John Carpenter's Toxic Commando

Even a Toxic Commando sometimes needs a little more time. Originally scheduled for release in 2024, the game, which was announced in the summer of 2023, will now be released in March 2026 after an extended development period. John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is an 80s-inspired, co-op, first-person shooter with action-horror elements. This new IP from the creators of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, World War Z and MudRunner/SnowRunner clearly shows its roots. In fact, it really seems as if they have combined the co-op horror action of games like Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood, and World War Z with the muddy tracks and wider levels of SnowRunner, and added some Helldivers 2-style exploration.

In the near future, a failed attempt to harness the power of the Earth's core results in the release of the Sludge God. This eldritch abomination begins to terraform the area, turning the soil into scum and the living into undead monsters. Someone must deal with this chaos, but because hiring a team of competent, highly-trained mercenaries is too expensive, the Toxic Commandos must step in. Even at this early stage, it's clear that the game is over-the-top and doesn't take itself or its characters too seriously.

Players take control of one of the commandos and can team up with three friends to send the Sludge God and its horde back to the underworld. There is a choice of four fairly generic classes, each with their own abilities: Strike, Medic, Operator or Defender. Together, they embark on multiple missions through a semi-open world, fighting waves of mutated monstrosities powered by Saber's Swarm technology. Teamwork is essential, of course, because without it, the teammates won't survive. Unlike Left 4 Dead, however, not every moment is a sprint to the next checkpoint.

As in Helldivers 2, the game allows for lots of exploration and looting, and there are different vehicles that can be found on the maps. These are not just for transport; they are also mobile weapon platforms with tactical functions. Vehicles consume fuel and the ammunition for the particularly effective mounted guns is limited. Because the entire world is covered in mud, vehicles can also get stuck in it – this is where the MudRunner/SnowRunner elements come into play. The game even features winch mechanics, which allow vehicles to be freed from deep mud or moved across rough or steep terrain. Incidentally, the Operator class specialises in vehicle interactions. Curiously, this combination works quite well, even though vehicles are a fairly new addition to this genre.

Although it is reminiscent of Back 4 Blood in many ways, the character upgrade system is different and more closely aligned with World War Z. Players can permanently level up their characters and skills (skill tree). Weapons, including 16 primary weapon types ranging from Katanas to firearms and all kinds of secondary weapons, can be modified. The gunplay is convincing and the switch to a first-person perspective works particularly well, especially considering that both Space Marine 2 and World War Z were third-person shooters, with the latter later receiving an FPS mode. While the game doesn't reinvent the co-op horde shooter genre, it comes with a relatively large amount of content, good upgrade systems and well-functioning gameplay, full of buddy-movie vibes, over-the-top action and the horror of classic '80s cinema inspired by John Carpenter.

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is launching on 12 March 2026 for PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. It will be available in two editions: the Standard Edition (€39.99) and the Blood Edition (€49.99). In addition to the main game, the Blood Edition includes the Bloody Pass, which features two post-launch DLCs with skins for all characters, weapons and vehicles. It also includes a cosmetic pack containing gold paint for weapons, a weapon charm and one skin per character. The Standard Edition will also be available in retail stores for the PS5 and Xbox in collaboration with distributor Plaion. As with World War Z, John Carpenter's Toxic Commando will receive free updates featuring new missions, enemies, weapons and vehicles.

Conclusion

Although Toxic Commando doesn't reinvent the genre, it still provides entertaining, action-packed co-op fun.

Features

• Bloody co-op action combines World War Z with MudRunner
• Vehicles as a means of transport and as weapons
• Permanent progression system for characters (skill tree)