John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando Review: Fun, But Is His Name Doing All The Heavy Lifting?
- Nathan Walters
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
So, Toxic Commando. If i had to sum it up in a sentence it would be this… take the point-to-point horde gameplay of Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood, sprinkle in the equipment and defence systems of World War Z and wrap it all up in a B-movie horror bow. And honestly, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Let’s start with the name on the box. John Carpenter. THE John Carpenter. Halloween, The Thing, Escape from New York, the man is a legend. So naturally, seeing his name on a video game had me expecting a certain level of, gravitas. However, after playing through the game i just couldn’t see it, something felt off, so i did some deep diving.
In an interview with Decibel Magazine, Carpenter was asked about Toxic Commando and essentially said he wasn’t brought on as a creative force, they paid him to use his name, and he helped mainly with the score and gave a few pointers.
“his name is doing a LOT of heavy lifting on that title”
So just so you fellow gamers know, his name is doing a LOT of heavy lifting on that title, so don’t go in expecting Halloween or The Thing. Though if he had anything to do with the tone, it’s more Big Trouble in Little China haha. The whole situation reminds me of George R.R. Martin’s supposed role on Elden Ring, a famous name lending legitimacy without necessarily being deeply hands-on throughout development. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it is worth knowing before you buy in.
Which brings me to the dialogue… and oh boy, the dialogue. It is pure slasher film, B-movie cheese, and honestly, i love it. That’s exactly what i signed up for. I knew this wasn’t getting Red Dead Redemption levels of writing, and that’s fine, it doesn’t need to be. It knows what it is and it leans into it. Also, you may recognise some of the voices, Astrid is voiced by Charlet Takahashi Chung, who many will know as D.Va from Overwatch, and Walter is voiced by Clive Standen, also known as Rollo from Vikings. Nice little additions that add a bit of personality to the cast.
“graphics aren’t the be all and end all, and if you’re here for visual fidelity you’re in the wrong genre”
Graphically, it’s nothing to write home about. It doesn’t hurt the eyes, but it does look a few years behind. That said, graphics aren’t the be all and end all, and if you’re here for visual fidelity you’re in the wrong genre.
Character customisation is… underwhelming. Don’t expect much, for now it’s pretty much limited to a few colour reskins and, if you bought the deluxe edition like i did, an underwhelming looking baseball cap. Riveting.
However! The gun customisation is where the meat really is on this particular zombie bone. You can change everything from stocks and grips to sights and barrels, each changing how your weapon performs to complement your playstyle. There are weapon skins too, and you can actually change the colour of each individual component, which is a feature you don’t often see and i think is a genuinely good idea. The skins themselves are, again, nothing special, but there are at least far more of them than the character options. Baby steps.
“One of the main things that prevents Toxic Commando from looking like a carbon copy of others in the genre is the vehicles”
One of the main things that prevents Toxic Commando from looking like a carbon copy of others in the genre is the vehicles. Instead of just running from point A to point B, you drive, through sludge and hordes and chaos. With mounted machine guns, flamethrowers, EMP blasts and health restoration, each vehicle adds a little flavour to the otherwise straightforward run and gun formula. However, and this is where it gets a bit counterintuitive, if you’re able to stockpile enough diesel (and i refuse to call a liquid “gas”) then the vehicles actually start to have a negative effect. The game is only around 8-10 hours long and driving through everything makes it feel even shorter and doesn’t help the repetitive nature of the gameplay. It’s a strange one.
The mechanics themselves are solid. The guns do gun things, the grenades do splodey uppy things, and the horde defence system, just like in WWZ, is genuinely fun. There’s also a perk system where you allocate skill points into each class to change up and improve your abilities, which brings me to my main issue with the game…It just doesn’t reach the heights and level of replayability as Back 4 Blood or Left 4 Dead, or even World War Z.
“It’s a fun time with mates if you’re looking for a zombie game to kill some hours with”
It’s a fun time with mates if you’re looking for a zombie game to kill some hours with, but it gets repetitive fast, and sadly, doesn’t have anything to really hook you yet. It has a season pass so things could change down the road, but currently, it sits closer to FBC: Firebreak and Alien: Fireteam Elite territory and just doesn’t quite hit the mark.
But here’s the thing. It’s a game that has pretty much been created for a simple, quick and fun time. And honestly, sometimes, that’s all you need in a game. Not everything has to reinvent the wheel, not everything has to be a 200-hour open world masterpiece. Sometimes you just want to hop on with a few mates and shoot some zombies, and for that, Toxic Commando delivers.
Grab it on sale, grab some friends, and grab some diesel. Just don’t call it gas.
