Pripyat Calls Once Again: Left 4 Dead Dniepr Mod

Making Left 4 Dead campaigns is an interesting challenge. You're building levels for a game that decides when and where to attack the player, and you have almost no control over those moments. It means your focus is in creating the world and in making it an interesting space for the players to exist in. You can't guarantee that the cleverly designed chokepoint you made will ever be used as one, but you can make it the prettiest damn corridor the player will ever see. The setting is one of the biggest considerations you have, and then you have to have the talent to pull it off. It's why I think most L4D campaigns take such a long time coming. Dniepr's a Left 4 Dead (1 and 2) campaign that's set in the Ukraine, including Pripyat, and has been three years in development. There's a quite startling pair of trailers below.

Poor Pripyat. As if being swaddled in nuclear fallout wasn't bad enough, now it has to contend with the undead as well. At least nothing else can go wrong. Dnierpr is one of those undertakings that I can't imagine people doing for free: four maps, custom soundtrack and models, a non-linear story. But looking at the pair of trailers below, you can see that the work has turned out a rather beautiful place. It's almost a shame that it'll be hidden beneath piles of corpses and splats of blood.

Gather your friends: it'll be out on May 20th.