Why Is Left 4 Dead 2 A Masterpiece?!

everybody loves a good zombie game right nobody's ever made one of those before [Music] smoker must have got me so you think there's too many battle royale games out there huh you ain't seen nothing just like the never-ending horde of the undead zombie games have spread like an unstoppable virus yet another zombie defense how's that for a title completely self-aware hey joe what's going on man hey axe man what are you doing not much just kicking it you you want to play a zombie game no is that why you called me no i don't want to play us up again not with joe not with you no i i know it's left for dead too though oh oh left 4 dead 2 oh hell yeah that's one of the classics i thought you were going to kill me for a second i was i was now don't get me wrong i love a good zombie survival horde game just like anybody else but i'd go on record and say the vast majority of these titles are have always been a trend a low-hanging fruit but the genre really peaked in the 2000s with these gems so while it's relatively easy to create a zombie game it's about a thousand times more difficult to make it fun and stand out from the horde the titles may be different but the methods are the same survive as long as you can shoot anything that moves especially your teammates that's what these games are all about what the hell are you doing francis but of the thousands of zombie titles in my opinion there is one true king stubs the zombie i mean left for dead two all right maybe there's two kings dead space fans be like ready's plasma cutter dare i say it left 4 dead 2 might even be a masterpiece but has left 4 dead 2 aged like cheese or a fine wine is it worth revisiting with your buddies or even solo how deep and dynamic is the gameplay was valve and turtle rock able to evolve the fps and co-op genres in ways other games haven't and is left for dead too worthy of being called a masterpiece well let's grab some peels pills here become the tank and survive the apocalypse straight into this hold up i ain't seen headphones like these before jesus don't let that stop you from grabbing the raycon everyday e25s i won't have a nice day you too bill this video is sponsored by raycon why are these headphones so awesome raycon offers premium quality wireless headphones at a fraction of the cost of its competitors you know the ones i'm talking about raycon's headphones are comfortable discreet and i use them when i go in dark you can pick and customize your colors and they also come in this cool little carrying case that's also a charger and this thing carries enough juice to fully charge the ear buds four times over if you haven't converted to wireless headphones yet there's no better option than raycon the sound quality is amazing the e25s come with six hours of play time enough for me to beat dark souls twice seamless bluetooth pairing and best of all you can get fifteen percent off your entire order by using the link by recon dot com slash act man link will be in the description and the pin comment thank you raycon for sponsoring this video [Music] left 4 dead 2 wasn't always viewed in a positive light you know valve right known for not producing sequels to critically acclaimed titles despite the massive demand for it oh it was the polar opposite in 2009 left 4 dead 1 2 released exactly one year apart that's both amazing and confusing isn't it given the depth and quality it too it's impressive they didn't need more time but it's confusing because why would valve announce a sequel just seven months later oh my god dude that was ridiculous a year later a lot of fans were pretty upset and i was too some went as far as to create and join an official boycott group on steam that got over 37 000 members it seemed like valve was gonna ditch the original to make a quick buck and as a result the sequel would separate the player base yeah yeah you guys like that [ __ ] that here's the new one i'm sorry ludford i'm sorry i really like you okay i'm so s oh my god i am so sorry that got out of hand in response to the backlash valve was like all right you don't like it when we make sequels have it your way truly the greatest petty play ever made left 4 dead 2 was also the subject of other controversies its violence and gore was censored in other countries the cover art didn't translate well to britain as the backwards peace sign apparently doesn't mean peace at all i guess i've been flipping the bird to my british audience for years sorry about that mate there were also some absurd accusations of racism because it was set in new orleans and had black zombies microsoft was under fire for selling dlc that valve wanted to give out for free but all these controversies are completely irrelevant now they were a part of left 4 dead 2's release not its legacy still no matter how much i love it left 4 dead 2 made the original obsolete there's more content weapons zombies it's a better game in every sense eventually valve just said screw it and added all the characters and campaigns from one into two there's pretty much no reason now to play the original so for the sake of simplicity i'm combining them both under a single title just as valve should have done initially when you think of your favorite multiplayer shooters what comes to mind halo call of duty overwatch battlefield gears of war rambo the video game counter-strike team fortress 2 rainbow six siege whether you're conquering raids and destiny or gearing up in a warthog with your homies in halo 3 what a lot of these shooters accomplish is give you fun ways you can work together as a team that synergy and strategy between you and your friends is so underrated yet none of these shooters really commit to the idea of teamwork not even battle royales that might sound crazy but these games all lack the very thing that makes left 4 dead 2 so unique my man coach oh yeah i mean a true cooperative experience you see first person shooters like to stroke your nuts and ego by fetishizing power fantasies just like akira toriyama it's become a running joke that everybody wants kills and nobody's gonna play the god damn objective who cares if we're losing i've got gold damage and eliminations so in a lot of shooters matches often come down to groups of people playing as individuals completing tasks on their own so the question developers need to ask themselves isn't why aren't people playing as a team the question should be how are we encouraging them to work together left 4 dead 2 doesn't [ __ ] around you learn very quickly rookie that lone wolf stuff stays behind clear got it sir oh my god no special infected can incapacitate a single player on their own and without help from a teammate you're screwed on screen text and tutorials cause no confusion about how the game works or what's gonna happen when you do this so if you wanna do the whole play style of any man who falls behind is left behind well jack sparrow you're gonna be ass rammed harder than a blonde in a room with five dudes working together and communicating is the only way to survive this zombie apocalypse i mean sure some elite doritos sniffing g-fuel injecting gamers can beat the campaign solo but nobody is expected to do that because left 4 dead was designed to be played exactly with 4 or 8 people so all the game's mechanics revolve around back scratching get my back now and i'll have yours later you leave me to die i'm rooting for the other team losing just one survivor can often mean the demise of the entire group sticking together is essential but there's times when splitting up has its own rewards by spreading out you can cover more ground and find useful items but at a risk of getting caught however staying too close together makes you a prime target for the spitter or charger and this is what makes left 4 dead so unique your performance as an individual is far less important nobody cares how many zombies you killed but get this freaking jockey off my back and i'll suck your in some cases though you might have to be left for dead i don't know what you guys are doing out there but you all just left me to die well hey that's the name of the game [ __ ] i hate that you said that that's exactly the name of the game trying to go back and help your teammates in a hopeless situation could result in everyone losing actually we gotta leave him no we gotta leave him no we can't make it we leave nobody behind oh [ __ ] we should have left him behind oh i couldn't see it but one person making the executive decision to sprint like usain bolt to the safe room is better than everyone dying and that's what's so awesome players are gonna be met with these tough decisions and that's the name of the game it is so chaotic when the match is on the line that mad dash to the safe room is so intense oh come on move your ass move your ass also left 4 dead 2 being a co-op game is best played well wouldn't you know in co-op i don't believe it one negative of this hardcore focus is having to put faith in your teammates no rci don't go in by yourself okay of the few criticisms i have if you play with randoms who don't use mics a lot of the magic is lost and if your teammates do some dumb [ __ ] it can be tilting all right let's just walk past this witch oh don't what are you doing dumb what are you doing similarly it's not at all fun to see one side pub stomp the other into oblivion as a rule of thumb left 4 dead 2 is most enjoyable when played in a semi-casual environment and the best matches are ones where both teams have a good chance at victory left 4 dead 2 was developed with an unmistakable focus on a specific type of shooter gameplay and it just whoops ass but how do the mechanics work when they're put into practice a lot of games seem to think more mechanics equals more fun but left 4 dead 2 proves the opposite you got a main and secondary weapon a grenade med kit extra healing you can shoot melee crouch and jump on paper you think well how could that not get boring oh you sweet zombie child we'll get to that the shooting feels fantastic largely because of the great sound effects and dismemberment of the zombies i think valve said there's like 400 different ways they can explode or lose their arms in a fast-paced game like this helping your team needs to be quick and simple handing off items healing your teammates or reviving them can be done in one to two clicks anything more than that would disrupt the flow and intensity there's no complicated inventory to manage no menus or building forts aiming down sights sprinting thruster packs grapple hooks all that extra crap is trimmed down to make it as accessible as possible you can even reload while meleeing zombies so you're never truly defenseless both left 4 deads don't have many cutscenes in fact they only have two but hot damn that's all they need thought they supposed to be saving our asses but it's genius because after you've played the game you're like wait a minute this shows off every single mechanic the intros also give you a taste of all the different infected such a neat way to hype up the gameplay four minutes was all valve needed to say hey this is what you do in left 4 dead ain't seen anything like this before jesus don't let that stop you from smearing it all over yourself excuse me excuse me within a few matches you'll understand everything but the game has far more going on under the hood left 4 dead would have literally been just another zombie game without its director no not that guy he sucks this unseen man pulls all the strings and is responsible for the game's insane replay value the campaigns are great sure but if items and zombies always spawned in the same locations then players would simply memorize them and the game would become staler than prank videos on youtube the director is responsible for everything that is thrown your way all right guys this take i really want to [ __ ] the survivors up oh my god oh my god oh thank you oh son of a brzee yeah get back here let me heal you no oh my god okay [ __ ] finally gonna heal you after eight years the layouts are the same but enemies and items can appear in any location and are procedurally generated yeah now you might cringe at that term procedurally generated but no man's sky ain't half bad now the director monitors your team's performance to determine what challenges should be thrown your way if survivors are having a tough time the director might be like alright i'm easing back on the throttle spawning fewer zombies and giving you more helpful items if survivors are breezing through with ease which is what i always do the director will engage all thrusters and send hordes of zombies at you more often or spawn a second tank the director can even alter map geometry by adding more cars with alarms or in the parish block off certain paths now what do we got for baddies well the common infected are spread throughout most on the main path they got different behaviors some wander fight each other sit or stand when spotting the survivors they'll charge mindlessly at them these zombies can whittle you down fast and slow your movement to a crawl making you easy prey for the special infected because the maps are so complex and the director can be unpredictable massive fights can break out at any moment forcing the team to adapt and find the best location to fend off the horde this approach to game design is so cool because things might be going perfectly fine one moment and 3.2 seconds later chaos erupts we're just gonna run we're gonna run all right y'all ready three two one let's go i don't know where i'm going it just erupts into [ __ ] chaos immediately left 4 dead 2 also does an incredible job of mixing in audio cues and using music to alert players on what's coming i hear a boomer violent video games increase aggressive behavior most multiplayer shooters in general rarely add music because it tends to get in the way this game uses it to build tension and heighten the drama adding an emotional layer to the gameplay which is exactly what a horror game is supposed to do [Music] getting blinded by a boomer and hearing its theme will be followed by a few seconds of dread then desperation and worry as your vision returns and you hope your team hasn't been dunked on each of the special infected make their own attractive noises and have their own themes when attacking but survivors don't know exactly where the special infected are there's plenty of places to hide so hearing a smoker crop in the distance will put you on edge it creates an unsettling atmosphere until the tension is broken when the zombies finally strike no audio cues are more dramatic than the rumbling of a [ __ ] left 4 dead 2 trains you to use your ears as much as it does your eyes sometimes you'll be walking around casually grabbing supplies the structure is build up peak and relax so when you hear the sound of zombies yelling in the distance you tense up as you await the inevitable mob after you deal with them the director relaxes a bit and you can take a breather before it again starts to build up one of the most satisfying and fulfilling things in the world is completing a campaign's finale in left 4 dead 2 and hearing that classic ass [Music] theme you can put this over the ending of so many movies the director is what makes the moment-to-moment gameplay of left 4 dead 2 so dramatic as anything can happen at any time and no matter how many times you complete a campaign every playthrough is going to be different this design choice is the sole reason why you can play left 4 dead 2 11 years later and not be bored immediately that my friends is a telltale sign of a masterpiece to me a masterpiece is something that is barely affected by the passage of time where many games age poorly or lose their appeal because something else comes along and does what they do better a masterpiece is something you can always go back to knowing you'll have a great time as if you played it like it was brand new 11 years later left 4 dead 2 remains relevant as does pretty much every valve game with roughly 20 000 people playing it every day this type of long term relevance is scarce in the game industry but what happens when you take left 4 dead 2's core formula and apply it to pvp well you get this don't shoot the car in verses the goal is simply to get the most points based on how far the survivors get so even if one round your team wipes it's not over in the same way survivors need to stick together the infected need to attack together and versus though some oversights become apparent as the maps had to be designed with both modes in mind since your items don't carry over to the next round there is little incentive to explore off the beaten path as it just gives the other team more chances to kill you this is where left 4 dead's medieval imitator vermintide 2 actually enhances the formula because you can improve your endgame rewards by carrying items that take up valuable slots a mechanic like this in left 4 dead 2 or back for blood that improved the team's score or gave them better equipment at the start of the next round would give that incentive for players to take risks exploring the areas that are barely touched in versus since survivor's greatest strength is teamwork it's best to talk [ __ ] about the other team and hope they turn on each other oh hey hey you got something on your face man here's something okay but really every special infected is meant to disrupt the team's ability to communicate and work together it's not hard to plow through hordes of zombies with little resistance but toss in a smoker that can pull someone away from the group and you done change the game think you're safe staying grouped up nah here comes the charger to plow through everyone the hunter can pin a survivor down and deal insane damage if not dealt with quickly the jockey can steer someone into bad situations the spitter deals massive damage when combined with the others but can also deny access to an area and the boomer being the best class can distract and blind the survivors making them unable to deal with the other infected and draw horde left 4 dead 2 is easy to pick up and play yet it has a high skill ceiling that comes with experience there are so many strategies both teams can use it comes down to the depths of your own creativity the boomer throws a monkey wrench in every gamer's instinct to shoot anything that moves often it's as simple as dropping down into the middle of a group and blowing chunks everywhere with the power of cancer smokers can pull survivors towards the witch or a car even off a ledge with their great cardio if hunters pounce from far away they can attack the survivor's weak point for massive damage their quick speed also makes for a great distraction chargers are the best at cheese kills often times one good charge is all it takes to wipe the whole team tanks can knock around cars and throw rocks the spitter can arc goo into a tight area to dish out a lot of damage so much can happen in a single match god it's so good with all the strategies the infected can use it may seem like the balance is skewed one way but that's when you jump back and say no oh no one has the right to smoke me in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable so what do i do first i say no then i get out of there the survivors always have a chance to react and anticipate there's a brief moment where you can shoot a smoker before it incapacitates you with good timing you can even cut his tongue off chargers can often be avoided by simply getting out of the way and with some precise aim players can one shot the witch with a shotgun that's what i thought there's immense satisfaction in using good strategy to decimate a group of survivors or work together to overcome the odds and reach the safe house the versus mode is where the true beauty of left 4 dead 2's game design is put on full display and it's where i get the most enjoyment it's a type of gameplay that very few shooters even attempt to match and none in my opinion have ever succeeded but i'd like to switch gears for a bit and discuss how bad the characters are excuse me i'm sorry coach i didn't mean the original characters while iconic and cool when they would talk was well that was the problem they didn't have enough dialogue but the style and identity was there well i guess we're walking i hate walking like five minutes ago you hated flying and it turns out i was right about that it's impossible not to like the survivors francis being a cool biker dude with tattoos bill an old grizzled vietnam veteran zoe a college student louis an analyst in an i.t department they come from different backgrounds and all have interesting relationships with each other that is fleshed out the longer you play i keep telling you we're looking for a sailboat okay but why didn't we try one of the other boats to go look for a sailboat because hey yeah what the hell bill in left 4 dead 2 the cast were given a lot more material and it shows whispering oaks [ __ ] i used to go there when i was a kid oh good now we can die there as adults coach a high school football coach rochelle a producer for a news station nick a shady businessman and drifter and ellis a redneck mechanic while effort that is meant to be a spooky zombie game it's also able to make you laugh at the heart of it is a group who find themselves in a grim situation but you can tell they're having fun at times hey check it out man that's some midnight riders hey the midnight riders i used to love that band best pyro techniques in the business cracking jokes getting to know each other they feel like real people if you want to know how great the voice actors are just listen to their screams nowhere does the tone of left 4 dead become more apparent than through graffiti in and around the safe rooms where people write heartfelt messages to loved ones and also talk mad [ __ ] this serves as the main storytelling tool left 4 dead 2 is a prime example of how to write and design characters in a zombie apocalypse it's spooky and scary without being depression fuel it's funny and charming without being a slapstick comedy and left 4 dead 2 fully embraces the movie theme it's trying to replicate each campaign is stylized as a film poster with cheesy captions and the 4 survivors looking badass and cool with awesome names like blood harvest dead air swamp fever the story isn't anything special but because we like both groups of people we want to see them succeed at the end of the day you're not playing left 4 dead 2 for a deep engaging story you're playing it to kill zombies with your buddies have some jump scares and laugh but like other shooters what can make her break the entire game is the me so how are the levels in left 4 dead 2 there's no question folks this is top tier stuff right here both in terms of game play and narrative just like the graffiti left 4 dead is packed with environmental storytelling showing you the state of the world and leaving the details up to your imagination unlike a lot of zombie stories neither game takes place long after the infection so there's no dilapidated buildings overcome with vegetation everything you see has happened recently holy mother of god there's signs of struggles barricades are used instead of invisible barriers crashed cars destroyed buildings the campaigns are all god tier they provide a stunning variety of locations and challenges each campaign has you progressed through a series of locations as the survivors make their way to whatever evacuation method was most convenient for the riders for example my favorite dark carnival starts you off in a blocked off highway the group has to ditch their car and soon after they arrive in an abandoned motel before ending up at the fairgrounds then you advance through all the cool carnival games there's a giant slide a merry-go-round and you wind up in the tunnel of love you run through a roller coaster fight through more carnival games some old barns and finally have a climactic musical concert in a stadium hot damn this is what valve does best they took the theme of a carnival a backwoods swamp a mall and crafted the gameplay around it making it visually interesting and thematically consistent but this also provides unique gameplay opportunities like swamp fever and hard rain have a lot of flooded areas which cut down on mobility hard rain also features more witches and random storms that reduce visibility and hearing then you got uncommon infected like the clowns hazmat zombies etc which add variety to the horde it might be hard to pay attention to the environment when zombies are clawing at your butt crack but i encourage you to take the time to really look around and you'll see just how detailed these levels are how the game uses lighting reinforces the tone and atmosphere if the levels were too bright the illusion in terror would be shattered too dark and well not a single person like alien vs predator requiem so there needed to be a logical and believable way to light the different environments so players could still immerse themselves in a post-apocalyptic world in horror games players are naturally drawn to well-lit areas as they provide a reprieve and some much needed comfort they illuminate the darkness around us in the campaign small fires are found throughout a lantern sticks out in the forests of blood harvest set beside a couple sleeping bags and some items the moon is a great source of light as many levels take place at night searchlights have been set up to illuminate the main path since most areas of lost power headlights on cars and police sirens light up the streets open refrigerators brighten the apartments some rooms are pitch black and your flashlight only reveals so much reloading can even be a bit frightening as you lose vision in these critical moments again sticking together more flashlights equals more vision i could examine the nitty-gritty details of each campaign for the next three hours the level design is so meticulously thought out that even the outfits of the zombies fall in line with whatever location they're in in mercy hospital you see doctors and scrubs zombies and patient gowns left 4 dead 1 2 achieved a type of level design that is believable tells a story and most important is fun and engaging to play through there's a level of mastery in learning the layouts of each chapter for instance you can take the weenie hut jr method of going down this underpass in the highway or you can be a real man and jump on this super secret truck bam now you could go through the apartments like a mega super loser or you can jump down like a real man or you can jump down like a real man and you can jump down like a real man all right maybe you should go through the apartments environmental challenges like the gas station can completely screw you over if you're a dumbass like me oh [Music] oh my god you also have to contend with heights confined areas are a terrible place to be if a tank shows up sometimes a witch will spawn in a place that is easy to avoid and other times impossible to sneak by some missions can be oppressive as hell chapter 4 and dark carnival has the shittiest [ __ ] ending just get in there just oh my god they they keep coming and get in the safe room a bunch of zombies keep spawning and it's damn near impossible to get in make no mistake this is some of the greatest and most well thought out level design in the shooter genre you'd expect no less from valve and this type of quality only falls under the category of masterpiece left 4 dead 2 would be a complete game with just the campaigns and verses but it goes even further beyond with such a great premise and amazing sandbox there's plenty of variety to wet your zombie killing appetite survival is pretty hardcore as you fight off endless waves they send a tank at you like every 40 seconds special infected rates are doubled if not tripled for all these side modes there's like 40 different levels to choose from just an absurd variety you get unlimited time to set up your defenses and by that i mean throw 100 gas tanks everywhere unless your team is filled with chads it's tough to last more than five minutes there's even a versus variant of survival so you can compete with your friends for the best time scavenge is basically survival except you're on a clock and the more gas you find the more time you get for the hardcore gamers there's realism which eliminates the outline on survivors which makes sticking together that much more important these modes aren't the main attraction and won't take away the majority of your time they're supplementary but should you ever get bored of these robust features there's always the thriving mod community alright that's enough of that but on the real community mods and custom games are so important to the game industry and nobody understands this more than valve giving seemingly endless opportunities to re-experience an old classic when it comes down to it left 4 dead 2 is a shining example of the magic that most shooters lack these days it's an accessible game with a hardcore focus on co-op and a high enough skill ceiling to encourage players to master the game despite 11 years worth of titles that have come out after left 4 dead 2 to this day it remains one of the most unique and replayable shooters out there with a satisfying gameplay loop that mimics a horror movie an amazing level of detail in the environments a lovable cast of characters left 4 dead 2 will stick with you even 11 years later the director gives the game its insane replay value it's brimming with content in different modes to try out and the versus is exactly the type of exhilaration that makes playing games with your friends so much god damn fun sure the fun factor is largely dependent on who you play with and it's not hard to get tilted into the stratosphere but it's still amazing to play through solo the big question do we need a left 4 dead 3 it's safe to say we'd all like valve to get off their asses and finish a trilogy for once in their goddamn lives but i won't lie it'd be hard to top what they accomplished here really i'd love to see valve give this formula another shot with their updated engine a new cast of characters hell i'd be down just for them to remaster left 4 dead 2. with evolve being a failed experiment turtle rock studios is back to reclaim their glory with back for blood for me to bestow the title of masterpiece upon a video game is a rare occurrence a masterpiece is timeless it's not just how fun a game is it's something that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do with very few hiccups a masterpiece is a truly unique experience that is one of the best in the business if any one piece of left 4 dead's formula was out of place be it the weapons character director ai level design tone atmosphere lighting it would have likely been forgotten years ago but it wasn't every aspect of this game was nailed to near perfection this is and always will be an all-time classic and that is why left 4 dead 2 is a masterpiece [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: The Act Man

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Keywords: left 4 dead 2, left 4 dead, left 4 dead 3, left 4 dead 2 pc, l4d2 review, act man, the act man, act man valve, act man left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2 gameplay, left 4 dead review, left 4 dead 2 funny moments, valve, turtle rock studios, back4blood, back 4 blood, left for dead 2 mods, left 4 dead 2 update, left 4 dead 2 mods, Left 4 dead funny moments, left 4 dead 2 versus, act man tv, left for dead 2 gameplay

Id: -PV6qC011a8

Length: 37min 15sec (2235 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 17 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Natomics2]

Heck yes I love this man

[u/DomoNoah]

It’s so good to see Left 4 Dead get big recognition, praise and publicity again. Especially from Act Man as well.