Back 4 Blood Review

Back 4 Blood is the spiritual successor to the critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead series. That’s something that comes with a ton of pressure. Left 4 Dead is one of the most beloved zombie franchises to ever be released. Left 4 Dead 2 is revered as one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time and when it was released it won a ton of awards and is still played to this day. So yeah, there was a lot of pressure on the Turtle Rock Studio devs to deliver a product that could live up to the Left 4 Dead name. At first glance, Back 4 Blood is just a modern Left 4 Dead. It takes four characters through a series of campaigns involving a zombie outbreak. But when you look deeper, you start to see that Back 4 Blood starts to separate itself from Left 4 Dead in areas where we wish they had stayed closer.

Left 4 Dead But Not Really

Alright, let’s start with the obvious. Back 4 Blood is like the imposter Left 4 Dead. It has the same exterior. 4 player zombie survival cooperative game. 4 vs 4 multiplayer modes where you pit the special zombies against the survivors. A story that is separated into campaigns. A number in the title. But that’s it. The progression through campaigns feels different. The story itself doesn’t have as much life. The characters are forgettable. The special zombies come in hordes. The card system takes almost all the focus away from everything else. That’s probably the biggest concern we had with Back 4 Blood. It’s a great game. But almost all the focus went into the card system. The characters could be better. The story could be better. A lot could be better. There is a ton of potential. The gunplay is fun. That part still holds to the original Left 4 Dead. It’s a fun game. When you don’t get overwhelmed by a terrible corruption card role and once you have fully grinded out your characters and their card system. The game is fun. But we shouldn’t have to say, this game is fun if.

Forgettable Stories

The campaign isn’t one of the best. I feel that this time around Turtle Rock Studios tried to deliver a much deeper story but it fell flat. It just feels like a culmination of every zombie movie or game ever. All the areas look like something that I’ve seen before. Granted, I do play a ton of zombie games. But still, I was hoping that Back 4 Blood would feel inviting when it came to the campaigns. I was hoping that parts would be memorable and that I could have a campaign that I fell head over heels for. But they all just sort of blend in together. When it came to picking a mission to replay, I would usually just pick a short mission so that I could get through it quickly and get my supply points. Maybe it was just me and I was looking for something more vivid and fun, but it just didn’t resonate with what I was hoping for.

It’s Good, But It Can Be Great

Back 4 Blood is by no means bad. I do have a lot of criticism and nitpicks, but that’s because this game can truly be one of the greats. The card system, although a bit of a grind, is pretty fun to explore. It’s fun to unlock different cards and experiment with different decks. It’s just a shame that it takes so long to build up supply points to truly get a feel for all the different classes. Especially since this game is very demanding in terms of difficulty. You’ll need to dive deep into these cards to be able to survive past the Rookie difficulty in Back 4 Blood. Not only that, you’ll need a team of four players because the AI is downright terrible. Your AI partners will participate in zero of the killing but will always be the first to shoot a group of zombies and alert everything in a 2-mile radius. They won’t always revive you. For some reason, they’ll opt for shooting blanky towards the horde even though they always end with 0 kills. Not sure if that’s a glitch, but it happens consistently. As in every match consistently. Back 4 Blood is not a game you can enjoy alone. I played through most of the story with one other person, but the last level was incredibly hard with just us two. We couldn’t stay alive long enough to figure out the boss. Maybe if we spent more time with the card system and characters we could get to the point where it was a cakewalk, but that wouldn’t be much fun would it? Having to grind until the game becomes playable.

Final Verdict: Buy it if you have a friend group to play it with and grind with.

Back 4 Blood is a ton of fun when you play with friends. It’s a ton of fun once you figure out the card system. It can be frustrating at first and we do not recommend this game if you enjoy playing games alone. But if you have a great group of friends and are willing to invest some time into a new cooperative shooter then Back 4 Blood is a great option if you ever see it on sale.

Synopsis: “Back 4 Blood is a thrilling cooperative first-person shooter from the creators of the critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead franchise. You are at the center of a war against the Ridden. These once-human hosts of a deadly parasite have turned into terrifying creatures bent on devouring what remains of civilization. With humanity’s extinction on the line, it’s up to you and your friends to take the fight to the enemy, eradicate the Ridden, and reclaim the world. Cooperative Campaign. Fight your way through a dynamic, perilous world in a 4-player co-op story campaign where you must work together to survive increasingly challenging missions. Play with up to 3 of your friends online or go solo and lead your team in battle. Choose from 8 customizable Cleaners, one of the immune survivors, and a range of lethal weapons and items. Strategize against an ever-evolving enemy bent on your destruction. Competitive Multiplayer. Play with or against friends in PVP. Switch between playing as a Cleaner with special perks and the horrific Ridden. Both sides come with unique weapons, abilities, and specialties. Extreme Replayability. A new “rogue-lite” Card System creates different experiences every time, putting you in control to craft custom builds and undertake more demanding fights.”

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