Back 4 Blood

Playstation LifestyleRebecca Smith

9/10

Many Left 4 Dead fans have been clamoring for a sequel over the 12 years since Left 4 Dead 2 was released—not to mention PlayStation players, who were left out. While a sequel was reportedly in development, it was ultimately cancelled. The problem is Turtle Rock Studios became an independent company back in 2011, while the L4D IP stayed with Valve. Other games have attempted to fill the gap, but now Turtle Rock Studios itself is back with its own attempt. It isn’t called Left 4 Dead 3, but it’s the closest we’re going to get because our Back 4 Blood review finds a spiritual successor with a tw...

MP1STSean Mesler

8.5/10

It’s unfortunate that Back 4 Blood does lack some of the personality of Left 4 Dead but I can safely say that Back 4 Blood is nearly everything I wanted in a Left 4 Dead 3 and then some. Hopefully, over time, Turtle Rock will be able to fix the issues that are present and maybe add in more harrowing Infected, erm, Ridden.

Digital TrendsOtto Kratky

“Back 4 Blood is a solid evolution on Left 4 Dead's co-op action that could be further improved with some slight quality-of-life tweaks.”

Gaming NexusHenry Yu

8/10

Back 4 Blood is a worthy successor to the Left 4 Dead franchise. It maintains the fundamentals of what made the original so addictive and satisfying while adding its own little flair with the rogue-like deck building system. What holds Back 4 Blood from getting a better score is its high price tag and lack of solo play progression.

Capsule ComputersJamie Laike Tsui

8/10

While marred by useless bots, an unnecessary multiplayer mode, and some reused assets; Back 4 Blood is an excellent new take on the 4 player co-op shooter genre.

GGReconFord James

No summary available

GameSpotMark Delaney

7/10

Back 4 Blood's first major expansion deepens the roguelite elements of the game, but still stumbles on issues that have been present since launch.

VideogamerJosh Wise

7/10

In Back 4 Blood, we have been given a finely tooled zombie shooter, but it lacks the power of the original.

TheSixthAxisNick Petrasiti

6/10

I so badly want to love Back 4 Blood, but its grindy nature and difficulty spikes out of nothing let it down, leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth. It has potential for those in it for the long haul, accumulating cards and building specialised decks to match the challenge, but right now I just have no desire to go back 4 more.

StartMenuMatthew John McCormick

Unscored

I am not saying Back 4 Blood is bad by any stretch, as I said I enjoyed it (issues and all), but it is what it is. Do I recommend you pick it up? Yes - on its own merits it does change the formula enough to be a different flavour, but it’s also co-op so even if the game bores you, the fun you can make with the company won't.

The Nerd StashC. Anthony Rivera

Unscored

Back 4 Blood is a great multiplayer shooter for the masses that ultimately neglects its single-player crowd. Playing through the campaign with friends or a legit human team can make a big difference when engaging with this title. It’s best to stick with multiplayer for this title since it’s not solo-friendly. But with literally everything else that comes to mind (from Swarm to the cards and online matchmaking), it’s essential to recognize this game as a damn good time. The bugs are few and far in-between; they definitely won’t get in the way of having a good time – unless you’re playing the ca...

KotakuZack Zwiezen

Unscored

Celebrated filmmaker Jim Jarmusch once said, “Originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it.” Back 4 Blood, a new zombie-themed co-op shooter developed by Turtle Rock Studios, sure puts this principle into practice. Even its name is a direct callback to the studio’s earlier creation, Left 4 Dead, which heavily “inspired” this game.