The Anacrusis Critic Reviews

The Anacrusis simply feels like "Left 4 Dead" - its formula almost unchanged in 15 years - in a sequinned disco jumpsuit.

The Anacrusis borrows so much from Left 4 Dead that it forgets to do its own thing and refuses to benefit from 15 years of co-op shooter evolution. The cool disco aesthetic and alien armies definitely offer a much-needed break from zombie hordes, but that can only get you so far when poor enemy variety, dreadfully boring gunplay, and lifeless levels make shooting your way to the next safe zone an uneventful affair. The 4v4 mode at least offers some good opportunities for an over-the-top alien-slaying competition with friends, but that well runs dry pretty quickly too, and the five short campaign episodes and tacked on horde mode become dull even faster.

The Anacrusis looks to be everything I want from a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. The pick up and play nature is compelling from the drop, and the 70s sci-fi setting is so refreshing. The AI Driver really makes every session totally different, facing different combinations of aliens in different settings doesn’t get stale. I know the next few months of my life will be spent replaying the game over and over again with my partner, and I can’t wait.

In early access, The Anacrusis fails to match its distinctive and colorful setting with compelling co-op shooting gameplay. For a game that looks this cool, it gets boring quickly.

To say that The Anacrusis is better with friends is an incredible understatement, as it’s less like a different experience and more like a completely different game. Everything just feels more cohesive with co-op. Teamwork and communication make objectives and combat more exciting, while death feels less like a chore. This is the type of game that is meant to be played one way and one way only, but when it’s that much better, there’s nothing really wrong with that, and The Anacrusis is well worth anyone's time if they can put together their own team to tackle it with.