Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      Welcome to the Tomb of Death, where you will die a lot. The map has a heavy emphasis on traps and each trap is a unique delight, which is not usually how trap themed Sven maps usually feel. SCMapDB page Authors: generic Date of release: 2008 Maps in package: 6 Map review of The Tomb of Death (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | December 16, 2023 | 5082 characters      The Tomb of Death is a very fun and cheeky map where players go through lots and lots of hallways. We get a token story attached and told through the messages of the day, there are six maps by the way. We encounter some really faint beams of light that trigger traps and at first we were doing our best to avoid them, but then we hit a point where we see a trap that has already been sprung and we try springing a trap ourselves. The vast majority of traps are one time only, we get to see a brick in the wall dissolve and then projectiles fly out and get stuck in the wall. It is really fun until we trigger a

      The main feature of Coldburn is that it is so cold it burns and players will take environmental damage in certain areas. I didn't think this mechanic would be fun but the author definitely put a lot of thought into it and made it work really well. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Coldburn (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 14, 2023 | 3187 characters      The screenshots for this map look very intriguing, and the name is mysterious too. A big part of the map is taking damage from extremely cold temperatures and I thought I would hate that mechanic but I thought it was well implemented. It's kind of like Mario games when he's underwater and eats coins to regain oxygen. Although I can't imagine more than two players having a good time on this map with the limited supply or air coins.      We start off in a room where we have to uncover the start button. There is also a secret here so that is pretty

      Suit up squad, it's time to go fight human grunts that this map calls zombies. This map is a horde map taking place in a burned out urban block, supposedly there are points to capture but I didn't see any. SCMapDB page Author: cyberdaemon Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Zombie Squad (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 17, 2023 | 3342 characters      Fight a never-ending horde or human grunts in a really well made destroyed dense urban section. Did I say human grunts? I meant zombies, but all the zombies have guns and I think the included models have to overwrite the default human grunt models and I didn't do that so most of the enemies I fought were default HECU soldiers. So this map did not feel like a zombie map in the slightest.      My teammate and I spawn in different areas, I start in a closet and walk out to find batteries. I exchange gunfire through a window and pick up a crossbow and satchel charges crawling into a hol

      Battle exactly one boss in an well made arena using barnacles to fly around the arena and summon bombs. The map ends when the one boss is dead. SCMapDB page Author: Streamfox Date of release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bossbattle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2023 | 3350 characters      Bossbattle is a battle against a boss. Which boss? Why, the gargantua, of course! How are you going to fight the gargantua? Why, with a barnacle and timebombs, of course!      The setup is pretty simple: a big indoor arena sizeable enough for a player to maneuver around a gargantua, complete with grapple points for the player-held barnacle. Press buttons on ceiling-bound grapple points when they highlight to place bombs directly beneath, then lure into gargantua into said bombs when they go off. The buttons are chosen seemingly at random, at which point it's up to the players to grapple up to it and press it. This can be a chaotic frenzy as t

    Here is a beautiful map with a really well done intro sequence. According to the map description it is abandoned which is a shame since what has been completed is pretty good and well polished. SCMapDB page Author: Vector-T (now known as I-ka) Date of release: 2019 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Black Mesa: Getaway (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 10, 2023 | 5419 characters      When we started this map I was convinced it was a converted Half-Life mod. We start in an incredibly dark room and press a button to begin the map proper, after which we are treated to some very nice cutscenes. We have a great pan down a hallway with a fight between human grunts and alien slaves frozen in time, electrical arcs and bullets frozen in the air. Then I actually decide to read the map description and I find out that this is the author's first ever map.      After the intro (complete with some G-man voice lines!) we start in a small room, we both head right int

      Blitzwar is a map originally made for Counter-Strike and reworked to include round based combat. It's fairly small and there are only five rounds that only last for 90 seconds each, but the enemies are deadly and it can be challenging. SCMapDB page Original map author: Elber Conversion author:Enuze Date of original map release: 2010 Date of final Sven Map release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Blitzwar (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 11, 2023 | 3692 characters      Lots of maps get converted to work in Sven Co-op, this one is a counter-strike map converted to work with round based gameplay. The map description stops there and was so vague we didn't really know what we were getting into.      The map works by spawning a handful of enemies and telling players to clean them out in 90 seconds or less. The map uses a more realistic weapon damage model where bullets hurt! It is very easy to get sniped from across the map and enemies will ap

      I am not a fan of jumping puzzles, but this map does it right. There is nothing too crazy and I was able to complete the whole course thanks to the quality of life features like checkpoints and the color coding. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of The Void (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | June 18, 2022 | 3098 characters      So first off, I am not a fan of platforming in first person. This whole map is a lot of platforming. I did manage to have a lot of fun though.      There are some really smart design choices like the color scheme, you may have to read the map description for an explanation on the colors. The colors actually remind me a lot of Portal, both minimalist and evocative while also being extremely practical. The map looks great, as the title suggests, the whole thing floats in a void. The undersides of platforms are null textured so so it is hard to see the next area.      The jumps themselves aren&#

       The map works exactly as described, first players must attack and then players must defend. The secret to attacking is finding the small black boxes with red lights on them and destroying them. The secret to defending is to hold on to your butts! SCMapDB page Author: NIPPER Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Attack & Defend (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 8, 2022 | 3902 characters      Attack & Defend is a classic Sven Co-op map, going on almost 18 years old as of writing this. It was made by Nipper, an absolutely prolific mapper known for high quality, high quantity output.      This map is simple: you attack, and then you defend. Players start in a safe spawn cave with two exits into the battle. Players progress by destroying multiple red-light boxes on the fences which block progression. When each box is destroyed, the fence falls allowing forward movement. All the while, players must content with strategically entrenche

           On first glance Sector E is another bland retread of Black Mesa, but on actually playing it it feels much different. The map looks great, plays well, and includes small details that make it stand out from the plethora of Black Mesa themed maps. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Sector E (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 16, 2022 | 4535 characters      To be perfectly honest when I saw Sector E I groaned, it was yet another Black Mesa themed map. But right on map start it had a different quality about it. I've played a few of this author's, Keen's, other maps and he definitely has a habit of stuffing many details into his maps, Sector E is no exception.      Sector E drops players into Black Mesa with a very vague and uninspired storyline, you are part of a military force going into Black Mesa and extracting Gordon Freeman for some reason. The other military forces do not know about your mis

      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 Keen's maps, I actually experienced these m

      Deluge is a very atmospheric map made by one of the community's most acclaimed mappers, RNG. This map is very indicative of his style, well detailed moody and oppressive environment, strange monsters, and high levels of interactivity including lots of secrets. SCMapDB page Author: RNG Date of final release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Deluge (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 9, 2022 | 4895 characters      Deluge is a map that like the author's (RNG) other work just drips in style. The story in the map description is phoned in but the map starts off strong with a fake loading screen before putting us in a weird environment with lots of things to explore.      When the level first starts off players are given four buttons to vote for easy, normal, hard, and ultra violence difficulty levels. One weird thing is that each option says "lives system disabled" even easy mode, this led me to speculate that maybe there was a lives system pla

      Alien Shooter is a top down run and gun game where players shoot large amounts of aliens. This recreation in Sven does a fairly good job copying the original game in both gameplay and presentation. SCMapDB page Author: Dr.Abc Date of final release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Alien Shooter 1 Demo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 12, 2022 | 3986 characters      I've played a bit of Alien Shooter back in the day, so I sort of knew what to expect going into this map. That game has a ton of running backwards down corridors shooting a massive swarm of enemies, and that is exactly what this map has.      Right off the bat the game forces players into third person mode. This is probably my least favorite part of the map, but I get why the author did it. Gunning down aliens in third person really felt like a 3D Alien Shooter. The enemies are pit drones with the projectile attack removed and recolored to green and brown to serve as the game's main e

      Zombietown is a zombie survival map with a LOT of scripting done. Players can go to a shop and buy weapons, play one of three fun and unique minigames, or fight zombies in the town. SCMapDB page Author: Sence Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Zombietown (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 27, 2022 | 6448 characters      Zombie maps are a dime a dozen, I didn't have high hopes for this map. The first wave started and these bloody naked men started running at me and all I had was a wrench. I died and respawned in a waiting room. I was annoyed. But as the map went on and I played the amazing minigames I began to love it.      Players begin in a set up room, each person presses a sequence of three buttons that ultimately kills them and respawns them in the main arena. Once there the first wave begins.      The game is round based, there is a vote every round whether or not to go to the shop. If no, there is a chance for a minigame

       Mega Monster Massacre is a monster hunt type of map where the monsters have weird custom models and weird names. This map was one of, if not the, first map to implement the gameplay of having a large wide open area and only a handful of high-powered monsters. SCMapDB page Author: DeathBog Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Mega Monster Massacre (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 5146 characters      Mega Monster Massacre is a classic Sven Co-op map that I remember finding a bit of a tedious grind and not very fun. As of my recent playthrough with a friend, however, of V3, I would say that Mega Monster Massacre is actually a really fun experience full of fantastic set pieces.      The concept is simple: you are given an MP5 and a Shotgun, both with tons of ammo, and are thrust into an alien planet where locations open up as you clear out hostile "mega monsters" from interesting locations. Throughout your adven

      Mega Monster Massacre is a monster hunt type of map where the monsters have weird custom models and weird names. This map was one of, if not the, first map to implement the gameplay of having a large wide open area and only a handful of high-powered monsters. SCMapDB page Author: DeathBog Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Mega Monster Massacre (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 3639 characters      This is a map that I played a long time ago and I remember not liking it. I'm pleasantly surprised to say this impression is completely wrong and I had a great time playing it again.      The goal of the map is simple, kill monsters. Areas are blocked off and as monsters are killed the areas open up. The monsters are weird looking and have a ton of health while also dealing a ton of damage. If you get hit once you will explode. Monsters are usually very fast too, so a lot of the time the best option is to run backwards sh

      The author of this map has made Sven famous with his or her other map, Pizza ya San. This map is very similar in style, the gameplay is completely changed so that players can take a nice sightseeing tour around Japan travelling by train. SCMapDB page Author: takedeppo.50cal Date of final release: 2019 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Ressya no tabi - The Train Travel - (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 30, 2022 | 8977 characters      This map is great. The entire premise is that the players are taking a train trip to various locales There is a train station at the start of the map where players board the train, then players are teleported onto the train, already in motion, and get to explore all the cars. The first stop is some market in a downtown area, the second stop is a Japanese castle, then a pond, a pottery studio, a giant buddha statue, and finally a temple, for a total of six stops. Throughout the map players use cell phones to take pictures to rea

       Half-Life: C.A.G.E.D., or just Caged as I will refer to the map from here on, is a standalone Half-Life mod converted to Sven Co-op. It's a prison break themed mod with quite a few maps. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: Cayle George Conversion authors: ak47toh Date of original mod release: 2017 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: lots Map review of C.A.G.E.D. (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | January 15, 2022 | 4840 characters      C-A-G-E-D, or "Caged" for short, is a Half-Life mod experience that's quite fantastic. The single-player mod is available on Steam and, to be frank and up-front, this is a mod designed to be experienced as a singeplayer mod.      My review of C-A-G-E-D is:      It's a very beautiful mod with some fast-paced action, satisfying combat, tense platforming, and a general feeling that you are attempting to escape from a high-level prison complex. The thematic music, end-game setting, and final visua