With the release of its gameplay trailer at The Game Awards 2020, fans of Left 4 Dead can now look forward to Back 4 Blood, a similar cooperative zombie survival game by Turtle Rock Studios. The new game pulls inspiration from the popular Left 4 Dead, putting a modern twist on its gameplay, art, and design. Gamers will get to play as four new characters known as "Cleaners" while they battle through hordes of "Ridden" zombies.
Back 4 Blood has brought back the concept of mutated boss zombies like Left 4 Dead's Tank and Witch, but these new mutations are even more intimidating. From massive monsters two stories tall that explode from fiery pits in the earth to zombies with four arms and the ability to spit glue at players, Back 4 Blood's mutants will likely have fans praying for a solid weapon - or running for their lives to the nearest Safe Room.
There will also be a new cast of four playable characters that players can select from in Back 4 Blood, similar to the four-person casts of Left 4 Dead. Unfortunately, there appears to again be only one female character to choose, which could leave players frustrated about the lack of gender diversity in a series with a history of being male-character dominated. Fans will be able to play as an older male character, as well as two younger male characters of color, but, so far, players know very little about who these PCs are and how they came to be in the predicament of fighting the undead. Hopefully, future news updates will be able to shed some light on their backstories.
A new feature that is entirely unique to Back 4 Blood is "Extreme Replayability" mode. According to developer Turtle Rock Studios, this challenge allows players to have a different experience with each playthrough, facing off against an AI "Game Director" that learns their playstyles and twists obstacles in a way to continuously take them by surprise. This mode could increase the replayability of Back 4 Blood, eliminating Left 4 Dead's issues with gameplay becoming repetitive and predictable.
Back 4 Blood also goes a step further than Left 4 Dead did in its story, as players already know what has caused the horrible infection turning people into the walking dead. The Ridden are victims infected by a parasite - a worm shown in the Game Awards trailer. While the origin of this parasite can only be speculated at, knowing what caused the infection is not something explained in the Left 4 Dead games, which preferred to keep it up to player speculation. Back 4 Blood may deepen the narrative with further insight into the parasite and how the characters ended up in the middle of its apocalyptic spread. These intriguing details give players a lot to look forward to as they wait for the game to come out this upcoming summer.
Back 4 Blood will be available for PC on June 22, 2021.
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