Left 4 Dead 3 - Top 5 Things I'd Like To See

Rumour (and wishful thinking) has it that we’re getting ever closer to an announcement of Left 4 Dead 3, with some suggesting a reveal at the next E3 this June. As a big fan of the first, and one who acknowledges the second, I want to talk about five things I’d like to see in a new Left 4 Dead.

1. A Range Of Settings

Every Left 4 Dead campaign takes place in America, so it would be nice to travel the world a bit. It would give the games a chance to explore how big this zombie epidemic is, as for all we know, it could just be limited to the US. Are Canada and Mexico having a rough old time with it or are they just sitting fine wondering what the hell is going on? Imagine a campaign set in the slums of Rio, the icy Nordic forest, the packed streets of Tokyo…

2. More Characters

Left 4 Dead has iconic faces, sure, but is that just because they’re well drawn and well presented, or because they’re great characters? I only remember Bill, Nick, Zoey and the others because I spent so long with them, but it’s not like they each had much of a story.

Combined with my idea about settings, this would be a perfect way to let the art team loose. Let them design a whole host of characters with different looks and personalities, instead of limiting them to just a handful. They could also make the campaigns longer, to give you more time with each set. That would be nice.

3. Characters With Specific Uses

Often the only reason you truly needed your three friends beside you was because you got pinned by a Hunter or strung up by a Smoker. The chances of success were heavily weighted by how many of you were left, and not much more. How about taking inspiration from cooperative games like Trine and have a Left 4 Dead where the character you control has an actual effect, but not to the point that losing one guy guarantees failure. Something like Rainbow Six: Siege, where the right squad member at the right time makes all the difference.

I’m not talking abilities, but more like bonuses to things like melee or weapon damage, reload speed, defense… It would turn Left 4 Dead into a more tactical affair, which I think would benefit it in a world where MOBAs are the biggest games on the planet.

4. Fewer Special Infected

My main gripe with Left 4 Dead 2 is the number of special infected. Talking about Versus mode for a second, Left 4 Dead felt so well balanced with just the four, and it was easy to play tactically. But when playing Left 4 Dead 2 around a year later, with its seemingly random assignment during Versus, you were often rushing to form strategies with your teammates while opportunity passed you by.

I’m not saying get rid of any of them, but perhaps restrict which are present in each campaign. Knowing that your team needed a Smoker and getting a Jockey, a Boomer, and a Charger instead was a pain. If I went into a campaign knowing there was a smaller, predetermined range, I’d have a better chance of building tactics over repeated play, again a platform that would encourage more tactical play.

5. Taking On The Big Boys

Combining all of these points together forms a more tactical Left 4 Dead than what we’ve had before. I wouldn’t change how the game looks and feels in play, as it should never not be the same couch-friendly multiplayer shooter as before, but having a higher level of play to aspire to couldn’t hurt. I’m talking esports-level play here…

With all of this above, I could see a Left 4 Dead 3 that people go to Twitch to watch on a regular basis; tournaments hosted worldwide would be facing squads of strategically minded players against each other for real money. A zombie shooter stealing all the views off the abundance of Counter Strike and Call of Duty streamers? Yes please.

Of course at this point I have to admit that I don’t think we’ll ever see a Left 4 Dead 3 at all, let alone what I want, with the way Valve assumably approaches games development these days. But a man can dream…