Zombie slaying action with B-movie bonafides and a heap of blood and guts: John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando appeared to be a killer combo of exciting concepts in one gory package from the developers of World War Z. Slicing and dicing hordes of the undead has always been a blast; a way to clear your head after a long day. However, since spending time with the game, my feelings have become murkier. There are strong foundations here but much of what has been built on them feels underdeveloped.
Big Trouble in Little Erie
After a mining experiment gone wrong, a squad of mercenaries-for-hire must fight through hordes of the undead in Erie, Pennsylvania while finding a way to defeat Eldritch entity the Sludge God. It all speaks to the good ol’ days of pulpy, B-movie horror pioneered by the likes of John Carpenter himself. That premise might sound fun on paper but its execution fails to land on any level. At the end of the day, the story came down to “Sludge God begone!” but I wanted to know so much more about the wider world and its characters. The story is also rather short at around eight hours; disappointing considering the central focus on mission replayability. It ends rather abruptly, too, and though a DLC roadmap has been announced, the narrative is overall a huge letdown on day one.
Target Practice
Toxic Commando has an entire armory of guns and melee weapons to help players slay zombies, from classic Assault Rifles to burst-fire SMGs, all available from the very first mission. Instead of experimenting with each and every option, I found myself committing to one loadout throughout my matches by leveling up those weapons, adding attachments, and improving my arsenal. However, despite a robust and varied upgrade system the moment-to-moment gunplay felt very stiff, especially when aiming down sights. In such a frantic experience, that rigidity can be tough to deal with and I often found myself cranking up the camera sensitivity to compensate for the sluggish movement. Weapon feedback is so crucial in a horde shooter like this but Toxic Commando has none of the bells-and-whistles that make slaying zombie after zombie entertaining. Becoming surrounded by a large group of infected was frustrating rather than nerve-racking. Never a good sign.
Classes of the Damned
Up to four players can join forces in online co-op against the Sludge God while inhabiting multiple character classes: Strike, Medic, Operator, and Defender; each providing a vastly different gameplay experience and utility to the squad. I found myself drawn to Strike, an all-rounder able to thin out large zombie hordes with a focus on magazine capacity and reload speed. However, every class has its unique use cases: Defender can throw up barriers to protect allies, Operator deploys a drone that deals death from above, and Medic, unsurprisingly, heals.
Players can rank up to level 40 and unlock a catalogue of perks, allowing for multiple playstyles within each class. You can also respec at any time, rewarding experimentation with character builds. Approaching a match with a balanced team becomes a necessity, particularly on higher difficulty missions. The class system here feels similar to that of World War Z, in that it keeps an otherwise repetitive mission structure fresh. As a result, slaying with friends is by far the optimal way to experience Toxic Commando.
Apocalypse Later
Toxic Commando also features a number of drivable vehicles dotted across each of its nine launch maps; ranging from a standard ambulance to a tricked-out Humvee, each with their own special ability. The semi-open world maps are sizeable enough to make driving useful and engaging, taking cues from off-road racer Snowrunner. You can also deploy a winch to pull vehicles up steep inclines or through muddy patches, destroy barricades, and drag enemies away from objective areas. It’s a great addition to the game with an impressive amount of flexibility.
Less impressive, though, is Toxic Commando’s map variety, as after the first couple of missions, I started getting déjà vu. All the biomes feel largely similar; just miles of forest with sparse points of interest like labs and industrial plants. Like the Days Gone map done nine times over. Rarely did I find locations that felt wildly different from anything I’d seen before, and often the only way to distinguish between maps is their name. A huge letdown, for sure.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about driving but since experiencing the size of the maps and the movement speed of the player the mechanic made sense in context. It felt satisfying to drive from location to location, clearing each of zombies before heading to the main objective, providing a unique rhythm to missions. The inclusion of driving made matches feel like a chaotic road trip in the best way.
The Looks and Sounds of Madness
The visuals in Toxic Commando are pretty good. The environment is bleak and sets the tone far better than the narrative: sludge coats nearly every surface, trees lie burnt and twisted, and death lingers in the air. Refreshing considering the rest of the world design. Weapon detailing is excellent, an example of which are the surprisingly engaging reload animations. Furthermore, the enemies look fantastic. Less the rank-and-file infected and more high-value creatures like Goon or Nuker; the kind of grotesque body horror straight out of The Thing. The Carpenter and Lovecraftian aesthetics fit together perfectly.
Audio design is also fantastic. It was obvious from jump that Carpenter (and his son, Cody) had developed the soundtrack, and I loved it; distinct 80s synth mixing well with the horror elements. The voice cast also impresses: wisecracks from Walter or Cato’s no-nonsense stoicism slip right into the B-movie tone. Toxic Commando both looks and sounds great, especially for a multiplayer title.
Bumps in the Road
With World War Z and Toxic Commando, Saber Interactive has been at the forefront of zombie-slaying action for some time now, but the latter has some core gripes that I can’t let go. The narrative is too short and lacks any personality whilst the stiff gunplay makes your character feel slower than a Sludge God; each hurts the Toxic Commando experience in different ways.
However, the diverse class system offers a fun way to experiment with different playstyles, offering genuine replay value to the otherwise lackluster campaign. The visual and audio design give you the feel of running around a classic Carpenter flick – with some Eldritch flavor thrown in for good measure.
The mix of gameplay mechanics from World War Z and Snowrunner make for an interesting combination; one that could grow even better over time with post-launch updates. In its current state, it’s a mostly smooth ride with a few bumps in the road. A fun game night with friends, for sure.
What did you think of John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando? Let us know in the comments below
