Back 4 Blood Review (PS5)

I know what you’re thinking: another first-person shooter I have to play with a controller, and this doesn’t make any sense. At some level, you wouldn’t be wrong, but Back 4 Blood isn’t just a typical shooter.

It’s what many consider the continuation of the Left 4 Dead franchise, a title that has millions of fans all over the world, pretty much on every single platform out there.

And on paper, Back 4 Blood certainly sounds intriguing. It’s a co-op first-person shooter that comes with a cooperative campaign mode, competitive multiplayer support, and what Turtle Rock describes as “extreme replayability.” But let’s just take a look at each of these claims and see how everything actually feels when you get to try them out.

First and foremost, let’s set a few things clear. Left 4 Dead fans certainly know what to expect, but on the other hand, I’ve seen plenty of people claiming this title has nothing to do with Back 4 Blood.

Well, it kind of does, and while comparing the two may not be the easiest thing to do, there’s no doubt those who previously played Left 4 Dead would feel familiar when launching Back 4 Blood. After all, even Turtle Rock mentions Left 4 Dead in the description of its new game, so really now, trying to see the similarities between the two simply happens naturally.

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But we won’t do that because of a little thing that would better fit a conclusion: Back 4 Dead is an insane title that you’ll absolutely love if you’re into post-apocalyptic first-person shooters.

Built with cooperative gameplay in mind, Back 4 Dead had me starring at the graphics on several occasions, and there’s no doubt the PlayStation 5 brings its very own contribution to the whole thing.

The level of details is impressive, to say the least, and if you play the game at night with a proper set of headphones, you’ll love them even more. It feels like a work of art that you can barely find these days, and again, there may be moments when you could end up ignoring the hordes of zombies coming after you and your comrades simply because you’re sitting right there admiring the graphics.

The gameplay too is surprisingly refined, and while some could consider what I’m about to say a blasphemy, this is exactly how it feels after playing Back 4 Blood for a few days in a row. Everything is much more polished than in Left 4 Dead, and the moves, the control, the weapons, all feel extremely natural.

If you think playing a shooter with a PlayStation controller is difficult, let me tell you one thing: Back 4 Blood is the kind of title that could convince you to just give this type of game more time, and eventually, it’s all a matter of how fast you get used to it. And Back 4 Blood makes the whole thing much easier, especially thanks to the control I’ve already mentioned.

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The weapon you choose really makes a difference, and each comes with its very own pros and cons. Being able to customize them is a major step forward, especially if you’re the kind of player who always sticks with the same weapon from one end to the other. Worth knowing, however, is that no matter what weapon you choose, the game is still insanely fun, and you can still fight the zombies with your bare hands as long as the rest of the team has your back.

So overall, the gameplay mechanics have been substantially improved in Back 4 Blood, but one thing that has a major contribution is the new card system.

At the first glance, introducing cards to let you choose the path to follow in the game is something that only makes Back 4 Blood even more complicated, but after figuring out how the whole thing works, everything makes so much sense.

Basically, if you use your cards smart and according to your chosen Cleaner, everything is substantially boosted, including here not only weapons but also the rest of the skills, health, and even the way the team works for you. Team players, for example, can use a card to boost the damage made by the entire team, and of course, everybody’s going to love you for this.

The more you play, the more points and the more cards, and this is one of the main ideas that’s fueling the fun in Back 4 Blood. You could end up customizing every little part of the game using the correct deck, and this contributes to the excellent replayability Turtle Rock is promising.

And indeed, this totally makes a difference, as you can play every move in so many different ways, and what this means for gamers is that getting bored wouldn’t happen too fast.

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Needless to say, each Cleaner comes with its very own set of skills that also change the gameplay and contribute to this concept as well. I had so much fun playing with Mom, but honestly, any of the 8 Cleaners and their special perks and attributes bring a major contribution to every team.

The storyline isn’t the most impressive, but on the other hand, this doesn’t even matter anymore, as it all comes down to fighting for life against the hordes of zombies coming for you. And this is what everybody does anyway, no matter what mode they choose.

As said, you can play the cooperative campaign together with three other friends online, but my experience here has been mixed, to say the least. It all depends on the team because the fight against zombies that you’re promised could end up becoming a never-ending chatter that doesn’t allow you to focus on the game. But on the other hand, with the right team and correctly mixed Cleaners, killing zombies is as entertaining as possible.

The AI still needs some polishing, as they can use all kinds of stuff, including healing items, but I occasionally encountered awkward moments when they just got stuck in the same place and couldn’t do anything.

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The Good

The Bad

CONCLUSION