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Back 4 Blood: One Year Later (A Comprehensive and Comparative Retrospective)

Wow Such Gaming・146 minutes read

Back 4 Blood received a 9 out of 10 rating but faced criticism for its cluttered design and annoying gameplay elements, offering a unique balance of features despite comparisons to Left for Dead. The game's player base has not surpassed its predecessor, but updates and improvements have enhanced the gameplay experience over time.

Insights

The game "Back 4 Blood" is seen as a spiritual successor to "Left for Dead" by the same developers, receiving a 9 out of 10 rating at full release.
The game's design incorporates elements from various popular games, creating a unique balance despite some annoying gameplay elements.
The card system in "Back 4 Blood" has evolved to offer diverse playstyles but faced nerfs over time, impacting aspects like melee builds and speedrunning.
The game's focus on balancing perks and cards sometimes hinders fun and enjoyment, with changes feeling like deterrents to unique builds and impacting higher difficulty levels.
The introduction of corruption cards in "Back 4 Blood" alters gameplay dynamics, adding extra challenge and changing the experience with upcoming challenges.
Despite efforts to improve the game with updates and DLCs, "Back 4 Blood" struggles to find a balance between various gameplay elements, leading to mixed reviews and declining player interest.

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Recent questions

What is Back 4 Blood's card system?
The card system in Back 4 Blood allows players to build decks for different playstyles, offering access to various perks and abilities.

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Summary

00:00

"Back 4 Blood: Unique Gameplay Evolution"

The game received a 9 out of 10 rating on its full release.
The game is noted for having a cluttered design, incorporating elements from various popular games like Dead by Daylight, Evolve, Borderlands, Call of Duty, and Left for Dead.
Despite complaints about annoying gameplay elements, the game's features balance out in a unique way.
"Back 4 Blood" is described as the spiritual successor to Left for Dead, created by the same developers.
The game was highly anticipated but faced skepticism and comparisons to Left for Dead.
The game's player base has not surpassed Left for Dead 2 on Steam, but player numbers don't always reflect overall quality.
The reviewer played the game extensively at launch, focusing on building decks and exploring different gameplay aspects.
The game has improved since launch, with updates, new DLCs, and tweaks making it more enjoyable.
The card system in the game has evolved, allowing players to have full access to their deck from the start, enhancing the gameplay experience.
Players can create diverse playstyles with different decks, focusing on roles like healer, brawler, or speedrunner, but some aspects like melee builds have faced nerfs over time.

14:09

"Back 4 Blood's Card System Impact"

Players at Pax West heavily invested in melee builds in the game, finding them the most enjoyable until the melee cards were nerfed.
Back 4 Blood's card system is likened to Dead by Daylight's perk system, with a wider selection of up to 15 cards available.
Developers constantly tweak, nerf, and buff perks in Dead by Daylight due to its PvP nature, unlike Back 4 Blood's PvE focus.
Changes to cards in Back 4 Blood, especially nerfs, felt like deterrents to fun builds, impacting higher difficulty levels negatively.
Speedrunning in Back 4 Blood received substantial hits early on, affecting movement tech and exploits, leading to less enjoyable experiences.
Turtle Rock's response to feedback led to nerfing strong builds and core game mechanics, affecting speedrunning and overall movement.
The focus on balancing and changing perks in Back 4 Blood seemed counterintuitive to the fun and enjoyment players sought in the game.
The card system in Back 4 Blood, including burn cards and card decks, adds depth and variety to gameplay, enhancing replayability.
The need to read and deliberate on cards during gameplay interrupts the fast-paced action, causing frustration and hindering the experience.
Corruption cards in Back 4 Blood, introduced by the game director, telegraph upcoming challenges, altering the dynamic of each playthrough and sometimes making the game more irritating than entertaining.

27:39

Corruption cards and challenges in Back 4 Blood.

Corruption cards were added to provide extra challenge against the card builds of cleaners, creating a power dynamic.
Some corruption cards offer bonus copper and additional challenge for each chapter.
The continue system was implemented to prevent players from resetting levels to change corruption cards.
In Left 4 Dead, players could reset to the beginning of a campaign multiple times, aiding in learning and experimentation.
Spawn rates for special ridden in Back 4 Blood were initially excessive but were adjusted based on player feedback.
Difficulty in Left 4 Dead focused on increased damage, while Back 4 Blood emphasizes more health and corruption cards.
Trauma Health in Back 4 Blood limits max HP until healed, impacting gameplay and strategy.
Playing with bots in Back 4 Blood significantly eases the game, providing benefits like infinite healing items and ammo.
Offline mode in Back 4 Blood now allows earning points and achievements, catering to players who prefer solo play.
The "No Hope" difficulty in Back 4 Blood offers a challenging experience akin to Destiny's raids, testing game knowledge and team synergy.

41:20

"Gameplay challenges and critiques in Act 1"

Climbing multiple flights of stairs is a tense experience, with a military convoy's lack of assistance noted.
Facing a boss, the Breaker, at a gas station provides a challenging yet enjoyable encounter.
Rescuing survivors from worm cocoons raises questions about the game's mechanics and narrative coherence.
Boarding up windows in a bookworm-themed chapter echoes Call of Duty zombies, offering a unique gameplay mechanic.
Defending a jukebox with loud music against the ridden is highlighted as a fun and action-packed level.
Issues with copyrighted music in the game are mentioned, impacting streaming and player experience.
Defending a diner in a traditional Left 4 Dead finale style is described as straightforward and engaging.
Act 1's progression through barns and neighborhoods showcases the game's system and level design.
Act 1's finale involves firing mortar shells to close a tunnel entrance, with mixed feelings about the mechanics.
Act 1's structure and length are critiqued, suggesting it could have been split into two acts for better pacing and player experience.

54:59

Navigating Objectives to Reach Death Toll Church

To reach the Death Toll Church, you must navigate through a series of objectives, including killing five snitches to prevent hordes from spawning.
Despite the game mechanic of killing snitches before they alert hordes, killing them always results in a horde spawn, questioning the purpose of the mechanic.
The church finale involves completing five different objectives to summon the horde, allowing for various strategies and unique gameplay experiences.
Cutscenes in the game serve to bridge chapters and acts, showcasing the cleaners' fight against the Ridden, with in-game engine and pre-rendered cutscenes included.
The game's reliance on cutscenes for narrative progression contrasts with Valve's original plan for Left 4 Dead 2, emphasizing replayability over detailed storytelling.
Act 3 sees the narrative intensify as the cleaners search for Dr. Rogers, a scientist developing a chemical weapon against the Ridden, with unique gameplay elements like a crop harvester.
The forest level features sporadic flames and alarmed doors that summon hordes, with the necessity of a toolkit for progression and strategic gameplay.
The greenhouse fight in the game stands out as a challenging set piece, with a hedge maze adding complexity to the gameplay experience.
Dr. Rogers' house serves as a challenging finale, requiring players to locate scattered research crates amidst spawning enemies, with clunky mechanics for carrying and throwing crates.
The final act culminates in a Kaiju fight, requiring players to adapt their loadouts for long-range combat, increased healing, and grenade usage against the massive boss, with a unique underground tunnel system for the battle's conclusion.

01:08:34

Back 4 Blood: Mixed Reviews on Gameplay

Bots are prone to dying instantly if they walk up to a giant boss's hitbox without considering its health status.
The campaign's conclusion involves a cool but finicky boss fight, with levels exhibiting hit-or-miss mechanics and designs in a darkly vibrant setting.
The game lacks consistent giant Kaiju fights, with recycled mechanics overshadowing unique ones, leaving a desire for more variety.
The ending cutscene features original cleaners banding together to defeat the Abomination, but dialogue and humor fall flat, cluttering character dynamics.
Survivors' dialogue lacks depth, with repetitive quips and backstory exposition, failing to establish meaningful character relationships.
The game's focus on diverse dialogue diminishes character dynamics, with random jokes feeling disconnected from the characters' personalities.
Left 4 Dead's attention to detail in survivors' reactions is missing in Back 4 Blood, where cleaners lack realistic responses to events.
Cosmetic unlocks, while abundant, fail to distinguish cleaners from the ridden, with some feeling tedious to acquire, though microtransactions are absent.
Weapon variety in the game offers multiple options within each class, but only a few guns are truly viable, impacting gameplay diversity.
Melee weapons in Back 4 Blood, while improved with proper setup, lack variety and impact compared to Left 4 Dead 2, with limited options and underwhelming shoves.

01:23:00

Back 4 Blood: Guns, Attachments, and Ridden

Knife melee is only a shove with slightly more damage, guns like snipers feel useless except for special ridden, shotguns are preferred, pump shotguns are similar to Left 4 Dead's, LMGs are effective against high health targets from afar, assault rifles are good but some have small magazine sizes and need attachments.
Attachments in Back 4 Blood enhance or diminish weapon value, affecting movement speed, bullet penetration, recoil, etc., some attachments are broken and negatively impact weapon use, a card allows attachment removal for a cost of 400 copper.
Guns in Back 4 Blood have a tier system with white, green, blue, purple, and orange tiers, encouraging weapon swapping for increased damage, corruption cards increase difficulty by adding armor or health to enemies.
The common ridden in Back 4 Blood have various mutations like exploding, vomiting, crawling up walls, and jumping on players, they serve as kill fodder and come in different types with varied health and abilities.
Common ridden attacks are sometimes hard to discern, unlike Left 4 Dead where screen shaking indicated damage direction, Back 4 Blood's ridden have unique effects like acid, fire, and explosions, making them more challenging.
Uncommon ridden in Back 4 Blood have effects like decreased healing, stamina reduction, and environmental damage, they lack the uniqueness of Left 4 Dead's uncommon infected, making them less interesting to fight.
Gore mechanics in Back 4 Blood lack the variety and detail of Left 4 Dead, where specific hits and weapons caused unique damage and death animations, creating a more engaging combat experience.
Special ridden in Back 4 Blood, like tall boys, hawkers, and wretches, have varied spawn rates and types, making quick identification crucial in panic scenarios, their overwhelming presence can be a challenge for players.

01:36:49

Back 4 Blood Special Infected Analysis

Back 4 Blood introduces four different forms of special infected, each with slightly varied physical attributes, contrasting with Left 4 Dead's more distinct special infected.
The new special infected forms in Back 4 Blood require more detailed observation to differentiate between them, unlike the easily recognizable silhouettes of Left 4 Dead's special infected.
Audio cues for special infected in Back 4 Blood lack the distinctiveness of Left 4 Dead's, making it challenging to identify and prepare for incoming threats.
The sound design in Left 4 Dead was more effective in signaling the arrival of special infected through unique and easily distinguishable sounds, enhancing gameplay anticipation.
Back 4 Blood's special infected lack the same audio clarity and variety, making it harder for players to discern threats amidst chaotic gameplay.
The Ping system in Back 4 Blood allows players to communicate special infected locations, aiding in strategic coordination against multiple threats.
Special ridden in Back 4 Blood, like the Shredder class, present unique challenges with their explosive abilities and distinct death animations, adding complexity to combat.
The Reeker class in Back 4 Blood poses significant challenges due to their high health and lack of clear counterplay options, making them frustrating to deal with.
The Stinger class in Back 4 Blood, resembling Hunters, introduces new gameplay dynamics with their projectile attacks and unique abilities, requiring different strategies to combat.
The Tall Boy class in Back 4 Blood, while initially intimidating, becomes more manageable with focused fire on their weak points, offering a satisfying combat experience.

01:50:54

Special Infected and Unique Challenges in Back 4 Blood

Special infected in Left 4 Dead do not roam but spawn and attack immediately, unlike common infected.
Two special ridden in Back 4 Blood, the sleeper and the snitch, have minimal health and serve as deterrents.
Ogres in Back 4 Blood are large tanks that force players to strategize, often requiring speedrunning or specific builds to defeat.
Melee weapons are ineffective against ogres due to an invisible hitbox, making them frustrating to fight.
Hags in Back 4 Blood are unique, as they swallow survivors whole and attempt to digest them, adding a terrifying dynamic.
Breakers in Back 4 Blood have weak points and unique movement, providing fast-paced and satisfying fights.
Tunnels of Terror DLC in Back 4 Blood introduces gauntlet-like maps with unique challenges and high-risk, high-reward gameplay.
Corruption cards in Tunnels of Terror add challenges like oxygen meters, affecting stamina and health if not managed properly.
Warped chests in Tunnels of Terror offer debuffs but also the chance to find legendary items, making them worth the risk.
Inner hives in Tunnels of Terror are optional, offering exciting encounters with various boss ridden and rewarding loot.

02:05:22

Back 4 Blood DLC: Tunnels of Terror

Tunnels of Terror is a valuable addition to Back 4 Blood, particularly enhancing long chapter playthroughs.
Two new cleaners, an old Asian man, and a firefighter girl are introduced in this DLC.
The DLC allows players to skip levels, potentially impacting engagement with newer content.
New mechanics and items like bear traps, bait jars, iron claws, and smoke bombs are included.
Bear traps are situational and can be frustrating due to visibility issues and bleed damage.
New enemy types like cultists, slashers, snipers, and pus flingers are introduced.
The new enemies vary in difficulty and effectiveness, with some feeling underwhelming.
Act 5 involves scavenging for boat parts in a bay area and navigating a prison island.
The level layout in Act 5 can be confusing, with traps and hordes adding to the challenge.
The DLC's conclusion lacks substantial dialogue or cutscenes, leaving the story feeling incomplete and underwhelming.

02:19:48

"Game DLC and Versus Mode Review"

DLC for the game did not add much, with set pieces being enjoyable but repetitive tasks making the experience less fun.
"Children of the Worm" DLC was forgettable, offering new trinkets, a survivor with unique abilities, Borderlands chatter enemies, and a narrative that lacked direction.
Versus mode "Swarm" remained largely unchanged, focusing on picking specific classes and facing challenges in finding matches, leading to unbalanced gameplay experiences.
The game's card system improved, but the overall gameplay felt underwhelming due to a lack of memorable characters, repetitive mechanics, and a focus on too many ideas without depth.
The game struggled to find a balance between various gameplay elements, such as looting, legendary weapons, and character development, resulting in a lack of long-term engagement.
The game aimed to cater to a wide audience but failed to deliver on the promise of being the next "Left 4 Dead," leading to mixed reviews and a decline in player interest over time.
Despite criticisms, the reviewer expressed a desire for the game to succeed and acknowledged the efforts of the developers, while also highlighting the need for significant improvements to maintain player engagement.
The reviewer concluded with a rating of 6 out of 10 for the game, acknowledging its potential but expressing personal doubts about returning to it in the future.

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