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Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2

Valve · released Nov 15, 2009

ActionPCXbox 360

Set in the zombie apocalypse, Left 4 Dead 2 is a co-operative action horror FPS takes you and your friends through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns.

Steam page ↗Metacritic 89 · users 8.2 ↗
93
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence
n/a
At launch
98%
Steam all-time
89%
Press
86%
Player sentiment
97%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 452 sampled Steam reviews (439 positive / 13 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Multiplayer & servers8% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Multiplayer & servers23% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

96%

67 reviews

5-15h

97%

101 reviews

15-40h

99%

98 reviews

40-100h

99%

90 reviews

100h+

95%

96 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)–896
Creator reviews (1 tracked)–870
All-time Steam reviews98%932024
Metacritic user ratings–8620
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)97%921050
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 6361 total reviews in window · weighted 245 up / 7 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (74)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 92
    TeamXbox
    trust 67–

    “The first one innovated; this one polishes.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    MS Xbox World
    trust 66–

    “The co-operative and multiplayer experience of Left 4 Dead 2 is much like that of the original, but with some intriguing new modes of play.”

    read full review ↗
  • 95
    GameWatcherGameWatcher
    trust 64–

    “Whichever you prefer, playing versus with friends or cooperatively against the improved Director, there is almost no fault to Left 4 Dead 2.”

    read full review ↗
  • 84
    GamingExcellence
    trust 64–

    “Sure, L4D2 features new weapons, new game modes and new infected, but in the end, these are all pretty minor additions. What makes L4D2 a great game is what made the original so popular: exhilarating co-operative action with three buddies… and zombies.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    ZTGDZTGD
    trust 64–

    “This is a polished, more feature-filled version of the original game that adds enough new to make it worthy of purchase by fans of the series. Melee weapons, new modes and new zombie types make this a must have for those that adored the original game.”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    GameShark
    trust 64–

    “Left 4 Dead 2 is the Empire Strikes Back of zombie games. The momentum has clearly swung in favor of the bad guys. But also much like Empire, this is clearly the best of the bunch and is a required purchase for fans of the genre.”

    read full review ↗
  • 93
    Worth PlayingWorth Playing
    trust 63–

    “In spite of its few faults, Left 4 Dead 2 is a very worthwhile sequel, and any fears you may have about this game merely being an overpriced expansion will melt away as soon as you start playing.”

    read full review ↗
  • 95
    Official Xbox Magazine
    trust 63–

    “An undisputable improvement over its predecessor in every way, and it steals its own crown as best co-op game on the Xbox. It's chainsaw-twirlingly good. [Holiday 2009, p.64]”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    EurogamerEurogamer
    trust 63–

    “Whereas once we treated Left 4 Dead as a stopgap between Half-Lifes, this is no longer a weird little side project with modest expectations, and Valve is confident enough to play around with it, safe in the knowledge that you can trust your players. Left 4 Dead proved it. And whereas that game had a personality, this one is overflowing with it.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    GameSpotGameSpot
    trust 63–

    “With exciting new content across the board and plenty of it, Left 4 Dead 2 outdoes its predecessor and makes the zombie apocalypse an absolute blast.”

    read full review ↗
  • 93
    Talk Xbox
    trust 63–

    “It is by far one of the most satisfying cooperative experiences out there at the moment and completely overshadows its predecessor.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    Kikizo
    trust 62–

    “In the Left 4 Dead series, the perennially over-performing Valve has put together yet another classic franchise, and while the absence of fundamental overhaul obliges me to be sparing in my praise of the sequel, it should serve you long after Modern Warfare 2’s charms have faded.”

    read full review ↗

…and 62 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jun 30, 2026
  2. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jun 26, 2026
  3. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 5, 2025
  4. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jan 17, 2025
  5. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Dec 2, 2024
  6. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Oct 24, 2024
  7. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jul 26, 2024
  8. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jun 26, 2024
  9. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jun 25, 2024
  10. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jun 4, 2024
  11. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    May 26, 2024
  12. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    May 14, 2024
  13. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Apr 23, 2024
  14. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Apr 12, 2024
  15. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Mar 26, 2024
  16. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Mar 13, 2024
  17. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Mar 11, 2024
  18. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 29, 2024
  19. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 22, 2024
  20. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 21, 2024
  21. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 7, 2024
  22. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jan 17, 2024
  23. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Aug 31, 2023
  24. Update - Left 4 Dead 2
    Aug 22, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  25. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    May 19, 2023
  26. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    May 18, 2023
  27. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    May 18, 2023
  28. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Nov 19, 2022
  29. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Sep 9, 2022
  30. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Apr 14, 2022
  31. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 23, 2022
  32. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Feb 1, 2022
  33. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Dec 9, 2021
  34. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Oct 4, 2021
  35. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Aug 20, 2021
  36. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jul 9, 2021
  37. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jul 8, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  38. Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
    Jun 15, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  39. German Ratings Update
    Jan 28, 2021
  40. The Last Stand Update
    Sep 24, 2020

…and 8 earlier patch announcements.