More people are currently playingLeft 4 Dead 2on Steam than the recently releasedBack 4 Blood. This is curious asBack 4 Bloodis a spiritual successor to theLeft 4 Deadseries; it was developed by the original creators and features many similar mechanics to the classic Valve co-op shooter. There have been plenty of “Left 4 Dead-likes” announced over the past year includingRedfall,The Anacrusis, andAliens: Fireteam Elite, butBack 4 Bloodwas perhaps the most anticipated because of the reputation behind its studio.
Thus, many have been wondering why players still seem to prefer a game from 2009 over its more modern counterpart, especially sinceBack 4 Bloodreviewed pretty favorably. It’s important to note thatBack 4 Bloodcertainly has a fanbase and isn’t being outdone byLeft 4 Dead 2by all that much, but it seems like the differences betweenLeft 4 DeadandBack 4 Bloodas a modern experience are what’s setting the two apart.
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Something that really makestheLeft 4 Deadseriesstand out among the hordes of other zombie-shooter games is that its writing and style is self aware enough to recognize the absurdity of its concept while taking the threat of its zombies seriously. It doesn’t lean too far into goofiness so that nothing is treated with weight, but it also pokes fun at a lot of zombie tropes by styling itself as a zombie movie or limited-run TV series. Bombastic, over-the-top set pieces are memorable because of how well it rides the line of absurdity and seriousness.
Back 4 Blood, on the other hand, plays things relatively straight.Its cast of Cleanersmake quips from time to time, but the story itself is rather bleak, with players having to navigate through unmarked mass graves and quarantine containment zones that hit a little too close to home given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the day, its serious tone clashes with the bright personality of many characters, making a dissonance that doesn’t do the game any favors in the charm department.
Back 4 Blood’s Modern Take on Zombie Survival
Also adding tothe more serious tone ofBack 4 Bloodis the way its game mechanics work. Turtle Rock Studios decided to ditch the run-and-gun feel ofLeft 4 Deadin favor of more modern shooting mechanics that involve slowing to aim down sights and prioritizing small weak points as opposed to the general bullet spray ofL4D.
That isn’t an inherently bad thing, but it does give the game a feel closer to that ofCall of Duty,and makes it feel a lot more serious as a result.Left 4 Deadalways prioritized arcade fun over realism, which added to its self-aware style. InLeft 4 Dead, there wasn’t such a focus on what attachments each weapon had and there wasn’t as much strategizing when it came to deciding what to pick up beyond which weapons the player prefers.
None of this is to say thatBack 4 Bloodis bad or deserves to perform worse thanLeft 4 Dead, it just seems like the game doesn’t have much to set it apart from the other zombie shooters that have come before it. MeanwhileLeft 4 Deadstill feels freshdespite being over 12 years old.
Back 4 Bloodis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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