The Anacrusis is a fun albeit basic Left 4 Dead throwback – Early Access Review

The Anacrusis is a fun, albeit basic Left 4 Dead throwback.

The “anacrusis the game” is a fun albeit basic Left 4 Dead throwback. It has a variety of weapons, and some neat features for those who are looking for something to play on their lunch break or in between work.

Cooperative shooters have always appealed to me. I’m interested in forming a small squad to combat swarms of opponents. While these games provide me with a lot of amusement, none have done it better than Left 4 Dead 2 in 2009. The intensity of the moment-to-moment horde battle, as well as the intriguing world-building through conversation and environmental hints, captivated me and have stayed with me to this day.

Anacrusis is a design firm based in New York City. Stray Bombay claims to have figured out what made the game so popular, and it set out to recreate the Left 4 Dead experience as closely as possible. As a consequence, we have another another entry in the rapidly expanding four-player co-op shooter genre. Aboard the other hand, if you’re seeking for anything unique and imaginative, you won’t find it on this terrifying spacecraft.

“I’ve seen this before,” you can’t say in space since no one can hear you.

Image courtesy of Stray Bombay.

In The Anacrusis, you and your friends are the last inhabitants on a space colony that has been taken over by headcrab-like aliens. The goal of the game is to get from one safe room to the next in each chapter while battling aliens that want to take you on as one of their own. There are times when you must battle in a locked-down area while waiting to progress, but the most of the time you must go forward and take out whatever is right in front of you. 

Occasionally, special foes may appear, trapping you in goo, blinding you, spawning turrets, or grabbing you. As expected, there is a Brute variation of the L4D Tank that is powerful and has a lot of HP. These adversaries, all with amusing names, vary from being quite standard for this kind of game to being dubious in their inclusion. The Flasher, for example, enters a room, flashes a bright light, and then stands there until you kill it. I’m delighted the game did something different with the monsters, but the Flasher feels particularly worthless, especially when playing with AI partners.

Image courtesy of Stray Bombay.

Simply simply, if you’ve played Left 4 Dead or anything similar, you already know what you’re getting yourself into with this game. Apart from grabbing some perks from Matter Compilers found around levels — perks include more ammo for your weapons, more health when downed, and other buffs — and various grenades and special weapons that come in handy in certain situations — there isn’t much to distinguish this from anything that came before it. While no one advantage jumped out to me, I did appreciate the scheming and game-planning that followed the discovery of a Stasis Grenade or Arc Rifle. It might be the difference between success and failure whether you save them for a massive horde or a pair of Brutes.

While The Anacrusis wears its Left 4 Dead influences on its sleeves, it isn’t a bad rip-off. The gunplay should keep you entertained for a while, and it seems to operate well on PC – with the exception of the partner AI, which seemed to be a touch lackluster at times. My other survivors would often get trapped on walls and even go forward on their own as I searched for supplies, which was a regular no-no in this sort of game. I’ve also experienced cases when the AI would spend their health kit on me after I’d already completed healing. Aside from those flaws, it’s about as simple as a cooperative shooter can get.

Toss it all into the vastness of space.

Photographed by

The aesthetic of the 1970s in space The Anacrusis is a nice change of pace from the standard zombie apocalypse seen in survival shooters, but I wouldn’t say anything groundbreaking has been accomplished. The orange color scheme in several hallways makes the space seem bland and uninteresting. When you think about living in space, the vintage aesthetic doesn’t seem to be a good match. The odd debris adds character to the surroundings, making the ship’s hallways appear less like that bright and overly orange furniture your grandparents have in their storage.

The tale is delivered via your characters’ speech, similar to Left 4 Dead, however I must admit that I struggled to pay attention to them. They’re not horrible characters, but their personalities are forgettable, and they say nothing that piques my interest in learning more about them. The Anacrusis’ cast is uninteresting, unlike the games that inspired it. You may grow emotionally entangled with the characters in Left 4 Dead. You adored their eccentricities, such as Francis’s aversion to everything, Zoey’s horror obsession, and Ellis’s endearing southern charm. I envision four random persons on a space colony when I look at the cast of The Anacrusis.

The final decision

Image courtesy of Stray Bombay.

While The Anacrusis is still in Early Access, only three of the five total episodes are accessible at the time of this early access review, implying that the game is far from completion. Two more episodes will be released this year, and the game will remain in early access for the time being. Fortunately, the game is accessible with Game Pass, so it’s worth a try if you’re a fan of Left 4 Dead-style games. Otherwise, you may want to hold off on traveling into The Anacrusis’s uncertain future for a while.

I was given a game code in exchange for an honest review.

Watch This Video-

The “anacrusis xbox” is a fun albeit basic Left 4 Dead throwback. The game features an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse with a focus on co-op play and character customization. With a $14.99 price tag, this Early Access title is worth checking out for fans of the genre.

Related Tags

• anacrusis back 4 blood
• anacrusis release date
• anacrusis steam