Left 4 Dead successor Back 4 Blood resurfaces with some concept art
Have some hope.
It's been a long time since we've heard anything about Back 4 Blood, but thankfully it looks like the Left 4 Dead spiritual successor hasn't returned to the grave. Developer Turtle Rock Studios (who was acquired by, then separated from Valve during Left 4 Dead's development), still isn't giving much away about Back 4 Blood, but you can now stare at a single piece of concept art.
Back 4 Blood was announced back in March 2019, and in the time since we've learned very little. It's a co-op FPS where you put zombies back in the ground, with PvP, a campaign and a new universe—so it's not officially connected to L4D. And that's about it. The concept art, however, does give us a few clues about what to expect.
A fort suggests that it's been some time since the zombies first appeared. It's a makeshift deal, covered in barbed wire and rusty, corrugated iron, but it's big and pretty elaborate—too elaborate for this to be early on in the zombie apocalypse. And given that Turtle Rock has chosen to show this off first, it probably has a lot of significance. Perhaps it's a hub where the party can prepare between missions, like Vermintide 2's Taal's Horn Keep.
The Left 4 Dead series is all about escape, with the party trying to find a safe haven right after the virus starts turning everyone into ravenous corpses, but the concept art and even the title itself, Back 4 Blood, make me think this time it's going to be about fighting back. Maybe we'll be patrolling, clearing areas and chipping away at the horde instead of constantly running to evacuation points.
At this point, however, it's all speculation. We've not even seen a screenshot yet. And as for a trailer? "We're working on it," says Turtle Rock, more recently known as the studio behind Evolve.
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Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.
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