Back 4 Blood gameplay shows off a bloodier, better looking Left 4 Dead sequel

News
By published

It's Left 4 Dead 3 in everything but name, and that's a good thing

Back 4 Blood
(Image credit: Turtle Rock Studios)

We got our first look at Back 4 Blood gameplay during Turtle Rock Studios' Twitch stream, and it certainly looks like a Left 4 Dead game. 

In the first extended look at gameplay, four survivors (Walker, Holly, Evangelo, and Hoffman) try to make their way out of a hotel that's being overrun by zombies. It's the same four-person co-op you'd expect from a Left 4 Dead game, with characters firing off pithy one-liners left and right, or shouting out special enemies to warn each other. As the team makes their way onto the rooftop and zombies swarm them, it's hard not to get a pang of nostalgia for the original Left 4 Dead title. 

There are key differences here, of course. It's not called Left 4 Dead 3, the zombies are called Ridden, and the graphics look a helluva lot better than Left 4 Dead 2. The gameplay trailer shows off what looks to be a lovely arsenal of weapons, including a mean revolver, an assault rifle, a baseball bat, and grenades. The damage you can do to zombies is more in-depth, with baseball bat swings lobbing off heads or sloughing off chunks of torso skin. It's gory and ridiculous, and exactly how it should be. 

Article continues below

The team gets to the safehouse in the gameplay trailer before heading into a new area full of undead dangers, and it's there we're reminded that this isn't simply a Left 4 Dead sequel. Instead of an 8-foot-tall Tank attacking the survivors, there's an Ogre, and this absolute unit has got to be closer to 20-feet. "Is it just me or are these things getting bigger?" a survivor asks. Same, dude, same.  

Check out the best gifts for gamers ahead of the holiday. 

Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante
Former Features Writer

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar+ and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.