The best games like Left 4 Dead and Payday 2 on PC

These games often feature teams of four or more players, classes with different abilities and skill trees, as well as sporadic terror attacks from some kind of monster trying to ruin your day. "Left-likes", "Dead-likes", and "4-likes" are three descriptors that no one has ever used and will never use again. But you probably know what we're talking now.

It can be difficult to find new genres after you've exhausted the mainstays. But we have your back like a giant back-scratcher made up of words. Choose your classes, loadouts, and your horde. And, please, keep your medic alive. These are our top picks for Left 4 Dead and Payday 2 PC games.

These are some of the top games, such as Left 4 Dead or Payday 2

Back 4 Blood

Back 4 Blood, as the name suggests, is a spiritual successor of Left 4 Dead. It even has the original creators at its helm. You can expect the same gameplay mechanics and scenarios as Left 4 Dead: The campaign is fully cooperative and packed full of massive set pieces. You choose from a variety of characters with different strengths and weaknesses. There are also dozens of undead archetypes that you can battle.

This isn't just HD. Back 4 Blood has a deckbuilding system that allows you to build your character with Back 4 Blood cards. This can be used over multiple missions to create more zombie-slaying builds. The guns are also worthy of special mention. For more information, see our Back 4 Blood review.

Deep Rock Galactic

Deep Rock Galactic is somewhere in between Payday 2 and Left 4 Dead's cooperative teamwork, and Minecraft's fully-destructible environments, and allows you to play with up to three other friends as (and savour that sentence, because it doesn’t come up every single day) mining space dwarfs. You will be required to explore subterranean caves filled with hostile alien fauna and flora. Your team must then mine valuable minerals and complete the objectives before you can make a dangerous escape. You can spend your character and equipment upgrades on characters that survive, so the more you help dwarves to make it out alive.

Deep Rock Galactic is more than its parts. It's difficult to pinpoint what makes it so special. There are four classes that are completely different and each one has a minecart with many upgrades. This gives you tons of choice, but every aspect is meticulously planned. Between missions, there's a bar where you can have a drink or dance. We also mentioned space dwarves.

Hunt: Showdown

Hunt: Showdown is a bit of a wildcard in this list. But that's because it's designed. Because there aren’t many games quite like Hunt: Showdown, it is difficult to compare it with Left 4 Dead or Payday 2. Hunt: Showdown's darkly evocative matches combine PvE and PvPvE with a variety of other acronyms.

Hunt: Showdown combines a haunting Wild West aesthetic with terrifying creatures. It feels almost like Nick Cave's concept album about giant, face-eating Spiders. The tension that leads to gunfights is much more intense than the actual gunfights. Everything is covered in a thick layer of grime and metal. Every step taken on its vast map is infused with tension by traps, noise, or stray gunshots.

Killing Floor 2

Combining the zombie hordes from Left 4 Dead and the guns of Payday 2 to create Killing Floor 2, this co-op game is a wild one. It is all about killing waves after waves of horribly mutated flesh-guzzlers.

The FPS game has seen many updates and DLC since its launch in 2016. This may make it difficult for new players to know where to start. You don't have to buy every expansion, but the core gameplay loop is still compulsive, gory fun.

Left 4 Dead 2

Rogue. Dark Souls. Doom. It's rare to find titles that have spawned a whole genre. Although there isn't an official name for Left 4 Dead's co-op shooter brothers, we think it deserves to be among the most prestigious titles.

Left 4 Dead 2 has perfected the original formula by offering plenty of AI-directed tension that keeps players on their toes. This is not a zombie game. It's the original zombie game. It's a classic game for a reason. The old maps are still very useful. However, new content is available as a free Left 4 Dead update.

Vermintide 2

Let's just say that Skaven are cute and should inherit the earth. Vermintide 2 is the best alternative, as letting our noble rats overlords rule the planet wouldn’t make for an interesting game. This is a melee-and-magic co-op blast and the ultimate ratmasher.

Vermintide 2 draws inspiration from Left 4 Dead, and shamelessly even copied the number in its title. You and up to three of your friends can team up against the combined forces Chaos and Skaven. Vermintide's block-slash-strafe combat system is precise and satisfying. For those who want to watch their teammates being devoured, there are also crossbows and pistols. Thanks, team!

Payday 2

Payday 2 is a fun way to do crimes. It's wearing colorful masks and being surrounded by friends. This is the core of Left 4 Dead's objective-based cooperative, but instead fighting off waves of zombies, you will be committing some the most outrageous crimes imaginable - from kidnapping to bank robbery.

Payday features dynamic scenarios, special character classes that excel at specific jobs, tons of guns and equipment to customize your loadout. It was released in 2013 and has kept a loyal following ever since. Newer players, or those who are solo, should not have any trouble finding crime buddies.

Perfect Heist 2

Perfect Heist 2 offers a completely unrealized, but still unique experience of cops vs. robbers. The setup is very simple. The defending team must stop the robbers getting away with a certain amount of loot. The robbers have two options: they can sneak through the bank with disguises and gadgetry, or they can launch a full-frontal assault to see if it works. However, the best method is often somewhere in between.

The show's stars are the gadgets and classes. The first time you see a sheriff riding around the bank on a horse, you'll be laughing out loud and wondering how one of his robbers was able to blow through the vault's ceiling without setting off alarms. You can expect rolling gunfights in the streets of the city, as well as some cartoon absurdity, just like any great heist movie.

Gunfire Reborn

Gunfire Reborn embraces procedural generation's roguelite chaos, from its levels to weapon drops, unlike Left 4 Dead or Payday 2. You can play it with up to three other friends and have a variety of heroes to fight your foes using a range of zany abilities and weapons.

Gunfire Reborn already has a large following despite being released in early access. You can choose to play as an alchemist cat or a canine explosives expert. You might find it to be a great co-op shooter with lots of customization and upgrade options. You might also find a panda there.

These are the top games on PC like Left 4 Dead or Payday 2. Check out our list for the top zombie games if you want more undead action. Here are the top co-op games for more fun with your friends. Here are the best FPS games - if you don't care too much about what you shoot as long as you get something.