Left 4 Dead: The Sacrifice: Level Review

Introduction 

The Sacrifice is the last campaign in Left 4 Dead. It is one of the best campaigns in the game. It is on the shorter side of the campaigns, but that is fine. The Sacrifice did not need to have more levels, it did everything it needed to do in the amount of time it had. 

This article is part of the Left 4 Dead collection. You can view the whole collection here. 

What makes The Sacrifice good? 

The Sacrifice is one of the best campaigns in Left 4 Dead because it tells a story without overstaying its welcome. During the events of the Sacrifice, you can get an achievement for killing Bill, and in canon he is dead. 

What makes The Sacrifice stand out as one of the better campaigns is the clear focal point of the campaign. The designers knew what they wanted to do and what story they wanted to tell.

The lack of ambiance is not an issue. 

The Sacrifice tells a story and because of that, the lack of level ambiance is alright with me. With Left 4 Dead there is a give and take that I have grown to get used to. Although this give-and-take gets less noticeable in the second game, it is highly noticeable in The Sacrifice campaign. 

Your group is trying to cross a bridge at the very end of the campaign and one member has to jump down to refill a generator. Bill ends up doing this and it causes a ripple effect with Zoey: She goes through subtle character development that can be seen in the second game. 

The level design is lacking 

The biggest fault with The Sacrifice campaign is the fact that the level design is extremely shallow. Despite having a shallow-level design the set pieces get their point across. The Sacrifice did not need to be overly complicated. I realized this during my second run of the campaign. 

What makes the level design lacking is how bland everything looks: Again, this is okay because the campaign serves a purpose. Despite the levels looking bland it was still a good time to run through the campaign. 

In closing… 

The Sacrifice is a fine campaign that serves its purpose. The Sacrifice campaign is meant to tell a story and it succeeds in doing that. Granted, for the whole story to be told the player will have to sacrifice Bill and get the achievement that goes with it. 

Because the Sacrifice campaign does not overstay its welcome and succeeds at its goal, this level is going to get 3/5 stars. 

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Left 4 Dead: Blood Harvest: Level Review

A shot from the Blood Harvest.

Introduction

The Blood Harvest campaign is one of my all-time favorite campaigns. So revisiting it has felt like returning home to an old friend after many years apart. Although some of my opinions of the Blood Harvest campaign have changed, many of my thoughts and feelings haven’t changed a bit. 

This article is part of the Left 4 Dead collection. You can check out the whole collection here. 

Revisiting Blood Harvest 

Going through the game to complete various articles for the Left 4 Dead project has me looking at different levels. Taking a look at each level again has made me realize I hated some levels that were awesome and loved some levels that have not been fun to replay. For this article I replayed Blood Harvest twice: Both times I found myself having a fantastic time. 

It had me wondering: What makes the Blood Harvest campaign so good? Why don’t I mind replaying this campaign repeatedly? 

When it comes down to thinking about my reasons for liking the Blood Harvest campaign it comes down to a couple of things. First, the campaign is fluid and the beginning and ending make sense. Second, you can tell the designers had a clear goal in mind when crafting the Blood Harvest campaign. Third, the last level of the campaign is fun. 

A fluid campaign from start to finish. 

As you travel through Blood Harvest you will venture through farm buildings, a corn field, and other dense areas. At the end of the campaign, you will defend a farm while waiting for a truck to pick you up. 

Blood Harvest is not a vertical level: There are some moments when you can climb to a second floor of a building. However, it is not like No Mercy or Dead Air where you are constantly climbing things to get to where you need to go: This is a boon for the Blood Harvest campaign. 

Blood Harvest feels like the designers had a solid concept and they were able to put it together with ease. 

The ending of Blood Harvest 

Some of the Left 4 Dead campaigns have endings that feel like they drag on. Blood Harvest does not have that feeling, it never felt like it was overstaying its welcome. A big reason for that is because of how the ending level is structured. 

Waiting for the truck by the farmhouse was fun: Blood Harvest is yet another level with a fun defense point. Infected people coming from all around the house add to the challenge and the excitement of the campaign. 

Although Blood Harvest is one of the similar campaigns in Left 4 Dead, it shines because of the ambiance and the well-put-together level concept. For those reasons, I am going to give Blood Harvest 3/5 stars. 

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Left 4 Dead: Dead Air: Level Review: Still one of the best campaigns in the whole game.

Introduction 

My favorite Left 4 Dead level is Blood Harvest with a close second being No Mercy: I am extremely biased. One level that I did not like when I was younger was Dead Air. In all honesty, I don’t remember why I disliked the level so much. But after replaying it I found it to be one of the best campaigns in the game. 

This level review is part of the Left 4 Dead collection. You can view the whole collection here.

Amazing set design 

Dead Air is a special campaign because of where it takes place. The survivors will be making their way to and through an airport. At the end of the level, they will have to help gas a plane so they can escape.

What makes Dead Air special is the way the campaign was put together. From the very beginning of the level, you can get a good sense of where the campaign is going. Although every campaign in Left 4 Dead has a distinct beginning and ending, Dead Air is one of the only campaigns to capture the theme of the campaign so well.

The Ambience is Superb 

The set design by itself was never going to carry this campaign. The ambiance sets Dead Air up for success and puts its above other campaigns.

The final level of the Dead Air campaign.

Going through the airport and eventually making it to the end of the level is when the ambiance hits. You can notice it throughout the whole level, but the ambiance will hit you at the end. If you look out to the city you can see just how bad the apocalypse actually is: The choice to include this was simply brilliant. 

A couple of other things… 

Going through this campaign I feel as though the game was extremely nice to me. I got more character banter, a better spread of the special infected, and more pipe bombs to use. All of these things made the campaign feel better in the long term. 

The campaign filler did not leave much to be desired and it did not overstay its welcome. For example, moving the car out of the way so the survivors could access the hallway was a quick process. I never felt like Dead Air wanted to pad its runtime. 

At the end of the campaign, you have to refuel a plane. Typically, I dread the endings to the campaigns because I find them boring unless you’re playing hard or expert. However, the ending to Dead Air does not leave me feeling bored. The open space provides a fun way to move about the level and the goal of the survivors makes sense. The ambiance of the final level is what ties Dead Air together in a fantastic way. 

For all of these reasons, Dead Air is going to get three and a half stars. If you can only play one campaign you should consider Dead Air. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Left 4 Dead: Death Toll: My favorite level has fallen from grace.

Death Toll Church: Taken on Steam.

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Introduction 

Left 4 Dead has a variety of levels and they could be better. So far I have reviewed two levels and I have been having a good time with the game. As time goes on I am starting to notice my nostalgia fading away. 

The more I analyze this game the more I realize two things: Left 4 Dead is still a fun game and it has an amazing versus mode. Second, the level design of Left 4 Dead leaves much to be desired. 

Before diving into Death Toll I suggest playing it on a harder difficulty. Portions of the level feel like they are empty if you are not playing on at least normal. 

This level is part of the Left 4 Dead collection. You can view the collection here.

Why I loved Death Toll

When I was younger Death Toll and Blood Harvest were two of my favorite levels in Left 4 Dead. No Mercy has since taken over as my favorite level in the game. 

Traveling through the various levels and especially the church was my favorite part of going through Death Toll. The church defense is still a fun part of the level and something I was looking forward to doing when I fired the game up! 

The Flatness of the level 

Death Toll is flat: Meaning that the level itself is bland to look at and play through. It became clear to me the moment the game started that I was not going to have fun the same way I used to. 

The colors the level does have are alright. Left 4 Dead is not a colorful game and I am okay with that, it is something that drew me into the game in the first place. But something about the lack of “pop” is killing me for this level.

It is hard for me to explain but something about how the Death Toll level is not fun to navigate. Not only is it predictable but it is also bland to look at. 

The final stage 

Waiting for the boat at the end of the level sucks. For some reason, I have no problem with the ending-level defense for the other games but this boat was so boring. 

Although the level feels empty throughout, the final stage is particularly irritating. For these articles, I am playing on normal and everything feels empty. The ending stage was no different. The few zombies that did spawn were easily killed with a single pipe bomb. 

Everything about waiting for the boat was boring. Leading up to getting on the boat was boring. Death Toll went from one of my favorite levels to one of my least favorite levels during one playthrough. 

Score

Death Toll is probably better with friends, but as a solo experience, it did not stand the test of time for me. I do look forward to playing the rest of the levels, but I will not be replaying this one.

⭐⭐

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Left 4 Dead: Level Dive: Crash Course: Not My Favorite Level, Not Even Close.

The start of the Crash Course campaign.

This level is part of the Left 4 Dead collection. You can view the collection here.

Understanding what Crash Course is. 

The Crash Course level is not an introduction level, and it is not supposed to be telling a major story. Crash Course is a filler level that explains what happens after No Mercy but before Death Toll (if I have the order of levels correct.) The Crash Course level is designed to fill in some blanks. 

When the level starts, you’re greeted by the burning helicopter the survivors used at the end of No Mercy: It crashed, and now the survivors have to get to a truck. Everything is pretty straightforward, and like No Mercy, the level design is cut and dry. 

That damn truck.

No Problem With Filler 

Because of the number of campaigns in Left 4 Dead, I have no problem with filler. My issue lies with how bland Crash Course feels. Left 4 Dead has some spectacular level design further in the game, but Crash Course feels like it is missing some love. 

The filler is fine because the campaign is short. There are only two levels. Crash Course feels extremely washed out. I was expecting something like this because of the general setting of the level. 

Waiting for the truck made me want to pull my hair out. 

Typically, I don’t have any problems with these portions of the game. In No Mercy, you have to wait for the helicopter to arrive before you can escape. Something about Crash Course felt slow. 

Defending the truck had me wanting to pull my hair out from the moment it began inching its way down. The hoards of zombies were fine enough, and fighting two tanks was fun, but I couldn’t wait for this level to be over. 

Final Score 

The Crash Course level will receive a 2/5 on its level dive. Although I understood the purpose of the level and its story, I couldn’t help but count the minutes until the level was over.

⭐⭐

Rating: 2 out of 5.