Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       This is, of course, a remake of another map by the same name. While it does offer many improvements over the original it also has an unfortunate area that we had to cheat past. SCMapDB page Author: GiGaBiTe Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Central Bunker Remake (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | October 9, 2023 | 4758 characters      Central Bunker: Remake is a ground-up remake of Central Bunker, which we have previously reviewed. How does this hold up?      This plays almost exactly like I remember Central Bunker playing, but without the lag. The short narrative of gameplay is: you start outside, with far too few weapons and ammo fight your way through a lobby full of Barnabus/Ottos and ceiling turrets, grab some new weapons, go down an obnoxious elevator, fight a great battle with aliens and grunts beside an electrified pool of water, work your way through many more grunts until you find a bi...

      This is, of course, a remake of another map by the same name. While it does offer many improvements over the original it also has an unfortunate area that we had to cheat past. SCMapDB page Author: GiGaBiTe Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Central Bunker Remake (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 9, 2023 | 1537 characters      The remake of the original Central Bunker does indeed offer much improved optimization and visuals. The map looks great. I didn't see a whole lot of difference in the gameplay, but I did see a much better offering of supplies. I liked the original but rated it a 5 mostly because I thought this one would make it obsolete. But unfortunately there was a section in this map where we had to get past a fan that would inevitably pull us in and turn us to paste. My teammate even looked up a review where the player eventually noclipped past that point, something we had to resort to as well. ...

       What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets. But enough talk… Have at you! Explore Dracula's castle, which in this case means a smattering of respawning enemies and long walks through them. SCMapDB page Author: Gadabout Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Castlevania (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | July 2, 2023 | 4169 characters      Castlevania is a non-linear walkthrough action map for Sven Co-op which aims to recreate the feeling of a Castlevania game. The map is divided up into 6 sections: The introduction area, the hub, the underground, the chapel, the clock tower, and Dracula's arena. Aside from the hub and final arena, each section comprises of a collection of challenges and a boss.      These challenges take two primary flavors: platforming puzzles, and combat. Platforming puzzles in this map range from fair to tedious. Much of it revolves around barnacle grappling, which als...

       What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets. But enough talk… Have at you! Explore Dracula's castle, which in this case means a smattering of respawning enemies and long walks through them. SCMapDB page Author: Gadabout Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Castlevania (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 2, 2023 | 3838 characters      I was really excited to play this map, I am a big fan of other game franchises shoved into the old school mess that is goldsrc. I haven't played much Castlevania, but the moment we started my teammate ran over to a torch, destroyed it, and then whooped for joy when it dropped ammo so I'm assuming this map nails it.      The map has two primary components, platforming and combat. Combat is against some low health enemies that respawn forever and quickly, mostly stuka bats and Barnabus, both very annoying. There is no armor anywhere so we die very quickly. Becau...

    Let's buy some boxes over at the box store! The buying process actually works, players have to earn score and use that to buy boxes. Stealing is not allowed. SCMapDB page Author: w00tguy123 Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Box Store (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 29, 2023 | 2853 characters      Box Store is exactly what it says on the tin: a store where you buy boxes. It's like a clicker, but in Sven Co-op. There's an invincible "hostile" scientist outside named "shoot me for money" or something which you do to increase your score, which you then exchange for boxes in the box store.      The real charm of the map comes from the interactions with the store. The boxes themselves are mostly very Half-Life-cute, tiny versions of the boxes from Half-Life. There's some which are different funny cubes, like a clock cube, or a glass cube, or a meat cube. They have cute names, and are most...

      Let's buy some boxes over at the box store! The buying process actually works, players have to earn score and use that to buy boxes. Stealing is not allowed. SCMapDB page Author: w00tguy123 Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Box Store (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 29, 2023 | 2612 characters      The Box Store featured in this map works just like a store, with boxes for sale and a whole system to buy them. We bought them all and the map ended. It's great.      So it starts off with my teammate and I standing in front of the store with an invincible hostile scientist named "shoot me for more money". You don't have to tell me twice. The store sits on a square of land floating in the void. Strange nonsensical signs are plastered over the front of the store. My teammate informs me the music we hear is from Sonic 3, it's pretty good music.      After boosting our scores...

      A remake of the map by the same name, there are only slight differences between this map and the original. We must defend against waves of enemies both in and out of our base and protect the random dumb scientists who flood the area periodically. SCMapDB page Author: GiGaBiTe Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Between a Rock and a Hard Place Remake (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 1, 2023 | 2965 characters      Between a Rock and A Hard Place is a pretty good two defense maps for Sven Co-op. This remake is, in our playthrough, almost the same map. However, it did differ in some ways.      There was a turret with a secret button to activate. We never did find that secret button. This feature went entirely overlooked.      There was apparently better flow to the upper hallways and better traffic management in the stairways. I didn't notice this in-game, but believe...

      A remake of the map by the same name, there are only slight differences between this map and the original. We must defend against waves of enemies both in and out of our base and protect the random dumb scientists who flood the area periodically. SCMapDB page Author: GiGaBiTe Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Between a Rock and a Hard Place Remake (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 1, 2023 | 3678 characters      So this map is a remake, and it's really close to being the exact same map as before. Check out the review of the original if you want, here's a quick recap. The level is divided into two sides by a chasm and players have to defend one side, enemies usually come across the bridge but there is also a narrow tram line across. Players fight both aliens and humans coming out from doors across the way, and even a couple inside our base, until a helicopter arrives and we leave. Periodically a sci...

    There is only a little bit of Black Mesa in this map, but plenty of arenas, 17 in total. Players go from one arena to the next clearing them out with some light platforming in some areas plus plenty of hidden stuff to find. SCMapDB page Author: IT_Skino Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Black Mesa Arena (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 20, 2023 | 4887 characters      Black Mesa Arena is a two-map set for Sven Co-op wherein players battle through multiple arenas using lots of weaponry against lots of enemies. Is it any good?      The first map is often a bit spartan in appearance, taking a brutalist minimalist approach to a lot of the arenas. Players are given all of the boilerplate weaponry early on, and face huge onslaughts of enemies. At first it seemed possibly overbearing, but through cunning and grit just two players managed to survive pretty well through a lot of these enco...

      There is only a little bit of Black Mesa in this map, but plenty of arenas, 17 in total. Players go from one arena to the next clearing them out with some light platforming in some areas plus plenty of hidden stuff to find. SCMapDB page Author: IT_Skino Date of release: 2016 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Black Mesa Arena (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 20, 2023 | 4034 characters      Black Mesa Arenas is title with three words I dread when I see Sven Co-op maps. The screenshots and the description didn't help. But I must admit to my first impression being totally wrong, which is something I have found happens a lot.      The map description says it all, there are 17 arenas to fight in. These arenas are usually pretty simple with the best looking ones evoking an overlarge liminal feel. Some arenas look better than others, like the graveyard was pretty fun but then there are a bunch that have spike ...

       According to the map description, KTIVT stands for Krasnoyarsk Technical-College Of Information And Computer-Engineering which this map is recreating. The map description also says you are supposed to save scientists but good luck with that. SCMapDB page Author: RastaManGames Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of KTIVT (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 27, 2022 | 3980 characters      KTIVT is a charming little recreation of a real life location in Siberia, a college university I understand. Over here in the United States, such a thing would be pretty taboo, especially with recent events, but it doesn't take a deep dive into this map to know that there is no malice in its intent. I don't know RastaManGames, but I get the impression that he is pure of heart.      The map itself, as a replica, can't really be judged by myself as I have never been to the real location. However, comparing...

      According to the map description, KTIVT stands for  Krasnoyarsk Technical-College Of Information And Computer-Engineering which this map is recreating. The map description also says you are supposed to save scientists but good luck with that. SCMapDB page Author: RastaManGames Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of KTIVT (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 27, 2022 | 3890 characters      This is a recreation of a college in Russia, presumably the mapper's alma mater. I have just got to say, the map description is a joy to read. Everything about this map is endearing from the map page, the author's comments, and the very simple and inelegant map design.      The map does look blocky and rough. Door textures are sometimes backwards and none of the doors are actually doors, they are all breakables. Everything has really thick edges and makes all the details, especially the chairs, look like they ...

       Arcade feels more like an experiment than a full fledged map, but it recreates classic arcade games in Sven very well. There is also a jumping puzzle for those who get tired of the arcade machines. SCMapDB page Author: w00tguy123 Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arcade (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 8, 2022 | 3058 characters      Arcade is an incredibly brilliant showcase of map entity magic at work. Play Tron Cycles, Pac-Man, Pong (1p or 2p), Snake, or a lolfunny TF2 meme. These machines sit in a very plain, paneled environment without much else to look at. But, what else do you need? You walk up, press a button, and then use your player input controls to play arcade classics. It's free old games in your free Sven Co-op. What's not to like?      If I had to have any complaint, it would be that when a player starts a game, they are locked in until the game they've initiated ends...

      Arcade feels more like an experiment than a full fledged map, but it recreates classic arcade games in Sven very well. There is also a jumping puzzle for those who get tired of the arcade machines. SCMapDB page Author: w00tguy123 Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arcade (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 8, 2022 | 3318 characters      This map is exactly what it says in the title, an Arcade. The arcade machines include two player tron, pac-man, one or two player pong, and snake. The fact that all of the arcade machines work near perfectly is just amazing. They even have scoreboards that will announce the high score for that machine. The map also has some nice music to go along with the arcade atmosphere. The level is small and half empty, but the arcade machines are the main attraction and they are impressive.      The map description says that some of his arcade machines are in some of Kee...

       This is a lobby map made for a specific server. Since the map is made for a group of people who all know each other there are probably a lot of features that my teammate and I won't get. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Anitalink Lobby (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 27, 2022 | 3319 characters      Anitalink Lobby is a meme playground from Sven Co-op memester Keen as well as @nit@ and w00tguy123. Whenever you want to experience 2010's 4chan memes through a 2016 lens, Anitalink has you covered. The mappers comes at us hard and fast with John Cena, Carl Sagan, furry porn, people porn, MLP porn, pepe the frog porn, and a couple disposable joke memes. I don't want to say that the mappers are in it for the porn, but the supposedly safe-for-work version seems to only be able to recover from replacing all its porn by repeating a bunch of Carl Sagan images instead- and there's...

      This is a lobby map made for a specific server. Since the map is made for a group of people who all know each other there are probably a lot of features that my teammate and I won't get. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Anitalink Lobby (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 27, 2022 | 4357 characters      I was really dreading playing this map, I've played the 4chan and 5chan maps by the same author which is a mish mash of random stuff thrown together in a fever dream. This map is less fever dream but still looks like a scrapbooking club threw up. There are two maps here, the map description says one contains some stuff not safe for work, this is somewhat misleading, as both maps contain pornography but the wow map has a lot of it and the arcade map does not. The two maps do not seem to be much different beyond that.      Players start in a big open area with some cub...

       This is the most culturally respectful map on the database. The phrase 'Allahu akbar' literally translates to 'God is great'. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Allahu Ackbar (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 19, 2022 | 3528 characters      My understanding is that this map is "abandoned," so take that as you will. If I were to project my own feelings on the map's author, I would presume he realized the joke got old after two seconds and gave up.      Allahu Ackbar is two unfinished maps by keen where the joke is middle eastern terrorists blowing up things and shouting allahu ackbar. If my explaining that to you didn't make you chuckle, you probably won't like the lethargic attempts at edgy humor which turns real world tragedy into memes in this map- and since they don't treat the subject matter with any respect IS the humor, that these maps are also unfinis...

      This is the most culturally respectful map on the database. The phrase 'Allahu akbar' literally translates to 'God is great'. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Allahu Ackbar (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 19, 2022 | 2396 characters      I did not expect great things from this map. Thankfully, it was short. The map is also broken, right in the map description it says the goal is to get into the white zone, as far as I can tell the door to the white zone does not open and the path is covered by neverending explosions that kill you anyway. So the map is impossible to beat.      There are two maps here. Both maps start out with the player in a rough underground room, there is a wide dark hallways leading down at a slope. Human grunts will attack up through here. Players start off with a nice wide variety of weapons, but not too much ammo. My favorite here is the SA...

       Alamo is a level taken from the Half-Life mod Heart of Darkness. Unlike other mod conversions to Sven this is just the one level taken out of context. It's set somewhere in Asia, not Texas. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: foolish_mortal Conversion authors: Trempler Date of original mod release: 2002 Date of final Sven Map release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Alamo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 27, 2022 | 3882 characters      So, the map is a Heart of Evil map I gather with a bunch of new shit added to it. Because of that, it takes the form of a Vietnam war style scenario but with alien attacks added.      First off, the brushwork is great. Heart of Evil was a pretty primo mod to begin with, but it's been too long so I can't quite remember any of this from the original mod. That said, still: the urban warfare is felt in collapsing buildings and intricate brushwork mixing heaps of debris wit...

      Alamo is a level taken from the Half-Life mod Heart of Darkness. Unlike other mod conversions to Sven this is just the one level taken out of context. It's set somewhere in Asia, not Texas. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: foolish_mortal Conversion authors: Trempler Date of original mod release: 2002 Date of final Sven Map release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Alamo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 27, 2022 | 6472 characters      The point of Alamo is to assault what appears to be a ruined military base, but not the actual Alamo. The map is from the mod Heart of Evil so it must be meant evoke a feeling of being in Vietnam, the player spawn is in a multi-tier rice paddy so right off the bat it does give players an Asian vibe.      When the map starts there are some friendly NPCs. My teammate and I spent some time messing around before the map started and eventually enemies invaded spawn and started sho...