Eradicate the Ridden and Reclaim the World
Back 4 Blood is back in action as the closed alpha opens today. The team who brought us Left 4 Dead now present a new kind of apocalypse you can play with your friends–50 percent fewer zombies, 100 percent more terrifying parasites. There’s even a version of the special infected in the form of the jumpy four-armed Stingers, the acid-spewing Retch, the disproportionate Tallboys, and the enormous and pissed off Ogres. Players will have a chance to face all of these nasty foes in the closed alpha, which will focus on a single early-game campaign: Evansburgh. Turtle Rock Studios promises that with their new AI game director, each playthrough will be different. New enemies, different weather, and different items to be found are just the tip of the iceberg. Check out this Closed Alpha Briefing for a good explanation of the new card mechanics.
The cards are probably the most interesting addition Back 4 Blood seems to be bringing to the Left 4 Dead formula. Not only will the game director be constantly adjusting to player actions, creating unpredictable and dramatic moments, but it will also incorporate a new roguelike card system. Every game will begin with the game director playing a number of corruption cards that make the game more difficult. Players will then have the opportunity to play their own cards, which will vary widely to suit a number of playstyles. You can earn cards by completing challenges and objectives. Fingers crossed for no micropayments.
At the moment, you can pick from four playable Cleaners: Walker, Holly, Evangelo, and Hoffman. Each of them will have their own character perks and back-up weapons for when the big guns fail you. The final game will have a whopping eight player characters to choose from, and yes, it will support eight-player co-op. Also upcoming in the full game is the opportunity to play as the Ridden. We hope you can customize them. Please, we just want to put a Stinger in the Hunter hoodie. It’s important to us.
Back 4 Blood is scheduled to release on June 22nd, 2021 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC.
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