John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando: The Ultimate 80s Horror Bloodbath
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is a co-op first-person shooter that feels like a lost 80s action-horror flick come to life. Developed by Saber Interactive, the game thrusts up to four players into a world overrun by the Sludge God’s undead filth. You’ll use a mix of heavy-duty vehicles and a massive arsenal of weapons to tear through relentless swarms in a massive 3D open world.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando Steam Review: Specs & HUD
- Developer: Saber Interactive
- Publisher: Focus Entertainment
- Release Date: March 12, 2026
- Genre: First-Person Shooter / Co-op Action
- Download Size: 53.92GB
- Official Website: Focus Entertainment Official Site
- UK Store Link: Steam Store
- Four playable characters: Walter, Ruby, Cato, and Astrid.
- Enemies have levels to denote strength.
- Ability to ping items and mark objectives for the team.
- Steam achievements and PROS account linking for free items.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
The gameplay gets crazy and can happen at any time. Zombies can call out and get more zombies, but it doesn’t help that the game can handle so many zombies! It feels like an online living world, but it is just you and the team Vs the CPU. You can revive and heal teammates. Characters will unlock unique special attacks or abilities, which are cool to pull off and really come in handy.
The gunplay is tight and a lot of fun, with every gun feeling completely different. Every gun and weapon can earn experience for use and level up to unlock new parts and upgrades. You have many skill trees, and all correspond to the different roles like tech or medic, and these are tied to you, but not a particular character. As you go to objectives, you can stumble across little self-contained sequences or trigger an event.
Your vehicle is important not just for travel, but you can hitch it up to crates and trucks to open them, rip doors down, and, of course, run over zombies! The vehicle will take damage and use fuel, so you will need to find petrol canisters and tool kits to repair your vehicle to keep it going. Winching is a big part of finding loot as you attach it to broken-down cars or containers and rip the doors off. It can also be used to drag items or take down entrances.
There is an opening optional tutorial section that has you doing the main mechanics and systems of the game. Playing solo or with a group of fewer than four will have CPU characters join you, and you can give them orders. Excellent B-movie story with fantastic voice performances and music; the soundtrack is fantastic.
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando Steam Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Awesome graphics and a beautiful, huge 3D open world with great-looking locations and stop-offs.
- The world is huge, a very open world in each location, and they look fantastic with many secrets and routes.
- Graphics settings include cinematic ambience, video adapter, target display, display mode, resolution, and render resolution.
- Supports resolution upscaling, resolution sharpness, and frame generation.
- Features dynamic resolution fps target, v-sync, image calibration, and motion blur intensity.
- Visual quality presets and fps limiters are available.
- High enemy count on screen handled without dropping the vibe.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Gameplay settings: Crossplay, telemetry data, and field of view scale sliders for first-person and third-person.
- Camera options: Camera shake toggle and additive camera motions.
- Controller support: Full controller support with adaptive triggers.
- Controller customisation: Invert axis, sensitivity sliders, swap triggers, toggle actions (crouch/run), and vibration strength.
- Audio sliders: Voice chat, voice over, sfx, ui, music, and master volume.
- Voice chat: Push-to-talk or open-mic options.
- Language: Subtitle size, subtitle background, profanity filter, and in-game alerts setup.
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John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando Steam Review
Summary
GOOD STUFF
Awesome graphics and a beautiful, huge 3D open world with some great-looking locations and stop-offs. The gunplay is tight and a lot of fun, with every gun feeling completely different. Four playable characters, Walter, Ruby, Cato, and Astrid, with many skill trees corresponding to roles like tech or medic, and these are tied to you, but not a particular character. Every gun and weapon can earn experience for use and level up to unlock new parts and upgrades. Excellent B-movie story with fantastic voice performances and music; the soundtrack is fantastic. Your vehicle is important not just for travel, but you can hitch it up to crates and trucks to open them, rip doors down, and, of course, run over zombies! Winching is a big part of finding loot as you attach it to broken-down cars or containers and rip the doors off. It can also be used to drag items or take down entrances. The gameplay gets crazy and can happen at any time. Zombies can call out and get more zombies, but it doesn’t help that the game can handle so many zombies! It feels like an online living world, but it is just you and the team Vs the CPU.
BAD STUFF
The server architecture is unreliable at times, leading to frequent disconnections that rip you right out of the action. Even when attempting to play in offline mode, the game kicked me out of the tutorial entirely, meaning my progress was not saved, and I lost every bit of time I put into it. The forced reliance on petrol canisters and tool kits to keep your vehicle functional can sometimes become a chore rather than a fun mechanic when you’re already swarmed by enemies. Additionally, the level-based enemy scaling means you are frequently pushed into high-stakes encounters that can quickly spiral out of control if your team isn’t perfectly synced.
OVERALL VERDICT
John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando is a high-octane, gory riot that nails the 80s horror vibe perfectly. Between the tight gunplay, the essential vehicle mechanics, and a soundtrack that absolutely slaps, it’s a dream for co-op fans. It’s just a massive shame that server issues can kick you out and wipe your progress even when playing solo. If you can stomach the risk of a disconnect, this is a top-tier zombie slayer and a must-play even with the slight issues. It is fast becoming one of the best zombie shooters in the genre.
