Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       Hyrule is once again under attack by the evil Ganon! Fight classic Legend of Zelda and Half-Life enemies and find crystals in dungeons to beat Ganon and save the land once again! SCMapDB page Authors: IceShaft Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Legend of Zelda (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 3, 2026 | 2692 characters      Legend of Zelda is a walkthrough map full of the jank gimmicks that I love to find in Sven Co-op. You spend most of the map with only a crowbar to defend yourself, so enemies like barnacles or vortigaunts wading in lava create devastating and frustrating hazards. Thankfully, the map keeps these interesting by making the major bulk of the map simple platforming puzzles and zombie-bludgeoning.      The whole map has an incredibly jank appearance to it. Outdoor areas are full of big unconvincing geometry, the lighting is mostly very flat and bright, and the custom models are...

      Hyrule is once again under attack by the evil Ganon! Fight classic Legend of Zelda and Half-Life enemies and find crystals in dungeons to beat Ganon and save the land once again! SCMapDB page Authors: IceShaft Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Legend of Zelda (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 3, 2026 | 5160 characters      It's the Legend of Zelda in Sven Co-op! Explore such fabulous locales as Hyrule castle! A big serpent head I assume to be Jabu-Jabu! A mountain I will call Dodongo mountain! A Lost Forest made out of boxes! FInally, a trapped castle with what I am going to generously call Gannondorf!      One thing you may notice from the screenshots on the map page is that this map looks kind of bad. I think the little village we start off in looks decent but much of the brushwork is overly blocky and there are a lot of opportunities to climb up ledges and access places that don't look like the...

       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...

       Clearly inspired by the popular backrooms horror trope, players must navigate a shifting maze and run from a chase monster before doing something or other that may or may not beat the map.  SCMapDB page Authors: Grunt Date of release: 2025 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Host_Error (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 19, 2026 | 2258 characters      This is a neat little scripting showcase based on the backrooms phenomenon. You and your friends can run around in a backrooms area being chased by a teleporting black gargoyle who sometimes kills you, sometimes is just cheeky. There are some hints about how if you don't run the space will be less hostile, but I didn't find any kind of behavior did much to change how often the black gargoyle would appear and attack.      After meandering around with my buddy until we were both picked off by the monster one-by-one, we tried again with cheats to see if we could f...

      Clearly inspired by the popular backrooms horror trope, players must navigate a shifting maze and run from a chase monster before doing something or other that may or may not beat the map.  SCMapDB page Authors: Grunt Date of release: 2025 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Host_Error (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 19, 2026 | 3000 characters      I want to be up front, we cheated to play this map. Players are dumped into a backrooms flavored maze and a gargoyle hunts the players. We kept wandering around and the gargoyle would appear and gibs one of us and the lights would turn on and off until eventually we get some sort of gibberish message. Then the next time my partner dies randomly she is put in observer mode and that happens to me soon after.      The map is ok I guess, I'm not a fan of mazes and I was suspicious that this map changed layouts, which was confirmed when I noclipped around later and found m...

       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...

       Defend a castle! This is one of those times where the map name absolute describes exactly what is happening here. Defend a nuke for a set amount of time, which is apparently broken so just go until enemies stop appearing. SCMapDB page Author: generic Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Castle Defence (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | July 10, 2023 | 3488 characters      Castle Defense is a hoard map with a veritable multitool of a player defense area. The "castle" is a rather large fortress fit with gates, retractable turrets, mounted guns, SAMs, multiple armories, a barracks, and a goddamned nuke. That last thing is what you'll be spending the map defending against waves and waves and waves of HECU.      The enemies assaulting the player come in your standard HECU flavors, but come in large numbers wielding RPGs. There's also a heavy helping of heavy weapons grunts, and some supporting apaches. ...

      Defend a castle! This is one of those times where the map name absolute describes exactly what is happening here. Defend a nuke for a set amount of time, which is apparently broken so just go until enemies stop appearing. SCMapDB page Author: generic Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Castle Defence (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 10, 2023 | 4115 characters      This defense map could have been really good, but it appears that it currently doesn't have a game end and just continues forever, there may also be map events that do not trigger. It's unfortunate because I think this map does defense really well and I would like to see it working.      So we start in a big tower and we are informed the power is out, now I didn't really know this at the time, but the main power is our basic stuff like doors and turrets and the auxiliary power is our advanced stuff like reinforcements. I found the main p...

      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 an...

      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 GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2023 | 2817 characters      The entirety of this map is one boss battle in a fancy arena. Players have barnacles only and must press buttons on the ceiling to summon bombs, and then lure the gargantua boss into the bomb. It's a really short map with only one thing going on, but it is done really well.      Players get dumped in a spawn zone with a little rack filled with barnacles, not the enemy, but animated models that actually grant us barnacles. A lives meter is on one wall and the gargantua's health is displayed on the other, there are also boss health meters inside the arena. Floating health symbols of various colors (showi...

      The map is split into a base and across a chasm is a road where aliens come from. Defend what I assume is the rock from the aliens coming from what I assume is a place that lacks softness. SCMapDB page Author: Elvis Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Between a Rock and a Hard Place (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 27, 2023 | 4677 characters      Between a Rock and a Hard Place is two maps for Sven Co-op that, for all I can tell, are identical. There's the normal version and the large version. I can't tell if the normal version is large or if the large version is actually quite normal in size. Either way, we played both and didn't find any difference.      The rub is simple: the players occupy a 2-story base set into the wall of a cave. Said base sits across a chasm from multiple enemy spawn points. That's an almost deceptive description, as enemies spawn plenty from over the br...

      The map is split into a base and across a chasm is a road where aliens come from. Defend what I assume is the rock from the aliens coming from what I assume is a place that lacks softness. SCMapDB page Author: Elvis Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Between a Rock and a Hard Place (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 27, 2023 | 4688 characters      Here we have a defense map across a chasm with a bridge. Players have to defend something or other against waves of enemies, both alien and human, and there are some scientists. There are two versions of the map, normal and large, we played both once through, winning on the large one and failing on the normal one.      The first thing that happens is I spawn upstairs and start poking around, my teammate spawns downstairs where the action happens and starts exploring that direction. Two things that I didn't find out despite looking around an...

    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 dunkelschwamm | March 11, 2023 | 4095 characters      CS-Blitzwar is a round-for-round action map wherein players must exterminate an opposing team of soldiers within 90 second rounds. The map has two start points, and it is randomized each play which will host the players and which will host the enemies.      The enemies are mostly Barnabuses, Soldiers, Blackops, and Otises. However, there are also Agent Smiths who seem to dart around a bit more erratically, and special "Cheater" miniboss...

      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...

      The second installment of the first Resident Evil series (two series of Resident Evil maps by two authors, this one is made by mrfranswa) is bigger and more Resident Evil than the first. We are trapped in a mansion once again and have to scavenger hunt our way out. SCMapDB page Author: mrfranswa Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Resident Evil: Covert Operations (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | October 13, 2022 | 6424 characters      Resident Evil: Covert Operations is a very long map which aims to largely create a fan game of Resident Evil within Sven Co-op. It features limited ammo, lots of monsters, some unique puzzles, and backtracking like nobody's business.      Before I begin, I do want to mention: when I played this for this review, some crucial puzzle elements did not spawn. The map was unbeatable without cheats. In particular, the golden emblem did not appear. As such, right out the g...

      The second installment of the first Resident Evil series (two series of Resident Evil maps by two authors, this one is made by mrfranswa) is bigger and more Resident Evil than the first. We are trapped in a mansion once again and have to scavenger hunt our way out. SCMapDB page Author: mrfranswa Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Resident Evil: Covert Operations (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 13, 2022 | 6632 characters      I want to like a Sven Co-op Resident Evil map. I really do. This one started off real strong, it looks beautiful. The lobby of the mansion is huge, well lit, and has some really nice marble textures. It has the same scavenger hunt gameplay that's to be expected from survival horror but just so much more. Multiple times we had to traverse the entire level, once we had to go from the lowest depths underwater in the sewers to the top floor of the mansion and then back just to grab a ...

      A front-doorless fort with a scientist glued to the center, a courtyard, and a button that spawns waves of enemies, the goal is to protect the scientist. Except enemies don't target the scientist so it is hard to lose this map. SCMapDB page Author: Ice Box Date of final release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Baohu (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 18, 2022 | 3108 characters      Baohu is a wave defense map which really requires a large number of players to make feasible. The point of the map is to protect a scientist from an onslaught of progressively more impossible waves of bullet-spongey enemies. However, the scientist himself has a ton of health and is never explicitly targeted by the enemies. Rather, the main obstacle of this map will be enemies breaching the base where the players spawn and spawncamp the players. I played this with one other player, and we got as far as a wave of bulky snipers who would unload se...