The Dead Should Have Stayed Dead
You might recall a news post made back in June, advertising upcoming co-op game Left Fore Dead. Well, it’s time to close the circle with a review on the full game which released on June 25th. Left Fore Dead: Zombie Battle Golf is a co-op game of golf with the added element of zombies – an outlandish mix with the potential for plenty of laughs. I had high hopes for the game, developed and published by indie studio Maple Taco, based on the news piece. Unfortunately, the actual gameplay fell short. Despite the potential, Left Fore Dead was buggy and underwhelming even after it’s full release.
Conceptually, Left Fore Dead is a strong contender. Teams of up to four must work together to get the brain (our golf ball) into the hole, in a not so traditional game of golf. Things are not so simple though, with friendly fire active and hoards of zombies eager to chomp down on your flesh. Not to mention the cloud of noxious, purple gas closing in on players, adding more complexity to the scenario. Character design is simple and goofy, reminding me of the Raving Rabbids. The world is surprisingly clean in aesthetic, not particularly giving post-apocalyptic vibes, especially with the vibrant, cartoon colours used. The only signs of disaster are the random shipping containers and abandoned vehicles littered across the maps.
Sound effects in Left Fore Dead are frankly horrendous. It was a hit and miss whether swinging the club, or attacking an enemy (or friend) would actually produce a sound effect. Weirdly, holding shift to run triggers a character sound that became annoying very quickly. The background music was also very generic and forgettable, not really matching the scene at hand and adding nothing to the game.
The game mechanics left a lot to desire. For a golf game, it is pretty difficult to get any golfing done. You have to be very specifically positioned to hit the ball, there is no general radius where a swing will be accepted, which makes it very difficult to get a hit in whilst escaping zombies and friends alike. There is also no turn-taking mechanism, it’s a gamble for who can get close enough and get a swing. Zombies spawn in within the first minute of gameplay, and they spawn in dense hoards. Hitting an emergency vehicle to trigger the sirens does not provide enough of a distraction for the number of zombies, but the idea is cool. Trying to get a single swing in the right direction with zombies nipping at your ankles is pretty damn hard. It took me so long to get any progress that the purple wall of death reached me and my HP took a dive bomb before giving up on the attempt.
Most frustratingly, Left Fore Dead does not play as a finished game. It’s extremely buggy and plays like a game in early development. Each time I attempted to play, a random swing of my club would propel me to the heavens where I could only wait for my descent back to zombie hell. The more zombies on me, the more likely it was to happen. I could forgive this in the pre-release demo, however a month into its full release the game still performs the same.
In summary, Left Fore Dead: Zombie Battle Golf was a disappointing play that I cannot recommend. The game is buggy with poor game mechanics and its only redeeming quality is the fun and cartoonish character design and aesthetic. The zombie golf concept had massive potential for a fun and addicting co-op, especially with friendly fire active and character customisation options. Unfortunately, the released game did not achieve this. At £7.15 on Steam, it’s not a massive loss for anyone who has purchased the game, but it’s still a loss. Hopefully with time and updates, Left Fore Dead can be fixed and improved on.
The code for this review was provided by Maple Taco. This review has been cross-posted to OpenCritic.
