Return of the living dead
Left 4 Dead is a legendary franchise that changed gaming. This is not an exaggeration but a provable fact. Creating a craze that lasted years, where zombies became the main antagonist in so many games. Try as they might to match the success, no one really came close; and with Valve seemingly not interested in making Left 4 Dead 3 the original developers Turtle Rock Studios took matters into their own hands and have returned with Back 4 Blood.
Back 4 Blood shares quite a bit with its forbearer Left 4 Dead; both games feature hordes of undead but in Back 4 Blood these shamblers are known as ‘Ridden’. Much like L4D, a lot of the reasonings to why this is happening, why people are turning into monsters and such isn’t immediately known; all that’s certain is that the group of cleaners need to survive it. In a stark contrast from the L4D games, the characters the players control here are mercenaries of sorts. Whereas the older game just put everyday people in an extraordinary situation, the team of cleaners that one controls in B4B know how to kill and have no problems with it. While they all run the gamut from seasoned, veterans like the ‘Sarah Conner’ inspired Mom to the charm of and youth of Evangelo; the eclectic mix of personalities and skills make for entertaining runs.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
And finding the right mix of skills is paramount in Back 4 Blood, you see, its not just about moving from safe room to safe room and killing undead as fast as possible anymore. The folks at Turtle Rock have added quite a bit of depth in this game, mixing in elements of roguelike and deckbuilding they have managed to craft a game that is heavy on action, teamplay and palm sweaty tension. Each of the available cleaners (8 in total) have different abilities, each of them affecting the team as a whole; For instance, Hoffman provides 10% ammo capacity for the team, which is invaluable as many will run out of bullets. In addition to the team bonus each cleaner has personal abilities, Doc can heal one player for 25 health once per level and has 20% healing proficiency which makes her an invaluable member of any team. This is the first decision that players need to make when starting a run in B4B, just deciding which cleaner to play will decide their role on the team and playstyle; but that’s only just the beginning.
As I mentioned above B4B also includes some deckbuilding elements, players will be able to construct a deck of cards that will be played before each level. These cards are made up of various buffs, abilities and weapons that will aid cleaners on their runs. Some cards will give the cleaner 15% health, others will provide 10% movement speed but -20% stamina recovery, ones may change the normal bash attack into a knife jab for more damage, etc. As players progress through each run, they will earn supply that can be exchanged back at base for new cards. So instead of just mindlessly killing ridden, in B4B players will be chasing a perfect build much like in the typical dungeon crawlers.
After picking the desired cleaner, and deck players are ready to start a run. Loading up the level the AI gets to play cards as well, these will usually be to the players detriment of course. Things like an increase an alarmed door, which will trigger a horde of ridden to converge on the team; boss fights that will appear randomly etc. Even though the game has it out for they player, if everyone is able to make it through and complete the challenge they doll out, it will often net them some pretty good rewards in the way of gold and sometimes even cards which can be nice. Once the enemy plays, each player will choose their cards to play out of a hand of 5 and once all cards are played its time to get to the blood.
Gameplay is pretty solid in Back 4 Blood, similar to Left 4 Dead everyone will start each encounter within a safe room. That’s pretty much where all the similarities end, as Back 4 Blood has a shop in each safe room in the way of an orange crate. When approached the player can choose to purchase weapons (usually 2 choices), bullets, and supplies. The supplies range from the ever-important pipe bombs; which when thrown emit a beeping drawing ridden to it before making confetti out of their flesh. To health packs, meds, stun gun (will force a ridden to release the player if they have them unable to move) and more.
Making your way through each level isn’t about speed, its about surviving. So, while I never wanted to hang out in an area for too long as the AI director would summon a horde to motivate me to move along; it behooved me to search each level thoroughly. Gold is hidden around the level and is important to be able to upgrade and buy new gear. But more than that there are hidden cases around the level which can net players better weapons, better cards, and new equipment. So, if a player is unable to purchase anything at the start of the level, they will always be able to find things around the map but it will be randomized each time, so don’t expect to find the same stuff in the same location.
Mowing down the hordes of ridden can be difficult at the outset because the controls (at least on console) are wonky at best. I really would like to meet the person who can play with the default settings with any modicum of success. This has been an issue since beta, and I had hoped it would be resolved with the full launch but alas it wasn’t. So, it will be important for anyone playing with a controller to take some time and play with all of the controls to find the perfect setting for them. If you’ve played an FPS in the last 10 years, then the controls here in B4B will be easy to pick up and you’ll be sniping the heads off ridden in no time.
Another area where I found the game lacking was in content, Back 4 Blood offers a standard Campaign mode that can be played multiplayer or alone with bots and a versus mode that allows a team of cleaners to try and survive vs player controlled ridden special monsters. Both modes are fun to play, but one of the highlights of Left 4 Dead was the integration of the two modes. So, while playing campaign other players could drop into the game and take control of the special infected. It just seems odd that the fathers of this genre would omit a fan favorite mode for this their Back 4 Blood return.
Turtle Rock Studios have made a triumphant return to the genre that kickstarted a whole zombie craze so many years ago. That return isn’t perfect though, issues with the controls, missing game modes and bugs have marred what is otherwise an enjoyable zombie killfest. At the time of this writing a few patches have gone out that have corrected most of the larger bugs, but there are still issues with spawning too many special infected at a time and other little issues. While these things can be frustrating, they don’t destroy the fun of Back 4 Blood when playing the game as it’s meant to be. That is playing multiplayer with a group of friends smartly navigating a nightmare filled world. Those looking to have a single player experience on the other hand may not find as much here to love, while Turtle Rock is working to fix the progression and reward issue for single players at the time of this writing there isn’t an ETA for those fixes. So, for that reason I wouldn’t recommend this for solo’s just yet, however for those folks who have been waiting for Left 4 Dead 3, or heard about how fun the original ones were and never tried them and have a team ready to face the undead… then what are you waiting for cleaner? Get out there and kill some ridden!
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
