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Back 4 Blood review | Xbox Series X

15/10/2021

 
Back-4-Blood-Cleaners

For a shooter that’s all about cooperation, Back 4 Blood (which we discussed earlier this year) is surprisingly good at being a solo game. Having spent a fair few hours with the latest horde shooter from Turtle Rock Studios (Left 4 Dead, Evolve), it’s hard to find too much fault with the single-player offering; at least gameplay wise, despite some negative reaction ahead of the game’s launch.

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​by ​Liam
​Andrews

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@liam_andrews5

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Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC
Players: 1 - 4

The cause of grief is a general lack of progression when running solo, with players able to choose from the entire suite of cards that boost stats, equipment and abilities (more on those in a bit) from the word go. It’s also impossible to earn in-game accomplishments and Supply Points, the latter being a currency used to unlock said cards and build custom decks for B4B’s online modes.

​Turtle Rock have said they’re going to look into ways of adjusting solo progression following player feedback, which is good, because the way the system currently works does feel like a bit of a misstep. TRS’ apparent desire to discourage farming Supply Points solo only ends up stifling the fun for anyone that actually prefers to play alone.

Hopefully, the tweaks can be made sooner rather than later - it’s unfortunate, as B4B is otherwise an enjoyable solo experience (the game does however have an always online requirement, even when playing solo). Players get partnered with three bots (there’s no couch co-op, unfortunately), which, as far as AI teammates go, aren’t terribly useless.

AI pals can gun down their fair share of Ridden (read: zombies) and are exceptional at calling out special enemies, weapons, ammo and copper - that’s the disposable resource for buying items and upgrades at the beginning of each level. They’re also a dab hand at making sure you’ve got enough health and ammo, selflessly handing over supplies whenever you’re even close to running low.
Although the onus to get things done will, quite rightly, always be on you as the player, we were pleasantly surprised by the bots’ display of competence. In some instances they’re especially useful, like instantly spotting enemies in a foggy marsh or darkened tunnel.

​
Back 4 Blood is a different beast with human players in tow; enemy numbers seem to scale accordingly, so there’s much more action when running a full team, and things can get quite frantic as a result. A relatively straightforward solo section can become a hectic fight for survival in multiplayer, an example being a battle in a diner where you’re forced to activate and defend a jukebox while swarms of enemies encroach.

It’s a pattern followed throughout the campaign: Players set out from the safe room having loaded up on supplies and weapons, scout through open areas occupied by wandering Ridden, then get set upon by the horde while defending/interacting with an objective. It’s a simple premise but one that’s executed relatively well, with a decent amount of teamwork and a little bit of luck required to get through some of the trickier scenarios.

Levels themselves are well designed and atmospheric, especially at night or with fog in play, often funnelling players into tight corridors suited to melee combat before giving them room to manoeuvre and utilise ranged equipment in more open areas. Campaign missions do revisit previous locations, however, which can get repetitive and become frustrating to navigate.
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The Combat Knife card turns your basic melee bash into a deadly weapon, which is very useful.
​Larger enemies come in a variety of forms, some examples being the Tallboy that swings a massive club-like arm, Crusher that grabs players and squeezes the life out of them, Reeker that spits horde-attracting bile, and Stinger that pins players in place. On their own, these mutations are quite easy to beat, but when the game throws combinations of them at you, particularly in enclosed spaces, they become formidable opponents, requiring teamwork and quick thinking to bring down.

You get to sample these bigger enemy types for yourself in the game’s PvP mode, Swarm, where two teams of four take it in turns to survive as long as possible against player-controlled Ridden. Round-based matches take place within shrinking arenas, ensuring things get suitably hectic the longer a round lasts, with the team of humans that holds out the longest declared the victor. 


​Playing as powerful Ridden is the highlight of this mode; we particularly enjoyed spewing toxic bile at players as a Reeker or charging an enemy team’s stronghold as an Exploder type. Swarm also seems to have a relatively healthy player base right now, as matchmaking times were always snappy.

There are also occasional boss fights, though probably the most terrifying creature in the Ridden’s arsenal is the Hag. This disturbing, maggot-like monster can swallow players whole before scurrying off and killing them. Hags are introduced by corruption cards, which the game selects randomly ahead of each level.
Back-4-Blood-weapon-attachments
Random weapon drops sometimes come with imperfect attachments, like this sniper scope/revolver combo.
Corruption cards introduce a variety of challenges, from flocks of birds and alarmed doors that alert hordes if triggered, to armoured Ridden that are harder to kill. Players can try to counter some of these challenges with their own cards by building several custom decks.

​Cards can grant basic rewards, such as increased ammo or health capacities, in addition to more substantial benefits, like recovering health for every melee kill. While they might not make or break most runs, cards are a nice bonus that can reward different specific playstyles.

​Back 4 Blood invites direct comparisons to Left 4 Dead, though it does manage to stand on its own. The core gameplay, while admittedly familiar for anyone who’s played L4D before, remains solid and the new card system has the potential to be rewarding. Experimenting with cards also helps to boost the already high level of replayability.

Pros
​
  • Solid, familiar gameplay
  • A good challenge with friends
  • Runs well on next-gen machines
  • Fun competitive PvP mode
  • Card system can reward your chosen playstyle
  • Enjoyable solo mode…

Cons
​
​
  • … that’s let down by a lack of progression
  • Can’t remove attachments from weapons
  • Easy to get lost in some levels
  • Difficult to matchmake for specific levels

​7/10
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