The Back 4 Blood closed alpha launched today, and players wonder if it’s the new Left 4 Dead. Given that Left 4 Dead 2 was released in 2009, fans of that game are clamoring for a Left 4 Dead 3, but Valve hasn’t announced any new titles for the series. As such, many hoped that Back 4 Blood would fill the role as a spiritual successor to the iconic multiplayer zombie-killing franchise.
Is Back 4 Blood like Left 4 Dead?
The developers behind Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock Studios, are the creators of the original Left 4 Dead. It’s no surprise then that the alpha plays almost exactly like a Left 4 Dead game.
There are a few differences between Back 4 Blood and Left 4 Dead, but its base mode features multi-part campaigns where four players fight through hordes of monsters in an attempt to reach safety. The premise is slightly changed in that in the new game; players take the role of Cleaners, who are actively fighting the undead hordes instead of just trying to escape. However, each map’s primary goal is still to make it to a safe room, and once all living players are inside, the game moves on to the next part of the campaign.
This time around, players are fighting the “Ridden” instead of zombies, but the enemies are functionally the same. In fact, during our brief time with the game, we’ve seen the same enemy types that Left 4 Dead fans are familiar with:
- Infected (Zombies) → Ridden
- Spitter → Hocker
- Boomer/Tank → Retch
- Charger/Tank → Bruiser
- Witch → Shrieker
There are a few additions with Back 4 Blood that spice things up. The card system shows players which enemies will be present in a location and allows them to activate bonuses to help them. For example, the Combat Knife Talent card replaces the default melee attack with a knife that does more damage.
Needless to say, if a player is a fan of Left 4 Dead, they’ll love Back 4 Blood. The closed alpha already shows a lot of promise, and we can only hope that the final product will live up to Turtle Rock Studios’ most famous title.
