Supermassive Games is a British computer game programmer based in Guildford, Surrey. The workshop is best understood for developing horror games such as Up until Dawn for the PlayStation 4 and also The Dark Photo Compilation for Bandai Namco Amusement.
As soon as a new cooop shooter comes to the market, he must always have the same comparison: How does he actually beat against Genreprimus Left 4 Dead 2? In the case of Back 4 Blood, this question is twice as interesting. Finally, with Turtle Rock Studios behind both games is the same developers. Since you already want to know how much of the 12 years later has learned.
In the two weeks after release, we had enough time to try and face both games intensively and want to clarify in this comparison: what distinguishes the two titles exactly? And which is better in the end?
Table of contents
- 1 presentation
- 2story and characters
- 3 campaign
- 4Multiplayer
- 5stone and leveldesign
- 6Gunplay
- 7 Progress Systems
- 8Comfort functions
Presentation
Let s start with the most obvious: the graphic. That s pretty clear. The staging of Back 4 Blood (Buy Now 64,39 € / 53.99 €) Of course, a lot more than the almost twelve-year old left 4 Dead 2. The story is told here with the help of chic render sequences. Character models and objects are much more detailed. For this you just have to watch the human survivors, their hair and faces in comparison. Or the weapons they carry around with them. Also there much more subtleties are recognizable.
Apart from that, lighting and reflections in back 4 Blood are more realistic, with water, explosion and fire effects, of course, the nose is also ahead. The Unreal Engine 4 is just too much more able than the slightly dusted source engine.
Although you can still praise LEFT 4 Dead for how well it has held over a decade. Even in soundtrack and sound design of the weapons, the title makes the clear impression. Nevertheless, the first point on back 4 Blood goes.
Story and characters
Although the Oger is an impressive figure, but always appears only on predetermined locations in the campaign. Source: PC Games Suitable for the staging we want to lose a few words about the campaign. Or rather said: To the story she tells. Of course, this is not really in focus in any of the two titles. It s more about it s tough zombies over the pile of ballers. But those who want to have at least a little framework, which will probably be more happier with Left 4 Dead. Why? Especially due to the charming characters: coach, Rochelle, Ellis and Nick have grown to a heart over the years. Also, because they somehow look like. You do not have a gear of bang-hard motherfuckers, but four very normal types that suddenly find themselves in the middle of the apocalypse and try to make the most of it. In addition, the figures from Back 4 Blood have been trimmed a little too much to the Generation Fortnite. Colorful hair, hip outfits, tattoos and piercings – that was somehow nothing for us.
Left 4 Deads Storytelling also looks more mature. Through conversations between the four protagonists, through details and objects in the area, for example doodles on the wall of a safe room, you learn more and more about the game world. The levels tell their own little stories. Back 4 Blood can not keep up.
Campaign
It looks like the campaign. Again, Left 4 Dead is the clear winner. This is not just because the game fails much longer, it also comes steadily new content. The magic word is here: Mod-Support. Over the years, the community has always come up with additional game elements and content. Perfect example here is the enlargement The Last, which came out in September 2020 for the PC. It was fully created by the community and contains over twenty new maps, a new campaign, new achievements, melee weapons, animations, dialogues, and much more. Back 4 Blood can not attack against. For unavoidable reasons, Turtle Rock has decided not to involve the Steam workshop this time.
It does not remain the only questionable decision of the developer: Back 4 Blood relies on Always-on general incomprehension. Even if you are traveling alone with bots, you have to be connected to the internet. Otherwise nothing works. In addition, your solo mode does not earn progress for statistics or achievements. At least for the current time. For loners, LEFT 4 Dead remains the better choice, even due to the much smarter Ki companion.
Back 4 Blood only has a single multiplayer mode, which may be Left 4 Dead better. Source: PC Games
Multiplayer
Let s jump from single player to multiplayer mode and start with back 4 blood directly. The selection in the multiplayer here is exactly scarce. There are only the swarm mode. That s a kind of versus survival. So she slips alternately into the skin of humans and infected and tried to survive as long as possible or to keep the opposing team exactly from it. Nothing special.
On the other hand, LEFT 4 Dead offers significantly more choice: In addition to Versus survival, there is still normal versus mode. In that, you play through the campaign while the opponent team as a boomer, Charger and wipe make life. This also works in the realism variant in which you go even faster. To do this, the scavenge mode in which your gas can collect, as well as a series of mutation game variants with individual rules – for example, last man standing. Clear thing: Here, Left 4 Dead wipes the floor with back 4 Blood.
Opponent and Leveldesign
Next point: The opponent and level design. Especially with a view of the zombies that surrounds her in the game, Back 4 Blood often looks just like a new infusion of Left 4 Dead 2: Reeker are quasi boomer, the Sleeper is quasi a Hunter. Really new original monsters who have their own character, Turtle Rock did not come up with. The spawning was also solved in Left 4 Dead Cleverer. While the Ogere appears only in certain places, a tank can surpass you anytime, anywhere. While back 4 Blood you would like to overcome with several mutations at once, Left 4 Dead uses its special infected significantly more targeted. In addition, the standard undead, depending on the environment, getting a new coat of painting: In the course of the campaign, you meet clowns, swamp people, racers, construction workers, armored policemen or scientists in protective suits. This ensures variety.
Speaking of environments: The stages are also built differently. Back 4 Blood rather sets on small tubular cards. This underlines such a little the claustrophobic basic mood, but also ensures more dynamics. You will clearly driven in one direction by the zombie masses. Standing and cutting is not an option. This feeling is known from Left 4 Dead also. But there are always more widespread sections in which your time to explore. A nice example of this is the whispering Oaks Amusement Park, whose attractions can even try it yourself.
Gunplay
Ballers in back 4 Blood makes mood. This is also because you can now provide your weapons with attachments. Source: PC Games we come to the actual core business: the gunplay. Here you can definitely stick to that both games make a fun. This is especially due to the fleet control and the successful hit feedback, but also on the large selection of shooting bashing: assault rifles, shotgun, pistols – here is something for every taste. For the weapar areals from the world back 4 Blood has again a little more to offer. Ballistic is much more realistic here: unlike in Left 4 Dead, your creak finally has a recoil and forgiven if you just stump the tray presses.
In addition, your arsenal is much more comprehensive. You not only collect weapons that are killed in the area. You can also buy them at the beginning of a round in the shop and modify them with essays. For any equipment there are levels and rarity levels with color coding. So different weapons actually have different values that you can finally see detailed. A true shooting party! Only movement drops: There is no akimbo function! So you can not race me two desert eagles at the same time through the area. Despite this blatant mesh, we can give the point here but good conscience to back 4 blood.
Progress systems
Back 4 Blood relies on a card system with which you can secure Perks and Benefits for the campaign. Source: PC Games This mass of modification options continues into other areas of back 4 Blood: For example, there are eight different characters with individual skills. The choice of your character is actually playing a role, there are more than purely optical differences. Add to this the card system: For the campaign you build your own deck, which consists of different perks and buffs. At the beginning of a round you can always select one of five random tickets and make you a little easier for the survival battle. You will always get new cards about the supply lines in Fort Hope. This also keeps the motivation high in the long run. There are always new better options that you can customize your deck individually to your game style. Since Left 4 Dead 2 can not keep up.
Comfort functions
Last but not least, we are still devoting ourselves a bit of general playing comfort. This shines back 4 Blood namely with a mass of meaningful quality-of-life improvements. The Koop Shooter offers, for example, CrossSplay. So you do not have to worry about the fellow players. Even the common gambling across different platforms is not a problem.
Besides, you can now go to Kimme and Grain with each weapon, instead of firing them from the hip. That was in Left 4 Dead only with Sniper Rifles possible. There was also a Hit marker before. Your motion repertoire was finally supplemented by climbing, jump and sprint functions. Although the endurance feature introduced thereby can be argued that back 4 Blood is much more the current playful claims as LEFT 4 DEAD, that is probably except question.
And what does that mean for our comparison? At the end there is a balanced four to four. Undescribe so. Whereby the less than criticism of back 4 blood and more than compliment for Left 4 Dead is to be understood. And as an indication that both coal shooters have their rights of existence. One offers a modern presentation and playful depth, the other lots of content and variety. What is more important to you, this must decide at the end of each self. No matter which of the two titles but also grabs you: you will have them with both.
From David Benke
editor
28.10.2021 at 18:00
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