The game is out now for ultimate owners. Out for the rest in 1-2 two days. I've played a bunch of co-op and a bit of swarm. The game is not really worth playing solo with bots. Maybe once through on recruit difficulty to see locations. I don't think it would be possible on higher difficulties.
Co-op with others is pretty fun though. I think it has far more replayability than L4D1/2 because there are more missions, longer missions, and it has some good random changes. The director pulls different cards to change things a bit. Like putting more birds around that bring hordes if you startle them. More sleeper dudes that jump out and in cap you. Ferocious zombies. Armored zombies.
But it also changes levels slightly, like closing doors, putting stashes in different spots, requiring you to board up different windows during a defensive sequence. Some change the layout because the shortcut no longer works. And you also get looter-shooter weapon drops/random cards etc. Honestly 4 player co-op has pretty strong replay value out of the box.
The missions also seem pretty good thus far. There are definitely some pretty standard missions for a zombie setting, many that feel like a copy of L4D but that's not a bad thing. I liked going through farmland and killing nests (again their location is randomized which is

) and I thought the mine shaft levels were cool. Even the police station with zombie viscera everywhere looked great. There are some defensive swarm missions but most missions are fairly linear/forward movement like l4d. I'm not even half way through the game and already think it has solid value. Act 1 is like 3 hours through in a straight run. Three acts total.
Guns work well. Movement feels good and fast. I like that you can stab away and the gun keeps reloading. I wish they played a bit more with a slower pace. I think at times (veteran+) the sheer number of mutated spawns is insane and relentless. At times I have like 3 or 4 specials coming just for me and my teammates are scratching their rear ends trying to swap guns. Yet I really like when the game slows down and it goes quiet. I think if they had a special mode where normal zombies are x5 more deadly, specials are rare but more dangerous, and stamina is reduced, it would be a great slower pace version.
I've only played a bit of swarm but it's no versus. It features a couple of small areas and rounds that typically last a few minutes because you get worn down pretty quick. I guess they wanted quicker matches and more action but I think it lacks finesse so far. And it's a shame they didn't go campaign versus because there are some great chokepoints and ledges that you could pull people off or separate groups.
Overall definitely enjoying the 4 player co-op campaign. I highly recommend giving it a try on game pass.
Also mods pls change date in the title to Oct 13 pls thx.