Back 4 Blood is not Left 4 Dead continuation and that's good S

Sure, Back 4 Blood is repeatedly referred to as a spiritual successor of the Left 4 Dead series and not without reason. Developer Turtle Rock Studios has not only created the first LEFT 4 Dead, but also many elements of the formula in Back 4 Blood are taken over: because even here is a coop shooter in a zombie apocalypse, in which player * inside Working from Safehouse to Safehouse while fighting with zombirbarians, special infected and resource snapness. Even the PVP mode, in which a team as a cleaner (ie the human survivors) and the other compete as infected against each other, there was already similar in LEFT 4 Dead.

But back 4 Blood makes much more than just stump the formula, the game also brings a few welcome innovations and creates a certain independence.

Left 4 Dead 2 is the best coop shooter for me so far

Left 4 Dead 2 was a pretty unique experience in my teenage years for me. I loved zombie films and wanted to gamble with my friends - but just no PVP, I was afraid of a young woman with little experience in shooters. With the Koop shooter, I was able to meet these two wishes and accordingly I have sunk countless hours in L4D2.

Nowadays, my selection is still gentle a lot bigger here. There are plenty of co-shooter (Borderlands, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and Warframe, to name only a few) and also zombies belong to many shooters. Red Dead Redemption Approximately has its own zombie addon and also the Call of Duty series includes zombie modes. For me, no coop shooter ever came to Left 4 Dead 2 ran. It simply has the perfect blend of zombies, coal gameplay and great character interactions (when Ellis tells a story about his buddy Keith, I'll also stop until he is done. Then the zombies have to wait.)

Accordingly, I immediately felt at home in Back 4 Blood immediately, because with the game principle I am well familiar. Unlike in L4D2, however, the innovations go through new infected, weapons and aids (the game mode mutation came only to release).

Permitted campaigns, a new story and a real PVP mode

The most obvious innovation in Back 4 Blood is probably the PVP mode. Unlike in L4D, who does not take place in the individual campaigns, which has hardly changed a bit for the surviving team to the PVE game. Accordingly, in this mode it was always exciting to play an infected, because that was actually a very special experience (even if I was so bad as Hunter).

In Back 4 Blood, on the other hand, there are completed maps on which the cleaner can prepare in advance and then survive as long as possible, while the infected team tries to do it as soon as possible. When testing, the relatively compact areas created here (which also shrink over the gameplay) quickly stress and that contributed enormously to the playing stimulus. Unlike the larger L4D areas, there is always something to do and the laps remain entertaining, as they are rarely going beyond 5 minutes.

In doing so, the infected people felt almost too powerful when playing, probably because the cleaners hardly remains to retreat or heal. At least the abilities of particular infected people are quickly and intuitively learned. Some of them are close to their counterparts from L4D, such as the Exploder, which is modeled on the boomer. Others have completely new skills that can be combined wonderfully with those of the team. If, for example, the stool in my team sticks a cleaner with his mucus on the ground, I can let go of the defenseless victim with my Bruiser.

You can view the PVP mode here once:

Less obvious, but just as welcome to me the changes in the PVE campaigns. Although I could not try all the maps when you start, but already with the tested was striking that there is a lot of events on the maps. Left 4 Dead 2 also has such events in which a trigger must be operated, which then attracts a zombiehorde. In the department store campaign, for example, players must break themselves through a window in said department store, which triggers the alarm and attracts zombies.

These events are also available in Back 4 Blood, but they offer more than just a scheme "Make a loud noise, infected come". In a campaign, for example, the way over a bridge is blocked by a disgusted mutant bead so that we first have to find and destroy two nodes of said bead before it goes on. Elsewhere, we have to secure a church and fixes as a safeouse - which is not so easy if all the time wanted to be gnawed to us all the time.

There are also bosses, such as the ogre in the Evansburgh campaign. They are pretty hard chunks (Tougher as a self of the tank from L4D), but also bring additional rewards. Players have to decide if they take the fight or try to get away. Because yes, that too is an option. How exciting these events after hundreds of the game hours are still to be seen, but they give me the necessary variety of shooting and loten.

The map coverage system is also interesting as an innovation as it gives the game a cross-campaign and especially tactical component - even if it certainly needs a little time to get in there. So I can build several decks from different cards that give me passive bonuses such as more stamina or copper with every kill. From these decks I can then choose one for every campaign and decide if I prefer to play as a healer or as a zombie killing machine. Although the system is quite complex and can be confusing in the beginning, but the perfect deck has to be assembled well for those who like to equip their characters in the best possible appeal.

The card system represents this trailer once more detailed:

Incidentally, there is also a small but fine innovation in the story. Of course, the complete story is not yet known, but at least we already know that we do not just play survivors in a zombieapocalypse. In Back 4 Blood, we are already in the Posta Pokalypse and the Cleaners are volunteers who take off to kill, for example, to kill safely and to set up safheouses. That may not be a big change, but is a welcome variety of typical survival fighting. In addition, there is room for completely different interactions between the characters, the back 4 Blood then hopefully uses.

In addition to classic fighters like walkers, here also with Holly a female doctor and with Mom a tough older manager. Especially the latter I am pleased, because Mom is not only damn cool, but also an old lady and I would like to see more in games.

Phil Robb, founder and Creative Director of Turtle Rock Studios has said well:

"I've made a lot of games that have the typical video game heroes, the great muscle-packed guys. And on the other side the curvy, sexy woman. After a while, the scarf. There are players out there, which are as old as old Mom. And I always thought it would be cool to have a grumpy, tough old lady in a game. And I had the feeling that players would like that cool. "

More than a successor

How well all these changes then really work in the finished game, of course, remains to be seen. But in my first impression, Back 4 Blood has at least managed not only to capture the magic of Left 4 Dead - with his changes the well-tried L4D formula not only a bit uphill, but actually improved noticeable. And maybe Back 4 Blood makes it even to surpass 4 Dead 2 for me after almost 20 years.

If you also want to get the back 4 Blood beta, your hike finds all the information about when she starts and how to participate.