Republished on Wednesday, January 11, 2023: I will be reviving this review from the archives after the announcement. PS Plus lineup for January 2023The original text is below.
This is not Left 4 Dead 3. teeth Left 4 Dead 3. But it’s back 4 bradFour survivors blast through a co-op campaign split into various acts, with secure rooms serving as checkpoints. Most of Ridden (a colorful pseudonym choice for the z-word in this game) is basic fodder, but when more numbers appear, things can get a little complicated. However, in addition to these practice targets, there are special raidens that will give you and your team more trouble. Tallboys, Leekers, Crusher, and terrifyingly gigantic ogres are all mixed together.
if you have played left 4 dead, and I’ve played Back 4 Blood, and that’s not a bad thing.There’s a reason we love Valve’s classics (and their sequels, of course).The shootouts here are snappy and satisfying. , with meaty acoustics and absolutely spectacular gore. The level design is also strong, and while encounters with hordes of zombies are a hallmark of the game that were often overwhelming, we never felt that Back 4 Blood presented us with impossible odds. I did.
It’s all very familiar, but not derivative and the same old, but rather a way of feeling snug and comfortable. where A is a secure room and B is another secure room.Each scenario has multiple chapters, with a wealth of set pieces, secrets, and most importantly, seemingly (and actually) Ridden’s endless stream explodes into chunks of meat.
Replay value is the name of the game here, no two sessions are the same. Said Director plays corruption cards that change the rules of each mission via a faceless, voiceless AI. These cards have various effects, such as increasing the number of certain her Ridden types, or simply making them more deadly. You can also get cards that affect vision. A thick pale fog covers the ground. However, it’s not all bad. Some challenges offer a risk/reward system, such as requiring you to carry objects from start to finish, taking up valuable inventory space. However, it is worth getting more copper.
Yes, Copper – the currency in missions. Don’t panic. We are not talking about microtransactions here.Each stage has small caches of copper here and there that reward skillful play. Used in rooms. That’s not necessarily what you’re saying i need itfirearms and melee weapons are everywhere (as you’d expect from a zombie apocalypse), but it feels good to be rewarded for your diligence with a more powerful shotgun, for example. Instead, it leads to the rest of the card system.
To unlock cards for your deck, you need to earn Supply Points. An array of equipable, game-changing buffs and benefits that form the true meat and potatoes of Back 4 Blood’s commendable customization. With these, you can tailor your playstyle to your deck, bring in purchased cards (and those found in the missions themselves) to improve ammo capacity, recovery speed, and all sorts of different modifications to the game. increase. It’s alongside all the benefits you get from your survivor of choice, and is basically a class-based format where certain characters are more useful than others on certain maps or scenarios.
Of course, all this isn’t worth it without strong online performance. Luckily, I had no issues at all with friends or random sessions. A quickplay option was always provided, and campaign setup was never a long wait, even late in the game.
I wish I could say it’s just as good in single player, but it’s not. You cannot earn supply him points by playing alone. It’s a strange choice given that there is absolutely no justification for this restriction. That said, solos are unlikely to be the main focus. Especially since the (rare) incomplete team-filling bots are very lax when it comes to reviving incompetent players. Back 4 Blood will shine with friends and absolutely riot regardless of each other’s skill levels.
Speaking of which, while Left 4 Dead 2’s PvP was hugely popular, Back 4 Blood’s implementation of a similar mode (called Swarm) feels insultingly bare-bones. Players control both Survivors and Ridden’s armies, but without the nuances and tactical scope of Left 4 Dead’s beloved competitive mode. It almost feels like an afterthought. absolutely It will be addressed in a future update or patch.
At least the graphics are great, running at the smooth 60 frames per second we’ve come to expect from a PlayStation 5, which we think is better than the slightly washed out Xbox Series X (and it’s Whisper) with vibrant colors and lighting. Although both run at the same 4K resolution.I’m sure it’s possible because it’s cross-gen theoretically It looks better, but when you’re shoulder-deep in Raiden’s guts, there’s little time to complain about aesthetics.
Conclusion
Having spent a lot of time on Back 4 Blood, we think it’s well worth your time and most importantly your money. Blowing Raiden’s head off or hitting him like a watermelon with a baseball bat in an anime beach episode is a lot of fun. It doesn’t really offer a compelling experience solo – the bots are a little too stupid for that – but Back 4 Blood should be a multiplayer fixture for generations to come. As long as you don’t put out in a year.
