3/5 ★ – SlashStriker's review of Back 4 Blood.

Back 4 Blood is Left 4 Dead minus the heart - and no, not because a ‘not-zombie’ ripped it out. Back 4 Blood is the latest cooperative zombie slaying first person shooter from Turtle Rock Games, in part made by some of the same folks who developed the original Left 4 Dead. In it you move from level to level, slashing and shooting your way through the recently deceased in an attempt to fulfill an objective and escape to a safe room. Gameplay is very straightforward; leave safe room, kill zombies, press button or equivalent, maybe shoot at a bullet sponge boss, then enter safe room. Unfortunately that process has felt better or been expanded in more creative ways in several other games over the last decade since L4D or L4D2. Playing B4B for the first time in 2023 is interesting. The game has had significant post-launch support, something recently announced as ending, and yet it still feels half-baked. The levels are well designed visually, the story of the world has certainly had some work put into it, the weapon variety is good, there’s definitely some redeeming qualities here. Sadly the playable characters are all loud, annoying cardboard cutouts of real people and the levels themselves are far too simple, losing all the magic of exploring a new level in the original L4D games. The card system implemented to create character builds is perfectly serviceable, but does not make up for a shaky foundation. This is a perfectly adequate game to play in the back of your subconscious as you chat with your friends, but not much more. If you want charm, just go back and play L4D1/2. If you want horde based zombie mayhem, check out World War Z. If you want great cooperative zombie gunplay, give Zombie Army 4 a shot. Put simply, looking back in a decade, I don’t think people will be comparing new releases to B4B. I played this game on PS5 as part of my PlayStation Plus Extra subscription. I opted to spend some money to purchase the season pass, and played DLC campaigns through to completion.