Looking at John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, I knew I was in for a good time, because sometimes in life, all you really need is to empty a clip into a horde of zombies, and if that’s not enough, you can mow them over too!
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is an upcoming 4-player co-op shooter from the minds over at Saber Interactives, who are no strangers to a gory good time. With a name like John Carpenter attached to the game, I was curious to see how the legendary filmmaker’s distinct philosophy could translate to a video game. After roughly 4 hours with an early build of John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, I can say with confidence that the forthcoming zombie shooter not only evokes the same atmospheric tension found in his works, but does so on top of a fun and frenetic FPS experience, one that feels both familiar and fresh.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, like in true Carpenter fashion, follows the exploits of a small rag-tag group of mercenaries who are tasked with the delivery of a highly volatile container of biohazardous material. Unfortunately, the task requires the team to go deep inside the nest of the Sludge God, an eldritch infection that has marred the world, turning humanity into the living dead. Of course, things quickly go awry, while also nicely setting up the intro and tutorial level of the game, which ends with your squad becoming infected with the added perk of having some very videogame-y superpowers, which, in practice, manifest as character-specific abilities.
Players have access to four distinct character archetypes, which is what I would use to describe the characters over classes, as abilities in John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando are more supplementary to the shooting and driving, rather than the focus. On that note, the shooting and gun mechanics in John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando are fantastic, with a wide variety of different weapons, each feeling distinct. Weapons come in different rarities, which utilize the classic, white, green, purple and yellow colour-scheme, making it easy to discern what is higher on the tier. Individual weapons also offer a relatively robust level of customization, with each piece of gear having its own level, on top of a slew of vanity options that add extra flair to your loadout.
Obvious comparisons to games like Left 4 Dead are apparent, but what sets John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando apart from, say, a game like Back 4 Blood, is its inclusion of vehicles. If you’re a fan of Dawn of the Dead’s iconic use of cars, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commandos’ core level design has players driving a ton, as most levels in the game are fairly large and require players to go from different points on the map to complete objectives.
“Obvious comparisons to games like Left 4 Dead are apparent, but what sets John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando apart from, say, a game like Back 4 Blood, is its inclusion of vehicles.”
As the game is up to 4 players, the driving mechanic in John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is more robust than a typical action game that features vehicles, in that the players who are not driving have several camera options, including being able to fully see the interior of a car and shoot from the windows, while preserving the first-person camera, somewhat similar to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombie mode. Another unique mechanic tied to driving is the pully or winch system, which allows players to not only drive up rugged terrain, but blast off doors and other secret areas within the map, which adds to the chaotic fun of the zombie action shooter.
With the large and expansive maps, Toxic Commando litters its playing field with a slew of goodies, including side missions that crop up during each level, often rewarding players with golden gears, which are the primary currency used to unlock weapon caches and turrets within each chapter. Characters and vehicles also have a special attack, which charges over time, unleashing devastating AoE blasts that can essentially nuke the horde of zombies that often populate the screen. Speaking of, the number of zombies in John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando pushes the boundaries of what I’ve seen in similar games, equal only to titles such as Dead Rising and Days Gone, which is a sight to behold in a first-person co-op shooter.
“…the number of zombies in John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando pushes the boundaries of what I’ve seen in similar games…”
Even from only a few short hours with the game, I am thoroughly impressed with John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, with my only hope for the full release of the game to feature some more upgrade paths for the vehicles, which otherwise felt just as refined as the playable characters. Ultimately, if you’re a fan of classic zombie action games, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is shaping up to be a no-brainer zombie waiting to be blown up.
From the solid look and feel of its guns, to its varied and expansive maps, even without the John Carpenter name, Toxic Commando feels like a zombie game that will please anyone looking for a fun co-op shooter that evokes the days of Xbox Live and the infancy of Valve’s online takeover on the PC.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando will see release sometime in 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows via Steam.
