Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       Appear in Dojo. Enemies rain from above. Hit them with your sword. SCMapDB page Authors: PU_1338 Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dojo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 26, 2026 | 2218 characters      Dojo is a really cute wave survival map. Players must use their swords (crowbars) to fight against ninjas (unarmed Male Assassins) for five waves to defend the dojo.      The map is very simple. There's no button to start the map, just a wave starting after an arbitrary amount of time. The map itself is a ring around a building with doors straight through it. Enemies are launched into the arena from above the outer walls. Their health is so low the crowbar gibs them. The only dynamic element is that after a few waves it adds Female Assassins (guns and grenades and everything) to the mix.      Then, at the end, it sends four VERY beefy melee samurai at the players. We wer...

       Appear in Dojo. Enemies rain from above. Hit them with your sword. SCMapDB page Authors: PU_1338 Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dojo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 26, 2026 | 1431 characters      Dojo is a short and sweet map about fighting off waves of assassins with only a crowbar retextured to be a katana. It's got some fun Kill Bill sounds and some cool samurai custom models at the end.      The enemies do have a lot of health, so the fight itself is a little bit of a slog, but we all get long jumps to start with so it is very easy to end up standing on top of the enemies and hitting down, usually gibbing them in the process. It is very fun. But also there are a lot of times when we spawn, swing about three times, and then die. It has its frustrating moments.      I think the real strength of the map is how much action it fits in a small package. If you want a shor...

       Welcome to The Hotel, not to be confused with Hotel, a horror adventure set in a single building. It's a simple map with a couple of surprises, some good and some bad.  SCMapDB page Authors: W00tguy123 Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of The Hotel (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 25, 2026 | 3391 characters      The Hotel is an odd little half-finished thing that chooses the oddest places to impress. While the overall premise is slapped together and roughly as functional as somebody's second-ever map, random details are given a level of attention and show expertise that I ooh'd and ahh'd at.      The map takes place in a massive hotel building with several floors. Some of these floors contain halls of rooms, some contain setpieces, some contain nothing at all and were clearly left unfinished. The floors of rooms are generally pretty decent, with ambient zombie ghosts milling around cau...

      Welcome to The Hotel, not to be confused with Hotel, a horror adventure set in a single building. It's a simple map with a couple of surprises, some good and some bad.  SCMapDB page Authors: W00tguy123 Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of The Hotel (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 25, 2026 | 3594 characters      A horror map from 2007, 19 years ago, I did not have high expectations going in. But the map starts on a cutscene, a car drives in and the wheels are actually spinning! It takes a turn and … is it leaning into the curves? Did the map author model suspension in 2007????      This map knows how to set atmosphere and create a scene. The opening cutscene instantly draws me in and we get a really nicely made cutscene every time we accomplish an objective. This did kill me a lot, as I was running from zombies as my teammates soldiered on. There are creepy ambient sounds, custom zombie model...

       Do you like history? Do you like Albania? Then you might like this map, a recreation of a famous (to Albanians maybe) battle from history! Defend the fortress from . . . cockroaches? SCMapDB page Authors: Grunt Date of release: 2024 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Battle of Albulena (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 19, 2026 | 2727 characters      What a map.      So, on a superficial level, we're fighting a bunch of low-health roaches with a wrench (and subsequently, a flamethrower) to keep them from breaking through a gate. There're some great features: the flamethrower is a scripted weapon, there is a health bar prominently displayed above the gate (though that makes it hard to see from a near defensive position), and a counter in the corner of the screen tracks how many roaches we must defend from.      The roaches are fun to smash and roast, and there's enough to keep it tense. My buddy a...

      Do you like history? Do you like Albania? Then you might like this map, a recreation of a famous (to Albanians maybe) battle from history! Defend the fortress from . . . cockroaches? SCMapDB page Authors: Grunt Date of release: 2024 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Battle of Albulena (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 19, 2026 | 2013 characters      So here I am browsing random maps when I see a map that looks kind of interesting. It's got a thumbnail with some historical art and we get a blurb about Albanians defending against Ottomans in a historical recreation, seems cool. But uh, the other screenshots looks like we're burning roaches with flamethrowers… . I install the map and the .wad is called turkroaches, uh ooh.      Then we start the map and the roaches are called turkroaches straight up in the map itself. I feel the need to say that I do not condone racism in any form and this map definitely felt off becaus...

       I'm starting to think the third L in the title is a typo. Icon of Hell(l?) is a conversion of a mod with a lot of futuristic and archaic visuals all thrown together in an interesting linear experience. It's also got custom models and scripted weapons which really help sell that this is as a new experience. SCMapDB page Original map author: Lefront Conversion author: Reuniclus-579 Date of original mod release: 2013 Date of final Sven Map release: 2024 Maps in package: 7 Map review of Icon of Helll (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | March 29, 2026 | 3901 characters      Icon of Helll is a very inspired spooky mapset converted expertly by Reuniclus-579. There are lots of recognizable assets (and even some map setpieces and layouts) from games like Doom 3 and Duke Nukem 3D. You'll notice more than anything, though, the really nicely scripted weapons and enemies borrowing heavily from Cry of Fear. While lots is repurposed assets,...

     I'm starting to think the third L in the title is a typo. Icon of Hell(l?) is a conversion of a mod with a lot of futuristic and archaic visuals all thrown together in an interesting linear experience. It's also got custom models and scripted weapons which really help sell that this is as a new experience. SCMapDB page Original map author: Lefront Conversion author: Reuniclus-579 Date of original mod release: 2013 Date of final Sven Map release: 2024 Maps in package: 7 Map review of Icon of Helll (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | April 29, 2026 | 4593 characters      Let's start with an obligatory 'I have not played the original mod' for this conversion so I don't know how the original plays. There are a few areas where a checkpoint would not have been unnoticed and some places where it seems players are expected to just die. But beyond those points this is a very competently done conversion.      The first thing tha...

       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 dunkelschwamm | December 16, 2023 | 6784 characters      Tomb of Death! I remember playing this a long time ago and thinking it was kind of clunky and mediocre. Boy, am I glad I revisited it! This mapset captures a lot of the spirit of what I love about Sven Co-op, and is a truly inspiring exercise in creativity.      This mapset is long, so I'm going to go down the maps one by one and give overall impressions.      The first map gives a lot of what the title implies: a tomb full of fun traps and monster teases. There's a couple puzzle-like areas, including a platforming bit over some toxic sand...

      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 r...

       Fight waves of zombies in a city themed arena. The map description makes it seem like fighting waves of zombies is all that happens but there is a nice exploration aspect as well. SCMapDB page Authors: Searanger, EdisLeado Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City of the Dead (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | October 16, 2023 | 4960 characters      City of the Dead is a zombie map wherein the goal is to escape using a helipad. To do so, you must explore a city block full of explorable buildings locked off by various obstacles.      The map begins players in a spawn armory where players can take their pick of beginning weaponry or ammo. Right from the start the map's clunkiness, which is a theme throughout, becomes apparent. Grabbing ammo or a weapon will immediately chuck players into the map proper, so if you grabbed ammo, you're a sucker. There are weapons to be found throughout the map, but the...

      Fight waves of zombies in a city themed arena. The map description makes it seem like fighting waves of zombies is all that happens but there is a nice exploration aspect as well. SCMapDB page Authors: Searanger, EdisLeado Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City of the Dead (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 16, 2023 | 3192 characters      I wanted to play a scary map for October and I thought a zombie horde would fit the bill. Instead of meeting a brain dead map with a wad of zombies in an arena I was met with a small facsimile of a town with strategically placed weapons and ammo. In the second half of the map I was really scared of running out of ammo, that is the true horror.      The game starts us off in a pure white hallway that is really blinding. Then we have white text that tells us how many seconds until the round starts, it is almost impossible to see. Go through a doorway to end up i...

       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 dunkelschwamm | August 14, 2023 | 3315 characters      Coldburn is a total conversion style walkthrough map for Sven Co-op. Players are tasked with plunging the depths of a base atop a Neptunian moon, plunging ever deeper into hostile environments as their HEV is the only temporary barrier keeping players from rapidly deteriorating under cold and radiation threat. To make matters worse, bizarre monsters stalk the players through the facility.      First thing you'll notice about the map is that it nails the environment and atmosphere. Lighting is moody, the fog is e...

      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 se...

       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 dunkelschwamm | July 17, 2023 | 2601 characters      Zombie Squad is a well detailed horde map wherein grunts and hwgrunts (and, like, an assassin) swarm the players from every angle. Thankfully, within the details of the ruins are plenty of weapons, and a reasonable smattering of HEV and health pickups.      The description makes it sound like maybe my experience with the map is broken. There were, like, 3 soldiers which looked like zombies in the map. I think far more were meant to be zombies? Also, the MOTD makes it sound like there's some funny control point business, like there's an objectiv...

      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 sat...

       Here is another horde map, this one taking place in the eponymous cemetery with the stated goal of grinding experience for XP mod. The map certainly does feel like a grind. SCMapDB page Author: GForce Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Cemetery (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | July 1, 2023 | 1507 characters      Cemetary is a charming little map of a spooky cemetery wherein infinite zombies spawn, which players may shotgun to their hearts' content. There's a house you can enter (which you spawn in), a church you can enter, and a house you cannot enter which tells you the credits (shoutouts to GForce). There's a really fun upper area of the cemetery with a bridge that connects them, which breaks up the field.      It's a fairly short map, but it's got enough fun details to really complete the atmosphere of a spooky cemetery. Just enough. I like the touches like a shovel in a mound of dirt, and t...

      Here is another horde map, this one taking place in the eponymous cemetery with the stated goal of grinding experience for XP mod. The map certainly does feel like a grind. SCMapDB page Author: GForce Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Cemetery (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 1, 2023 | 2011 characters      This map is meant to farm experience for XP mod if the map description is accurate. I guess for that it works well. The map is a big cemetery full of infinitely spawning zombies. We get shotguns and lots of ammo and we start with full armor so in the rare instance we do get hit we take almost no damage.      The map looks pretty good, but it does have some chunky and blocky parts. It also uses a lot of models that looks pretty good, but totally give away that they are models in both lighting and look. At one point my teammate pointed out a shovel in a blocky chunk of dirt, it was a well done s...

    Buro is a prologue to a map series that was never made, which is a shame because it is a beautiful map. The map is very nicely designed bank filled with assassins that ends when players enter the vault. SCMapDB page Author: Alex546 Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Buro (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | June 15, 2023 | 2488 characters      Buro is an action map which takes place in a bank being attacked by special operatives. The players counterattack, intercepting the blackops assassins. Players spawn with random loadouts of useful boilerplate weapons- revolvers or deagles, shotguns or mp5s or m16s or uzis. It adds an annoying bit of spice that makes every spawn awkward.      The map is very form over function. Each room is certainly evocative of a real life location that blackops massns and fassns have been dropped into. Rooms and hallways are often awkward for accommodating multiple playe...

      Buro is a prologue to a map series that was never made, which is a shame because it is a beautiful map. The map is very nicely designed bank filled with assassins that ends when players enter the vault. SCMapDB page Author: Alex546 Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Buro (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | June 15, 2023 | 4747 characters      When my teammate and I first started this map up we both took one look at it and agreed it was beautiful. Then my teammate said "time to give it a bad review!" and I wished upon a star that he was wrong. I haven't decided on a number score yet, but I will say that the map had a lot of good with a little bit of bad.      After a lengthy and cinematic cutscene my teammate and I are dumped outside a bank. He reads the message of the day which informs us of our mission but I don't bother and instead start poking around spawn. One thing that only became appa...