Everything We Know about Back 4 Blood

Back 4 Blood will release worldwide tomorrow, so let’s round up all the info we have on this highly-anticipated FPS game. If we go by the millions who attended the open beta, we’re going to have another zombie-shooter hit on our hands.

First off, check out the Back 4 Blood trailer here:

Back 4 Blood is the spiritual successor of the co-op zombie shooter Left 4 Dead. The game is being developed by Turtle Rock Studios, who are composed of developers who worked on the original Left 4 Dead series--and the influence is clear. That said, it’s not a direct sequel or even a clone of the Left 4 Dead franchise, with the developers stating “there’s a whole lot of new stuff in Back 4 Blood which makes it unique.”

Back 4 Blood’s Story

As shown in the Back 4 Blood trailer, the world is infected by a parasite called the Devil Worm, apparently alien in origin, that mutates humans into mindless, rampaging zombies. But humanity isn’t going to take this lying down. They have sent in veterans to fight back and reclaim the world from the Ridden, block by block and city by city.

Back 4 Blood features 33 unique levels, divided into four chapters. 

Back 4 Blood Gameplay

Back 4 Blood resembles Left 4 Dead in terms of gameplay, with a team of four players fighting swarms of zombies with ranged and melee weapons. The Co-op mode is played across several chapters. In the Versus mode, two teams of four play against each other, with Cleaners on one side and Ridden on the other.

Back 4 Blood gameplay includes a Card system that changes elements in the game, making each playthrough and match different. Corruption cards are selected by the Director and increase the difficulty of the level by changing the parameters of the Ridden, the level hazards, and the weather. Active Cards are selected by the players and provide them with some advantages. There are four categories: "Reflex" (blue), "Discipline" (red), "Brawn" (green), and "Fortune" (yellow). Each category has four types: Offense, Defense, Utility, and Mobility.  

The Cleaners

The Back 4 Blood trailer introduces us to a bunch of new characters collectively known as the Cleaners. This ragtag bunch of gung-ho gunners might be the planet’s only hope against the Ridden. 

Back 4 Blood has eight playable Cleaner characters, with two more in the Deluxe and Ultimate editions. Each Cleaner has their own abilities, starting equipment, and perks as indicated here: 

• Evangelo - a young man new to the Cleaners but who has proven himself a capable fighter. Uses a machete as his favorite weapon. 
  • Perks: Can break out of grabs, +5% team speed, +25% stamina regeneration, and starts with a Molotov.
• Hoffman - a bespectacled middle-aged male and the team’s gun expert. Uses an M1911 Pistol.
  • Perks: Finds ammo on killed Ridden, increases team’s max ammo capacity by +10%, +1 Offensive Inventory, Starts with an Ammo Pack.
• Doc - the team's medic, indispensable for her healing expertise.
  • Perks: Heals Each Teammate by 25 once each level, Increased healing efficiency, increase to Team Trauma Resistance
• Jim - a hunter and ex-military man who raises the team’s damage ability
  • Perks: Precision Kills increase damage by 5% up to a max of 50% until damage is taken, + ADS Speed, + Team Weakspot Damage
• Holly - a young, happy-go-lucky girl who wields a spiked bat in combat.
  • Perks: Recovers 10 Stamina when killing a Ridden, +25 Stamina, +10% Damage Resistance, starts with a Stun Gun
• Walker - a ranger and ex-military who wields a Glock pistol.
  • Perks: Precision kills increase Walker's Accuracy by 20% for 5 seconds, +10 Team Health, +10% Damage, Starts with Frag Grenade
• Karlee - a street-smart survivor who can detect hazards. Wields a TEC 9 gun.
  • Perks: Senses Hazards, + 1 Quick Inventory, + Team Use Speed
• Mom - the tough matron of the group who’s out to avenger her dead son. She fights with a Belgian shotgun.
  • Perks: Can revive an incapacitated teammate once each level, + 1 Team Extra Life, + 1 Support Inventory, Start with Pain Meds

The Ridden

On the other side of the coin are the zombie-like mutants that torment the players. Humans who have succumbed to the deadly Devil Worm parasite, the Ridden swarm over abandoned cities and will prove to be a formidable foe for the Cleaners.

There are two main types of Ridden:

Common Ridden

The regular type of zombie, their greatest strength lies in their numbers. They can have variations like Armored, Runners, Sprinters, Blighted, and so on.

Special Ridden

These are Ridden that have undergone further mutation to give them special abilities that make them more dangerous than the Common Ridden and will certainly push the Cleaners to their limits.

There are various types of Ridden, each with their own variants.

Stingers

The Stinger type ridden have four arms, are fast and agile, and can hide in dark areas. Basic Stingers can cling to walls, leap through the air to close distance, or escape quickly. They also shoot projectile vomit that can blind and slow a target. 

Variants: 

• Hocker - has a harpoon attack that will paralyze a target and make them lose health over time. 
• Stalker - instead of a ranged attack, Stalkers have a melee attack and can pounce on targets to drag them away.

Reekers

Large Ridden that explode when killed, covering the players in the blast radius with sticky pus. Those hit by the substance are attacked by Common Ridden.

Variants:

• Retch - vomits acid that damages a target and leaves a pool that injures those who pass through
• Exploder - explodes at will with more damage and a larger radius

Tallboy

Tall Ridden that can rush at players and smash them with their oversized club-like hand. They can take a beating.

• Crusher - can grab players and crush them, paralyzing them while dealing damage over time
• Bruiser - can deal damage very quickly by smashing players with a chain of attacks

Snitchers

Long-necked Ridden that screech when startled, summoning a horde of Ridden to attack the players.

Sleepers

Ridden with their lower halves blown off. They will tackle players to the ground, pinning them until another player shoots them off.

Bosses

Dangerous Special Ridden that are hard to kill and have deadly abilities. It’s often advisable to just run away from them.

• Breaker - large Ridden that can charge at players and smash them until dead. It functions a lot like the Tank in Left 4 Dead, only more agile.
• Hag - a nightmarish zombie with a mouth full of hands. Can swallow players whole and run away with them. It will attempt to bury underground to escape, leaving its captive player effectively dead.
• Ogre - enormous 20-foot tall Ridden composed of fused corpses. While slow, they do tremendous damage from hurling objects, and can even reach into buildings to grab players. They can also heal themselves. Caution is advised when confronting one.
• Worm Ridden - a gigantic worm that hides underground and emerges to attack.

Back 4 Blood PC Requirements

Minimum 

• CPU: i5-6600 (3.3 GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (3.4 GHz)
• RAM: 8 GB
• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 570
• Disk Space: 40 GB
• Dedicated Video RAM: 4096 MB

Recommended 

• CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 (2.8 GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (3.6 GHz)
• RAM: 12 GB
• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 590
• Disk Space: 40 GB
• Dedicated Video RAM: 4096 MB

Back 4 Blood Release Date

The Back 4 Blood release date is October 12, 2021 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

With the game launching tomorrow, take this chance to look at our price comparisons for Back 4 Blood. You can find even more game deals with dLCompare.com’s price comparison tool for the games you’re waiting for.