It is almost 12 years since Left 4 Dead 2 It was released on the seventh generation consoles. While the title has remained current thanks to the incredible number of mods and the players who still enjoy it on platforms such as Steam, the reality is that it has not received an official continuation. So Back 4 Blood comes to try to fill that void.
Back 4 Blood is a new title of Turtle rock studios, who were the creators of Left 4 Dead and now they return to this popular genre, although with another name. While it is not a L4D3This game undoubtedly makes a great effort to give us a cooperative zombie shooter that serves as a good spiritual continuation of that saga. Did they make it?
A typical zombie story in Back 4 Blood
Although the main point of Back 4 Blood is to get together with some friends to kill zombies left and right, this does not mean that it does not have a story. Instead of putting you on different maps without further explanation, here we have a story divided into four acts.
The whole plot of Back 4 Blood revolves around Fort Hope and the efforts of its inhabitants to obtain weapons, supplies and possibly a cure for the zombies. Although it won’t win screenwriting awards, it did strike me as an interesting enough story to invite me to want to know more about it and this fictional world.
Of course, if you are one of those who do not care about the story in a video game, you will still find enough things to keep you entertained. The narrative was a very good extra, but I think that even without it, Back 4 Blood it could be maintained thanks to its entertaining game mechanics.
Take a couple of friends and rock and roll
The core of Back 4 Blood It is the cooperation between players to be able to finish each one of their campaigns. The truth is that if you play it with friends you will have a great time, especially if you liked it Left 4 Dead, since its gameplay is quite similar. They will advance through maps infested with zombies and special infected in order to reach a shelter and sometimes do some specific tasks
Of course the title of Turtle rock studios it has its differences. Throughout each campaign you will find gold coins, which you can use to buy weapons, items and upgrades, individual or equipment, in each shelter. Additionally, you can upgrade your weapons with scopes, extended magazines, and other attachments to make them more effective against hordes of undead.
One of the main differences in Back 4 Blood It is the card system with which you can obtain certain skills. You will find different cards throughout your time in this title, which you can arrange to suit your game mode.
I must admit that when I played the beta I was not very convinced by the new card system, it was a bit complicated for me and I did not see a big difference. However, in the full game I was able to better understand how it works and how beneficial it can be to overcome the most difficult maps.
Back 4 Blood and the heart of the cards
The card system in Back 4 Blood it is so important that the whole game seems to be built around it. As I had already mentioned, with the cards you can obtain different improvements, such as faster healing, the ability to regain health with each melee death or being able to free yourself when an infected catches you.
However, not everything is in your favor, as there are also corruption cards. At the beginning of each campaign you will be forced to choose one of them, which will have a negative impact. You may come up with one that spawns a special boss, one that makes the entire map foggy or makes the infected stronger. There is a great variety of them and they serve so that the same campaign never feels the same.
The way you get cards to customize your deck is through supply lines. Here you can spend the points you earn for playing to get new additions for your decks, as well as alternate outfits for your characters and paintings for the weapons.
Since I mentioned the characters, each of them has their own card which could be perfect to combine with the deck of your choice. Some are more oriented to function as doctors, while others have more offensive skills or have more stamina so as not to tire so quickly. If you organize well with your friends, each one could do a different role in Back 4 Blood.
As long as you have friends with Back 4 Blood, all good
Playing with friends seems like the best option to me, however, we know that it is not always possible. The matchmaking of Back 4 Blood In general, I found it very good at finding games or unknown people to play with, which is easier with its extensive crossplay. Although I did run into some problems, like once I ran out of teammates and played the rest of the time with bots, which I found strange.
Your enjoyment will depend on the companions you have and their abilities. Several times I was touched by some lone wolves who apparently did not know that teamwork was the key to survival. But when you find a good team, things flow very well.
Although Back 4 Blood can be played individually, it seems that Turtle rock not a fan of you enjoying it like that. If you decide to play on your own, and have your teammates be bots, then you will not be able to get any of the achievements nor will you get supply points. We do not know the reason for this, but it is disappointing for those who are not fans of spending it with other people or who perhaps do not have a good internet.
Another way to play
In addition to the campaigns, Back 4 Blood It features a PVP mode in which one group controls special infected, while another controls humans. In each round each team will take turns if they are monsters or cleaners and the decision of who wins is based on the time in which they managed to stay alive.
It is a somewhat fun mode although its novelty goes very quickly, since it is played in small arenas. Maybe if it was a mode where you controlled monsters during campaigns I would have spent more time on it. It entertained me for a bit, but the real fun is in the campaigns.
It can still improve but it’s a pretty good game
After spending hours playing Back 4 Blood, I can say that it really is a good spiritual successor for the saga of Left 4 Dead. It has the fun gameplay with several additions that make it stand out and has the ability to keep you entertained for a while. Separate mention for its playable characters, since each one has its own personality that will surely make you fall in love with more than one.
Although it has some problems, it seems to me that they could be easily fixed in the future. Back 4 Blood It is quite a fun game, which also has potential. We’ll see what the future holds for this title.
I played Back 4 Blood on Xbox One.
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