Editorials
‘Back 4 Blood’ Could More Than Fill the Shoes of ‘Left 4 Dead’ [Hands-On Preview]
It may be hard to believe that hit multiplayer games Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 originally took residence in the 2000s—released in 2008 and 2009 respectively. You can still anticipate finding other players online to join in on fighting hordes of zombies when you boot up each title till this day. The series’ enduring legacy is a testament to how well developer Valve had perfected the formula of chaotic, cooperative fun. Safe to say, its spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood, had huge shoes to fill—and I’m happy to report that it managed to achieve that, and more.
Turtle Rock Studios, formerly known as Valve South, has tapped into the winning formula of Left 4 Dead, offering cooperative four-player action with eight new characters (known as Cleaners), each with unique perks, as they face down the undead—now known as Ridden. Of the four characters available during the alpha, I mostly played as Evangelo—quirky and energetic as he promised not to shoot my fellow teammates in the back (again).
As I linked up with three other players to take on Evansburg, the first mission of the game, I was given the option to select one of three difficulties: Classic, Difficult, and Nightmare. Each setting toggles aspects such as how much damage friendly fire inflicts on teammates (with Classic mode nullifying all friendly fire), and the amount of continues available each time the entire team is wiped out. I opted in for Classic for a more relaxed feel as I tried out all gameplay elements.
Before jumping into the campaign, a new card-system presented itself, beckoning me to choose a “deck” and select which cards that I wanted to “play” in the match. Self-admittedly, I was a bit confused at first. The system seems a bit complicated at first glance; however, the tutorial had caught me up to speed of this new “roguelike” system that is implemented in Back 4 Blood. To spice up each campaign and make each playthrough unique, players are given the option to select specific cards with perks that they will carry with them into every campaign. Cards are organized into four categories: Reflex, Discipline, Brawn, and Fortune. Perks can be personal or for the entire team, and range from additional damage when striking weak-spots, to having more health and stamina.
That’s not all though—while players have perks, a new AI system known as the Game Director will also be playing its own “corruption cards” during the campaign, impacting each match based on the behavior of the players. These corruption cards can go as far as to spawn even larger hoards of enemies, to making ammo even more scarce.
As each of my teammates selected their cards, we spawned into the first safe room, as the rowdy Ridden growled and hissed at us from behind the door. This time around, players have the option to use in-game currency in the form of copper to purchase items like med-kits, ammo, upgrades, and more in supply bins of each safe room. I suited up with some bandages and grenades, and we quickly busted through the door, eager to knock the heads off of some Ridden.
The controls and feel of Back 4 Blood are almost completely identical to Left 4 Dead. It felt very easy to familiarize myself with the gameplay, and even if you haven’t played its predecessor, it is very user-intuitive (in addition to helpful hints when applicable). I toggled between Evangelo’s initial AK47 and machete with ease, taking down hordes of Ridden as I came across them. As to be expected, hybrid Ridden make appearances at times, with some having the ability to immobilize my character for brief periods of time, some shooting streams of vomit that impair vision, and now, some in the form of huge, formidable boss fights.
One thing that I immediately noticed as we made our way through each zone is that Back 4 Blood feels a bit more strategic and calculated than Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. The standard Ridden are a bit slower, perhaps a bit more predictable. This isn’t to say that the chaos isn’t still present—Ridden still appear from all angles at any given time, but I found it more beneficial to focus a bit more rather on specific actions than constantly keep moving; thinking back on when I played Left 4 Dead, it often felt like constant motion and spraying at zombies, but in Back 4 Blood, I feel more inclined to take my time in certain moments and focus a bit more on team synergy. Of course, I played on Classic mode, and I expect that the gameplay is probably much more chaotic on Difficult and Nightmare mode for more hardcore players.
The graphics are gorgeous and the Ridden are gore-incarnate. Myself and teammates were completely doused in the guts of the undead as we made our way through tunnels and backwoods. The Cleaners kick up funny banter amongst each other to fill in the quiet moments, and occasionally chastise each other for friendly fire. It completely captures the original charm of Left 4 Dead in every way that you would hope a modern edition would.
As to be expected with an alpha, a couple of bumps in the road presented themselves during my playthroughs. Even with my team of experienced players, we all couldn’t help but get wiped out frequently, specifically due to a reoccurring theme of very scarce ammo during each match. The final act of Evansburg was also a bit wonky, with a seemingly endless stream of Ridden preventing us from completing the final objectives of the mission. However, I was so satisfied with every other aspect of the alpha that these slight mishaps paled significantly in comparison to everything that Back 4 Blood does right.
Based on the alpha, I am convinced that Back 4 Blood will be a welcome addition to both Left 4 Dead veterans and those seeking chaotic, multiplayer fun. Where it could have corrupted an already effective formula established with Left 4 Dead, it instead innovated, and I’m very excited to get my hands on the final product when it’s released next summer.
Back 4 Blood preview code provided by the publisher.
Back 4 Blood will be released June 22, 2021, on PS4, PS5, Xbone One, Series X/S, and PC.
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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