Frankly, I was never able to successfully shake the phrase “Left 4 Dead, but worse” from my mind during my time with Earthfall. Admittedly, Valve is one of the toughest acts to follow in all of gaming, but every aspect of this co-op shooter falls short of its inspiration and none of its depressingly few new ideas stood out as innovative or meaningful. But perhaps Earthfall’s greatest shortcoming is the lack of replay value for its limited batch of levels.
Earthfall sends a team of four players through 10 mostly linear missions set in the aftermath of a cataclysmic alien invasion. You’ll combat an unending onslaught of shambling alien drones and endure frequent attacks from the teamwork inducing “special” enemies, most of whom are extremely derivative. Sappers explode, Threshers pounce, and Whiplashes whisk away teammates. Annoyingly, this trio spawns together at predictably regular intervals. The two disablers let loose an initial battlecry, but good luck keeping track of them after that, as they emit hardly any sound. As a result, getting pounced or grabbed feels unavoidable and obligatory.