Turtle Rock Studios delivered a small masterpiece in 2008 with "Left 4 Dead". The zombie shooter surprised all the line and became a mega success. Turtle Skirt was then swallowed by Valve and cultivated as an internal studio with the development of the second part. This already appeared a year later and sold even better than its predecessor. However, it crashed between the team and the company tip. So Turtle Rock Studios made himself independent again, but Valve kept the rights to the brand "Left 4 Dead".
The name has been resting since Turtle Rock last with "Evolve" put into the nettles. Despite all advance laurels, the asynchronous multiplayer shooter flopped. After that it was quiet around Turtle Rock - at least until the announcement of "Back 4 Blood". Already the examined by us Alpha version let an old memories of "Left 4 Dead" emerge. The beta version still deepens them, but also provides information on how "Back 4 Blood" wants to give the zombie shooter genre a her own twist.
Playing cards, Fort Hope and the Cleaner
Shortly after registration we find ourselves again in Fort Hope. This stroke level acts as a swivel and pivot between the missions. Here we can invest inventories or make us the way to the next mission. The second innovation is the deck builder. Because in "Back 4 Blood" you will receive Perks in the form of playing cards that you can use in the files divided into files. There are currently up to 15 cards in a deck. For each round you can only play a map so that the game balance is not completely out of the joints.
Since we would like to seek the infight with undead and mutations, we chose a card that brought us two points of life energy with each melee kill. So if we jumped into a mob of zombies with Evangelo and his machete, that came the same with a bloody medi-pack. But beware: "Back 4 Blood" couples blows and sprints to stamina. Are you going out the puffs, you have a big problem and flees only in a walking speed.
Five of the CLEANER included in the full version included in the full version this time. Striking: The different characters come with advantages for the troop such as more ammunition capacity or higher pace. Accordingly, agreements are worthwhile before the laps. Important: Double characters are not possible!
The pitfalls of the "Ridden" apocalypse
Before starting the round or the act, you will receive the chance to draw a card from your deck. As already in "Left 4 Dead", an "AI Director" is used here, which, for example, decides on the positioning of weapons, media packs, copper coins and other objects. After all, this also selects a modification card for the game. In our case, for example, almost all doors were coupled to an alarm system and could only be cracked with a Dietrich set silently. Again, thanks to the different specifications, the rounds should also feel different and fresh during several times.
In terms of gameplay our impression of the Alpha version is confirmed: "Back 4 Blood" is a magnificent matter with friends. Okay, the opponent types come from partly directly from the "Left 4 Dead" universe and therefore feel like copies. But at the latest, when Tall Boys pack and squeeze us or the Oger tower high from the ground appears, such criticisms are quickly forgotten. "Back 4 Blood" makes really fun and so we rush from a safe room to the next. In between we defend zombie-hordes or must hold positions to place bombs or to trigger certain mechanisms. The cards are pleasantly varied and classics like the opaque swamp also return.
Very important: within a passage you can shop with the help of the captured copper coins weapons and other items such as the addressed Dietrich set. In addition, your ammunition or even essays or magazines can buy. Who says it with your own comrades, is even a team upgrades.
More than just co-op
We tested the version for PlayStation 5 and can also be technically all-clear: "Back 4 Blood" ran excellent and did not go to the knees in greater hordes in the online operation. The "Ridden" design is also true and so towers after beaten battles formally slaughtered. The only criticism: the helping blood around the player models also turns on. As a result, one can hardly distinguish even in dark passages such as subway shafts or cellar vaults players from Ridden. In case of doubt, this even leads to disputes due to "Friendly Fire".
You can then discharge in the "Swarm" PVP mode. This is quite simple: two quad teams occur against each other - one on the part of the Cleaner, the other as Ridden. Here's round-way to the point and after each round, sites are changed. As a cleaner you have to endure as long as possible, as zombies make people flat. In common: With continuous playing, the game area shrinks in the best Battle-Royale style in itself. This will cause favorite points to go away and the defenders must always reorient themselves.
Other messages to back 4 Blood:
- Returns the versus campaign? Developers provide clarity
- Technically convincing? The beta in Performance Check
While the Cleaner Gameplay reminds greatly at the PVE, the Ridden is already different. Especially important: the upgrade functions that allow your new mutations to effect, for example, armored Undead in the battle. Otherwise, the Ridden gameplay offers a nice variety and, above all, a lot of damage - for example if you as a Tall Boy swirls another player through the area. Whether "swarm" becomes a mass phenomenon, we doubt. But it is definitely a meaningful addition to the classic co-op.
Other news about Back 4 Blood, Left 4 Dead, Preview, Preview.
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