The hype has largely died down for Turtle Rock’s zombie co-op game Back 4 Blood, but it still has its fan base, and a new large update is rolling out.
Back 4 Blood seems like one of those games that was built up but quickly faded into the background not long after release. It may have been one of the most disappointing video games of 2021, but many still consider it a pretty solid shooter, even with all its flaws. Given that, Turtle Rock Studios is still doing what it can to make it an overall great zombie experience, and the latest patch has just started rolling out, which comes with a laundry list of changes and improvements.
In a post on Steam, the June 2022 update for Back 4 Blood has now gone live, with the developer saying that there have been several new features that have been added, plus some alterations and tweaks. Among many other things, one implementation is the ability to kick players during matches. Previously, some complained that negative gamers were making the experience less fun, and Turtle Rock promised to do something about it. With the new patch, it’s now possible to kick idle players or those who shoot teammates too often. The notes also say that this feature will be monitored.
As well as this, there’s also the ability to now draw all 15 cards at the beginning of a campaign. Back 4 Blood‘s card system has been an interesting idea. Players can select a number of cards that will give them a slight edge during play, such as more health and stamina, or the ability to carry more than one grenade. The update also tweaks the Cleaners, as well as the general campaigns. In fact, the list of changes, additions, and tweaks is so long that pasting it here would turn this article into a seemingly never-ending scroll-fest. For those interested, the full patch notes can be accessed here.
As for the game itself, it was originally touted as a spiritual successor to the beloved Left 4 Dead series. On paper, that all made sense. It was developed by a team of people who worked on the Valve zombie games, and it had the base gameplay elements that fans know only too well. However, many felt that it fell short of what made the L4D games so special. As such, this unofficial “Left 4 Dead 3” didn’t quite hit the mark.
One of the major gripes that many have, even to this day, is that Back 4 Blood is ridiculously hard. The game spawned in way too many special infected, and while the developer has attempted to nerf it somewhat, some may still find it overly challenging. In general, though, it’s good to see that Turtle Rock is still finding new things to implement and new ways to improve on the format.
Back 4 Blood is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
