Wow, it's hard to believe that this custom campaign is going to be nearly 10 years old this December. It always ages in reverse and every time I play it I always just have a blast, no matter if it's modded or unmodded. This is one of the few custom campaign maps that I will sing it's praises no matter what. There is a reason this is one of the most subscribed campaign maps in Left 4 Dead 2's history. To celebrate this campaign's 9 proud years of being so top rated, I've decided to write a review on it's current playable state, after tons of updates. This contains spoilers for the campaign, you've been warned.

To me, this campaign excels at subverting Left 4 Dead's typical map design philosophy in the best kind of way possible without ruining the core elements of what made such maps enjoyable. I have seen quite a few people complaining that the map's length plays against it, and while that can screw up balancing on higher difficulties, complaining about something just because it doesn't play like your typical vanilla map I think is a moot point unless you think for some reason every map needs to played on Expert Realism because fun is illegal.

Anyway, Dark Wood thrives on environmental design and exploration. Nearly every single room in Dark Wood is memorable, with plenty of environmental story telling and unique assets that make every map stand out from the rest, from the Resident Evil laboratory, the Silent Hill prison, Catacombs, the... dark woods. Everything is iconic to this map. Maps like this and Buried Deep thrive on just putting you in a giant environment and letting you run loose. Even small things, like Survivor chatter and fun gimmicks like being able to jump off ladders without dying. It all works in perfect harmony. There's always an amazing sense of catharsis in beating a long campaign with every survivor alive.

The first map is where the campaign gets it's title mostly from. It takes place I'd say 75% in a very dark forest, with Valve's trademark light cues helping you to guide where you're needing to go. The later quarter of the map primarily takes place in an underground complex of caves and sewers. There is one crescendo map in the form of startled birds, on the cliff faces. This map is great. However, the dark often goes give special infected the advantage most of the time. Especially with 4 players, you likely won't be shooting boomers until they've already spewed on you, and fighting Tanks in this map can generally be unfun in it's early parts. it's advantage of darkness meaning you have to rely on bots to know where it is until it's close. This is likely the map that turns a lot of hardcore L4D players off from the rest of the campaign.

The second map of Dark Wood. The survivors must fight their way through an underground complex of tunnels. This map is chock full of little references, and even uses RNG to determine your path forward at times. The Underground is a bit more run-of-the-mill similar to a Left 4 Dead map, just with a lengthier map. One part I personally love is the fact that this is the only map in Dark Wood where you can see daylight. It screams environmental story telling, as if symbolizing daylight always being just out of reach for you. This map used to feature 3 crescendo events, but one was removed in later updates. The first is turning on the power for an emergency exit door, and the second is the emergency exit door itself. I also love the laser reactor thing and the green goo, even if the bots can often get stuck on them. (but thats a problem with bots, not with Dark Wood). This map is probably where I got the most F.E.A.R vibes of the other levels.

My personal favorite map of Dark Wood and one I have the most to say about. It just throws a curveball at everything you've been conditioned to so far by Dark Wood. The map is actually bright for 90% of it and like the Underground, is just filled to the brim with environmental storytelling bits with plenty of easter eggs. My favorite section is the Cafeteria, where the somber music sets the tone for what the facility became of. I also just generally love the idea of zombie apocalypse survivors casually stumbling on a top-secret research facility that is still mostly clean, even if all it's original habitats are deceased or walk among the dead. It is my most favorite map to explore.

My only gripes with this map are it's crescendo events. The first one, inside the darkened vents with the burned corpse I'm a bit confused as to it's place in the level. I understand it's purpose, as otherwise it'd be difficult to spawn the bloody biker zombies. But the event itself is just so jarring and kind of comes out of nowhere with no build up. I personally think the vents could've been substituted for a larger bloody room of some kind (maybe like the hospital waiting room from F.E.A.R Extraction Point), allowing better room to maneuver and allowing special infected to come into play more. The second one, the gauntlet event where you need to run, isn't bad, but it can be incredibly frustrating on a first time playthrough if you don't know it's coming and didn't bring bile, pipe bombs or melee weapons, not to mention the increase in special infected spawn rates.

This is the map I think I've typically seen draw the most criticism. It is extremely dark, often difficult to find your way around, and copies a good chunk out of Nova Prospekt from Half-Life 2. If I'll be honest, I think it's probably my least favorite map out of the 5. Not because it's bad or anything, but because it's just not nearly as fun as the prior 3 maps were. I definitely love the Silent Hill vibes and the overall disturbing tone and environment, like seeing people caged up, people hanged, the distant screaming or the clanging metal, and the crescendo event trying to open the cell doors quickly is a unique spin on things, not to mention the hilarious inability to take fall damage while on the ladders so you can bask in Louis and Francis's hilarious death screams.

My problems mostly stem in the fact that this map can be difficult to navigate, as nearly every door and wall look identical and it makes tracking where you are much harder, especially in the room with the crushers (I wouldn't say it's maze-like though, just hard to navigate). I also do not like the scripted tanks when calling the elevator, especially since two of them are capable of spawning. I would've much rather had an infected horde only and let a tank spawn via the director. My other problem, though this one is more subjective, is that I would've much rather have seen originally designed rooms rather than the Nova Prospekt areas repurposed. With how amazing this campaign is designed, I feel like this is a missed opportunity for interesting rooms and designs we could've gotten. Oh, and the bug where you fall through the starting elevator and instantly die, but I think that's hilarious, even if immersion breaking. (Who cares that much anyway?)

The final map of Dark Wood, primarily taking place in underground catacombs culminating into a finale back on the surface within a Church. Full of interesting ideas, my personal favorite being the infinite loop on the train tracks. The sawblade trap in the church is also a fun gimmick and it never gets old to see a charger get punted for attempting to go through it. Throwing a bile bomb into it will always put a smile on your face. Overall, a decent map! Not too much to say about it that I haven't said about other levels.

Dark Wood has stood the test of time, joining the likes of other custom campaigns. Dark Wood was even listed as one of the inspirations behind the campaign Buried Deep and shares similarities, only highlighting it's place in the workshop. It won't be for everyone. Some people just do not like long maps that break the foundations they've become accustomed to. However, if you're willing to put yourself to the test and don't mind a longer romp through dark environments and massive maps, then Dark Wood excels. The pros far outweigh the cons to me and there really isn't any other map like it.

Thank you, Phaeton, for delivering one of the most fun campaigns known on the workshop!