toes and make you think about where to stand. This has to do with the progression system, which lets you earn experience for your character and weapons by completing missions.

This unlocks upgrades and cosmetic options. You can level up and prestige weapons to improve their stats or unlock attachments. Skill trees let you respec your class powers to make them more useful.

While the XP system can feel repetitive, it gives a real sense of improvement and makes returning to missions worthwhile.

Graphically, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando doesn't break new ground, but it’s competent. Performance mode on consoles like the PS5 keeps frame rates steady even during the largest swarms, though fidelity isn't particularly impressive, and some bugs crop up. The environments are open and large, giving a battlefield feel that's complemented by the vehicle integration.

Enemy models are detailed enough to convey threat, and the undead animations, while familiar from previous Saber titles, still deliver a satisfying sense of chaos when waves converge on you and your squad. Lighting, shadows, and effects like EMP blasts or flamethrowers in the game make the action more visually interesting.

The sound design in John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is hit-or-miss. Gunfire has weight, which helps convey power and position during chaotic moments, but random audio glitches can break the immersive mood. Some enemy transformations can temporarily mute all sounds, and spatial audio can be unreliable when determining where distant enemies are.

Gunship's music is mostly synthwave, but it also draws on Carpenter's signature style. It usually works, adding to the atmosphere without getting in the way of the game, but sometimes it fades into the background. The voice acting is okay, but not memorable. It relies heavily on 1980s action-movie clichés and features one-liners that don't always work.

Carpenter's involvement is largely musical and promotional, leaving the game's design firmly in Saber's hands, which is likely for the best given the focus on gameplay.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is more than just its plot. The core loop of cooperative chaos is what makes it strong. Players move through huge maps, manage resources, drive vehicles, and fight off waves of zombies. The zombies themselves are different enough to keep the fighting interesting. Grunts, chargers, and other special infected make you think about your strategy.

You're rewarded for sticking together, coordinating attacks, and making full use of environmental tools and vehicles. Solo play is possible, but bots are inconsistent, struggling to handle objectives or interact with the environment properly. The game's always-online nature means there's no true offline mode.

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando really shines on the difficulty scale. Normal and story modes are easy to handle, but hard and very hard modes make enemies greater in numbers, resources harder to find, and swarms more aggressive.

Surviving these higher levels is stressful but rewarding, and when you do well on a mission, it feels like a small victory. Randomization, like changing the locations of squad spawn points or objectives, makes the game more fun to play again, but there are only nine missions in total.

The pacing of missions deserves a mention as well. Some stretches are methodical, giving you room to explore and gather sludgeite. Others are pure chaos, with zombies surrounding you from every direction, forcing instant decisions. That ebb and flow keeps each mission engaging and ensures you never feel fully comfortable.

It's this rhythm, combined with co-op coordination, that makes John Carpenter's Toxic Commando a uniquely tense experience.

There are some problems with the game you should be aware of. Audio problems, random stuttering, and AI that doesn't work right can all make you less immersed. Bot limitations make solo play less interesting.

Some parts of the story and the voice acting don't seem fully developed, and the lack of missions might make single-player fans worry about keeping the game for a long time. But when everything goes well—teamwork, smart use of vehicles, and getting through crowds of enemies—the game is really fun.

In short, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is a good, if not perfect, addition to Saber Interactive's collection of cooperative shooters. It has fast-paced, vehicle-based combat that keeps each mission interesting. The story and characters aren't very good, but the gameplay loop of managing waves of zombies, upgrading weapons, coordinating powers, and exploring open environments keeps you coming back.

Saber Interactive has made something that doesn't change the genre, but it's still a fun, crazy, and rewarding experience for fans of co-op shooters. The game isn't perfect, but it does give you a weekend's worth of intense, explosive fun, especially if you play with friends. Even with the few problems I mentioned, the main experience is enjoyable enough to make it worth playing, and Saber can build on and improve the idea in future games.