Back 4 Blood, a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead currently in development by the series’ original creators, is shaping up to be a direct sequel in all but name.
Turtle Rock Studios surprised viewers of last year’s Game Awards when they revealed the title, which, so far at least, appears to contain all the gameplay hallmarks that have become synonymous with Valve’s neglected IP. Safe rooms, four-player co-op, hordes of undead and so-called special infected are all ingredients being thrown into the pot for this addition to the genre, but until now, one key factor has remained unconfirmed.
For those not familiar with Left 4 Dead‘s inner workings, Turtle Rock – then Valve South – created a dedicated game director AI for the title which had the ability to change certain variables in any given match, including item placement and enemy spawns, resulting in a dynamic difficulty depending on how efficiently a player and their team were progressing through a stage. And as revealed in a recent developer insights video, Back 4 Blood will feature a similar system with a few improvements to boot.
One such addition, according to members of the team, is a mechanic dubbed Corruption Cards. These will range from boosting enemy strength, reducing map visibility and adding more enemies and will be controlled directly by the game director. Survivors, on the other hand, will receive their own buffs in the form of talents, which include helpful boons such as increased health, bonus damage when meeting certain prerequisites and elemental resistances. Anyone interested in learning more can give the video in question a watch by hitting the link below.
Back 4 Blood is scheduled for release on June 22nd for Xbox One, Series X|S, PS4, PS5 and PC and pre-orders are available now with several options available. See here for more details.
