The Back 4 Blood Beta feels like an unfortunate case of 'too little, too late'

When Turtle Rock Studios first announced their upcoming co-op zombie shooter Back 4 Blood (B4B) last year, it was only natural for people to wonder how it would stack up against its spiritual predecessors. After all, the Left 4 Dead games are certainly not an easy bar to match in the co-op shooter sphere, much less surpass. 

But after taking the beta out for a spin, we are here to tell you that you can put your concerns to rest because B4B is well on its way to being the Left 4 Dead 3 we never got. Or at least, most of them.

To put it simply, there is much more to this argument than meets the eye, because from what we've seen and played, the B4B beta presents us with a truly puzzling 'tale of two comparisons'.

Do not worry if you are a little confused - we will explain that as we go along, but first things first. Conceptually, the zombie-slaying apple hasn't fallen far from the tree - which is a great thing. 

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Most of what fans loved (and continue to love today) about the L4D games, like their accessibility can still be found within B4B, although Turtle Rock has also done its due diligence by refining some of the nitty-gritty stuff for the modern gaming stage.

One such example? Everything from weapons to environments and even the characters themselves feel much more detailed than their counterparts in L4D2, not to mention that you can now ADS with any weapon and mantle up ledges in the overworld.

Of course, we say that with the concession that the game is still in its beta phase - both of these aspects (aesthetics and gameplay) are still quite rough around the edges in terms of bugs and presentation, but that's part and parcel of the game development process, and we're certain the team will iron most of them out before B4B releases.

It feels kind of like a Left 4 Dead 3

Regarding the overall shooter experience, if you've played the L4D titles, you'd certainly agree that part of what made those games so successful in their heyday was how they could be played by anyone and everyone.

Unlike predominantly competitive games like Dota 2 and Battlefield, the L4D titles could be enjoyed right from the start regardless of players' skill level, and it is indeed reassuring to know that this 'simplicity' has been replicated in B4B. 

Case in point, it didn't take very long for me to get the hang of things, though of course, it's much easier if you've played L4D2 before. 

Much like its predecessors, B4B's campaign is split into chapters, which are themselves further divided into several bite-sized portions. Each of these mini-stages requires your party to make it from one safe room to another.

However, unlike L4D2 where players are simply given a medkit and generic weapons and ammo, the saferooms in B4B offer a significantly higher level of customisability and variance. At a price, of course. 

Not only are players now able to buy and equip up to five different attachments on each of their preferred firearms (primary and secondary), ammo is also split into different calibers corresponding to each of the available weapon types - it's not like before where the ammo piles were generic.

Although it feels like a minor change, I would actually say this positively amps up the challenge factor more than any other addition, because it forces players to be much more careful about how much ammo they expend, even in lower difficulty runs.

Adding on, firearms come in different rarities too, and although I tend to find these systems a pain in games like Black Ops Cold War's Zombies mode, I actually think it's quite reasonable, or even refreshing to have it in B4B. 

You see, having different rarities gives players an incentive to stay on the lookout for better equipment as they progress through the levels, and in a game like this where you don't have to constantly 'upgrade' your weapons for ungodly amounts of in-game cash, there's really no loss in ditching a lower rarity gun for a higher-rarity alternative.

Additionally, I feel it also makes each playthrough just a little different each time, and this element of 'variance' is something that the L4D2 games weren't really able to capture in-depth.

Apart from B4B's shooting experience itself, which I felt was somehow 'punchier' and more satisfying than its predecessors, there's also the new 'Card System' that you'll be able to utilise during your runs.

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Arguably, this bit still feels a little lackluster compared to the rest of the B4B package given the bonuses the cards provide don't feel all that useful, but I won't deny that I like the direction Turtle Rock is taking with this. 

As for the aesthetics, B4B is really a chip off the old block. Glowing eyes, darkened diseased skin, and grotesque mutations are all par for the course - and you can savour all of that in levels that arguably feel way more claustrophobic than those in L4D games.

For instance, you'll find yourself navigating through narrow houses, corridors, and collapsed tunnels much more often than you might like, and the potential presence of actual boss zombies interspersed throughout the stages will really keep the party on its toes. 

But here's the caveat

So far, I wouldn't blame you for thinking that B4B is everything an L4D player could hope for in a hypothetical L4D3 and then some. However, here's where I need to manage expectations a little and address the elephant in the room.

Sure, the B4B beta presents a formula that's pretty similar to Turtle Rock's previous games, but that's only a comparison within the context of the L4D titles. As such, the other side of this 'tale of two comparisons' that we mentioned at the start is how the game stacks up against the modern shooter in general. 

The answer, unfortunate as it is, is that it's still really, really far from the top.

You see, most of the features that set B4B apart from L4D2, like attachments, mantling, and even the card system are already considered well-worn territory, or even staple inclusions when accounting for other shooter franchises.

As such, it's essentially a 'frog in the well' scenario - when you consider the bigger picture, the shooter genre at large has already far surpassed what B4B currently has on offer, even if it is taking pages out of a tried-and-true formula.

Needless to say, the formula is another problem in itself, primarily because of its age - it might have been stellar a decade ago, and while we do admit that many players still enjoy it today, it's hardly what you'd call 'genre-defining' nowadays. 

In other words, the B4B beta feels like it turned up very late to the party, even if it is comparatively more refined than its zombie-killing brethren. 

As it is now, it could still do well as a Saturday afternoon co-op shooter experience, but in that case, Turtle Rock will simply have to settle for filling that niche and nothing more because it certainly doesn't have the firepower needed to take on the big fish in its pond. 

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.