Platform(s): PC (Version reviewed), Xbox Series, PlayStation 5
Genre: Multiplayer Co-Op First-Person Shooter, Horror, Zombies

The past year and early parts of 2026 seem to be rife with co-op shooters, with extraction first-person shooters being the key gimmick developers are aiming these days. Are they fun? Yes, in a tense sort of way. But what about the mid-scale player-versus-environment setting type shooters you see in the Xbox 360 era? The Horde mode-laced run-and-gun first-person titles where all you need is a trusty group to party with and repeatedly play stages for fun and character levelling?

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando (JCTC) fills that current void for its asking price of US$40. While I expected a disappointment ala Back 4 Blood, what I instead got a pretty honest co-op shooter title that’s more fun that it should be, especially in the current gaming landscape.

Toxic Environment

Channeling the feel and vibe of an 80s action horror title with quips aplenty, JCTC takes place in the near future where a corporation called Obsidian accidentally unleashed the Sludge God that turns anyone nearby into an undead mind-controlled husk. The company’s CEO Leon Dorsey enlists the aid of four mercenaries (that’s you and your friends) who now have powers given by the company to help deal with the problem that could threaten the whole world. As far as action movie vibes go, JCTC’s got it from its grimey look, slick presentation, chatty and close-to-obnoxious playable characters with intercom banter in-between missions that forward the plot, and atmospheric 80s synth courtesy of John Carpenter and his close associates. If anything, the game’s soundtrack stands out as it really puts you in the mood exploring the many maps you’re on before you go guns-ablazing.

Speaking of which, what carries JCTC is the gunplay and how you approach stages seamlessly. You pick your class -Strike, Medic, Operator, Defender- jump into a game with up to four players (or solo with AI bots), then go do your sequential objectives on a pretty packed and decently-sized map meant for 30 mins or less of play. You either beeline straight to the objective(s) which usually means protect sites, kill a mob of zombies camping there, or collect a vehicle or two, or even escort a giant-ass vehicle before it gets torned up by the horde. Or you can really spend more time preparing and raiding spots with better weapons and gear. You can collect Spare Parts to unlock defensive tools like turrets, mortars, or electric fences for survival/defense portions of the stage, or check out areas with Sludge Seeds that give you an extra life. If you get to keep the Sludge Seed for the whole mission without dying, you get bonus Class Experience Points in addition to your other Experience Points you get for either contributing or taking lead in missions. Or you can find the nearest vehicle and get to places quicker, using their winches to either open up breakable barriers or get through mud and sludge. There’s a LOT of uphill drives that require winches to carry you through the terrain.

Each Class has a cap of up to Level 40, meaning a good amount of Skill Points to allocate to power up your favourite Class and sort out your Loadouts. All mission rewards (ie the Crystals and whatnot you collect in missions) can be used to power up your favourite guns and sidearms. Heavy-hitting weapons like Grenade Launchers and Light Machine Guns need Spare Parts to be unlocked and are only accessible during missions. But if you’re lucky and diligent in map-searching, you may come across these game-changing weapons in secret spots. They don’t have additional ammo though, so you need to save them for crucial moments in missions like, oh say, when bigger threats like Goons pop up.

The zombie horde you fight range from your cannon fodder Roamers to the aforementioned Goons who can incapacite your teammates and charge into anyone for a quick knockdown. There’s enough enemy variety here since these hordes really live up to their name; you’ll be fighting waves upon waves of Roamers mixed in with long-ranged Stalkers and snatching Snares, and even Blasters that pop up in a distance and snipe you with its laser shooting out of their tendrils. On Normal difficulty, these can be manageable, but when you bump up the difficulty, it really gets rough and numerous to the point where you REALLY need to get all the Spare Parts on a map to unlock the best defenses and get the best possible gear.

Which is why JCTC is best with actual people. While Solo play has its moments, the game sometimes isn’t balanced for that especially when it comes to item-carrying objectives. Sure, your team AI can defend you and really pull you out of tight spots, but half the time I’m doing the game’s objectives all by myself. There’s an instance where I had to carry two objects -one at a time- to get from point A to B, when in fact having another person carry the second object would have saved lots of time. While I can’t comment on the current server stability (the game wasn’t out in public at this time of review), private online sessions worked out great so far. I’ve had the most fun with my teammates just working together, killing loads of Roamers and Goons while going through defense-oriented missions and taking our time in our vehicle driving through sludges, catering to our gaming-related OCDs clearing out the map for loot and gear.

Pretty Fly For A Dead Guy

While not the most original of ideas & design, JCTC is still a solid co-op effort with a great presentation style, lovely gunplay, and fun-yet-brief co-op stage-completing flow. Sometimes you just want to team up with your like-minded FPS-loving pals and just want to mow down zombies and giants while looting an open-world with tons of mud and grime. JCTC does a more-than-adequate job sorting out that quota.

Final Score: 70/100

Review code provided by publisher.