(UPDATED FOR HALLOWEEN UPDATE)

I won't lie. This is Left4Dead.

Recently the Invasion major update came out and it gave me a reason to go back to playing due to a new progression system. I do feel the current skills progression is too grindy in some skills (150 bosses killed just to unlock a skill?) but its a step in the right direction. You can also earn some cool skins and weapon trinkets through a leveling system similar to Fortnite's battle pass. It's free and part of the game so don't worry about that.

The new invasion mode is a horde game mode similar to Killing Floor 2 where you survive 20 waves of aliens, you can use credits earned in match to purchase guns , ammo, barricades etc. Its worth a try.

That said, there are things that differentiate this game from the zombie titan game that is L4D. Let's start with the best parts about this game.


---The barricades---
I wish more games had this. Essentially Earthfall excels at the defence game, its main differentiating point. Barricades work like metal gates which can be picked up and placed anywhere on the map. If you try to place one near a door, it autosnaps to cover the door. You can reposition them as and when. You can pass the gates as they will automatically open for you, still holding the aliens off on the other side until they are destroyed. There are also auto-turrets, a fabricator similar to the one from Gears of war, and your standard propane tanks. While currently there aren't much variety, the system works and it is still fun setting up these barricades to hold up.

---Visuals---
The game looks pretty. The lighting, environment design and map design in general looks decent.

The gun models look very detailed, and they look way better than L4D's vanilla guns in comparison.

---Enemy Variation?---
While the majority of the aliens are left4dead copy and pastes (Jockey/tank/Boomer... You get it) there are a few new types such as one which flies at you and flashbangs you in the face, before retreating and hiding behind some EMP shield. If the devs continue to create these unique alien types it will do better at distinguishing them from your L4D special infected. This ones up in the air and its up to the devs to implement.

The not so good:

---AI---
AI is dumb asf, both ways.
Survivor AI is really bad, they generally are okayish, but they often get stuck in places, and they cant hit for nuts. Expect being jockeyed away to your death as the AI tries to chase you only to stop and fight some normal aliens along its route, essentially sending a big "F you!" to you.
Alien AI is terrible as well, although I would not say Alone in the dark level bad. The AIs are pretty much mindless aliens that run at you in hordes regardless and also seem to get stuck in places. Ive seen aliens just chilling in corners and the like.

UPDATE: It seems the AI did kinda improve since. I've seen less chilly aliens and theres a setting now to make the bot more accurate. They are still pretty dumb so dont expect them to be much better.

It works okay, in that you can still play a game with the AI, just that there will be behaviors that make you annoyed regularly.

---Guns---
Guns sound really soft and unimpactful. They also dont have good feedback, with the soaking zombies like the tank clone eating shots without proper indication of progress. Sure, the gun designs are pretty, and I enjoy that you can aim down sight with RMB unlike L4D, but a ton of work still needs to be done on the guns, and right now they feel very mobile-fps like.

Overall verdict: 7/10 as of 19 July 2018.
New Overall verdict: 8.5/10 as of 02 Nov 018.

On release they added quite a few stuff such as completing the maps for a full campaign, a skin system( Which is fine, its ten bucks for a whole set of skins ), and some new enemies. However, most of what I said still stands.

Make a judge what you will on your own. Review gameplay videos, look at the discussions and reviews and decide. The game currently would be worth around 10 bucks on sale, but anything more we will need the devs to up their game.

TLDR; L4D clone with mobile-like animations and okay-ish AI. Some cool concepts which will help the game immensely if devs expand on them. Thumbs up because there is still a ton of potential, and isnt exactly too much of a rip off at 15 bucks.

(UPDATED FOR HALLOWEEN UPDATE) I won't lie. This is Left4Dead. Recently the Invasion major update came out and it gave me a reason to go back to playing due to a new progression system. I do feel the current skills progression is too grindy in some skills (150 bosses killed just to unlock a skill?) but its a step in the right direction. You can also earn some cool skins and weapon trinkets through a leveling system similar to Fortnite's battle pass. It's free and part of the game so don't worry about that. The new invasion mode is a horde game mode similar to Killing Floor 2 where you survive 20 waves of aliens, you can use credits earned in match to purchase guns , ammo, barricades etc. Its worth a try. That said, there are things that differentiate this game from the zombie titan game that is L4D. Let's start with the best parts about this game. ---The barricades--- I wish more games had this. Essentially Earthfall excels at the defence game, its main differentiating point. Barricades work like metal gates which can be picked up and placed anywhere on the map. If you try to place one near a door, it autosnaps to cover the door. You can reposition them as and when. You can pass the gates as they will automatically open for you, still holding the aliens off on the other side until they are destroyed. There are also auto-turrets, a fabricator similar to the one from Gears of war, and your standard propane tanks. While currently there aren't much variety, the system works and it is still fun setting up these barricades to hold up. ---Visuals--- The game looks pretty. The lighting, environment design and map design in general looks decent. The gun models look very detailed, and they look way better than L4D's vanilla guns in comparison. ---Enemy Variation?--- While the majority of the aliens are left4dead copy and pastes (Jockey/tank/Boomer... You get it) there are a few new types such as one which flies at you and flashbangs you in the face, before retreating and hiding behind some EMP shield. If the devs continue to create these unique alien types it will do better at distinguishing them from your L4D special infected. This ones up in the air and its up to the devs to implement. The not so good: ---AI--- AI is dumb asf, both ways. Survivor AI is really bad, they generally are okayish, but they often get stuck in places, and they cant hit for nuts. Expect being jockeyed away to your death as the AI tries to chase you only to stop and fight some normal aliens along its route, essentially sending a big "F you!" to you. Alien AI is terrible as well, although I would not say Alone in the dark level bad. The AIs are pretty much mindless aliens that run at you in hordes regardless and also seem to get stuck in places. Ive seen aliens just chilling in corners and the like. UPDATE: It seems the AI did kinda improve since. I've seen less chilly aliens and theres a setting now to make the bot more accurate. They are still pretty dumb so dont expect them to be much better. It works okay, in that you can still play a game with the AI, just that there will be behaviors that make you annoyed regularly. ---Guns--- Guns sound really soft and unimpactful. They also dont have good feedback, with the soaking zombies like the tank clone eating shots without proper indication of progress. Sure, the gun designs are pretty, and I enjoy that you can aim down sight with RMB unlike L4D, but a ton of work still needs to be done on the guns, and right now they feel very mobile-fps like. Overall verdict: 7/10 as of 19 July 2018. New Overall verdict: 8.5/10 as of 02 Nov 018. On release they added quite a few stuff such as completing the maps for a full campaign, a skin system( Which is fine, its ten bucks for a whole set of skins ), and some new enemies. However, most of what I said still stands. Make a judge what you will on your own. Review gameplay videos, look at the discussions and reviews and decide. The game currently would be worth around 10 bucks on sale, but anything more we will need the devs to up their game. TLDR; L4D clone with mobile-like animations and okay-ish AI. Some cool concepts which will help the game immensely if devs expand on them. Thumbs up because there is still a ton of potential, and isnt exactly too much of a rip off at 15 bucks.