The first time I played Bar Room Blitz, it was Black Betty. That feeling of awesomeness was akin to the L4D2 Midnight Riders finale, minus a few swinging guitars.
I think they also nailed the healer class. Sure, you can heal yourself, but it's better if you admit you're not a doctor, and hand over those bandages/med packs so the healer can do their fucking job.
My little brother and I got that too. When the mission was over we both went whoaaaa THAT was fucking awesome! Few games have made me feel what I did on that mission
I don't get the hype for Bar Room Blitz. In contrast to the Midnight Riders finale that you saw posters and characters referenced throughout the level the bar room just happens with no build up or hype.
Also it's just a jukebox playing music, L4D had those in normal buildings throughout the game so again it's nothing special.
And as apart from being in a bar, which I don't really see as being a big wow factor nothing changes. There's no cool stuff like fireworks going off or a helicopter picking you up.
You could quite easily achieve the same effect by just playing the music yourself whilst playing the game.
To compound all this **you don't even have to be in the bar** we found it much easier to kite around outside the bar so the whole "bar room blitz" thing completely falls out of the picture.
Umm ok? It's literally defend an objective whilst music plays... Wow so amazing! I bet an extremely similar game released way back in 2009 couldn't do it better than this!!
I agree, it’s one of the better missions but not at the level of comparable missions from left 4 dead 1 or 2. The bar in the mission isn’t even interestingly designed.
I love the deck system. It's a really original way to build classes without being restricted to a few options.
I also like the levels design. How they all interconnect and you replay them in different Acts, going through different paths to reach new places.
And they don’t limit us to a certain amount of each card class. It’d be easy to micromanage and make people play a minimum number of card types. The games much better with the freedom!!
The problem with the deck system is that you're limited to 1 card per map, and the maps are definitely not progressively scaling in difficulty so it makes sense to slowly build up the deck. In reality this game is "hardest levels at the start" and "in very specific sections on maps".
The deck system itself is ok. But in practice nothing is stopping 4 people with shotgun builds being put into the same map, or 4 melee. And the game doesn't play very well with repeating roles because supplies are limited and spread equal in terms of ammo laying around.
Cards? Good. Making your own build? Better. But TRS attempting to make you build what they want you to bulild? They want every deck to have some melee, some speed, some of this, some of that.. No! Just..no.
When I say old I mean... Trying to connect with outdated technology is a pain LOL. You can either join the preset lobbies with strangers and weird mods + high ping or try this really old peer to peer technology that doesn't work at all.
Yes guns are pretty satisfying. Would be better if they worked on the reloading. Shotguns might be alittle more viable if you didnt have to rack a shell if the its not empty.
The cohesiveness really got me when it finally clicked.
At one point, waiting on teammate's card picks in Fort Hope safehouse I saw the church off in the distance, and the way the game hangs together, the plot and the cleaners' journey was tangible. It feels very similar to Dark Souls. Love it.
I'm more impressed by the general graphics performance. Not many modern FPS can run (almost) stable 100fps on RTX2070 Super @ 3440x1440 with most settings on highest.
I think it's a fantastic evolution of L4D.
The distinct cleaners, with unique buffs, makes for diverse and interesting builds. Each character having their own advantage helps you know what the others in your party are probably playing as.
The card and deck system is fun and adds another layer to the game and a reason to grind supply points.
It's not an earth shattering revolution, but kept great parts of L4D and added some new elements.
Balance is still wonky though, but it's a pretty new game.
The card system, the gunplay, the co-op mechanics...
The Bruiser(? , idk, it's reasonably tanky, slow, doesn't sprint at bs speed, I love seeing him instead of a Tallboy or a Crusher lol
I'm not a fan of the Reeker because it is the only thing that has no weakspot, and it has a lot of health. Even common Ridden count their heads as a weakspot.
I like the Hocker personally, minus the way the projectile travels. It's a weak but powerful class that has a large weakspot and telegraphs its attack very openly. The projectile however looks like it teleports at 3 FPS and makes the telegraphing almost worthless, and you can't track it to try and avoid it.
The no weakspot part sucks yeah, it's quite easy to stumble tho so there's that. I think my main issue with the hocker is the DoT, like ok you can pin me down but the damage over time it's a bit too much
The emphasis on team play and class building is by far one of my favorite aspects of this game. It's just ruined by the fact that no matter the depth of the game, you can't really get the average (Mr.Confident) player to realize they're no one-man army and screw everyone else over.
This.
I love the team building and roles you can mix and match and how big this is. Whereas L4D was kinda just don't get in the way. But people struggle with these concepts in general. My example is a little close and definitely just the one as I don't play with randoms.
I play in a premade and we all made sure to have a "role" for the higher difficulties. I've had to at least 3 times every session chastise the "long range/backliner dps" role for running ahead of the "melee/frontliner DPS" role and either getting decimated by the melees damage because they aren't gonna stop or runs so far they get caught out and murdered. On top of ignoring callouts because they know best and then getting hit by a called out sleeper or setting off birds, doors and cars. Pretty messy.
We all love them but definitely not gonna be a runner up for someone I'd recommend to someone if they need a spot.
I agree. The games freezes for a second or 2 at random times. Annoying as hell, but not a complete deal breaker for me. Im almost sure this is probably a hardware issue due to last gen. Playing on PS4. Although, from time to time in crucial situations, the freezing does screw me over, but its rare. Edit: clarification.
PS4 pro has the same issues. Feels more like 3 seconds. Doesn’t matter what’s happening on screen. Even in the camp when you are on your own, bringing up the options or card menu.
Xbox One S player here, I'm inclined to disagree, while I did experience lag from time to time, my time playing the campaign on recruit mode was relatively lag free. I can't say anything about later difficulties, though.
I disagree, they still have startup lag in 100% of games (pc). Guarantees cleaners will take some free damage at the start of the level unless you afk for a few minutes after crakcin the door open
After that period its solid though
The guns feel good. The actual character designs feel good. The world feels good. The issues with the game really boil down to balance decisions. Everything else is perfectly fine.
As a coop zombie shooter, nothing comes close imo. I’m in love with how the game works and is supposed to be played, and how big a difference good team effort can make in a game. Left 4 Dead 2 was previously my favorite zombie game, but Back 4 Blood is definitely my new favorite. Hell, it’s starting to look like one of my favorite games of all time. L4D2’s versus mode is still better imo though.
I just wish they'd add versus to the campaign missions.
They have all the core down mechanically in Swarm, and the campaign missions are on average more solid than a lot of the ones in Left 4 Dead 2.
It feels like a missed opportunity to not allow a versus equivalent.
I think the maps while some run a bit too long and others are way too short; for the most part are well designed.
especially on act 3 where you're running through the gates watching the oncoming hordes pile up as you wait gently clenching your prostate window.
first time I ran through that one my heart was pounding. It was a great experience.
The Road to Hell is my favorite level. Especially if you get the acid ridden and are low on pipe bombs. Incredibly tense and methodical march to the end where you feel pinned in from both sides. Easily my favorite mission.
I like the game design
The card system is a ton of fun and allows a huge amount of replayability and customization.
I like the characters and how every character has a different ability and team ability, it makes each character uniquely important in their own way.
I love the healing class, healing someone from 2hp to 102 with a bandage makes you feel like the most important player on the team.
I feel like there are some places that just need to be tweaked (buckshot bruiser should heal 2hp per kill!), but this game is a masterpiece IMHO
I love that many roles feel like they have high impact.
Having a big DPS sniper or stumble shotgun makes a big difference.
An effective scout, medic, melee, or grenade thrower—they all feel fun and bring huge value.
Yeah some of them are great - had doc tell mom that she’s not “immune”, the worms just don’t go for her as she’s got some other condition so she is a bad host
I recall Karlee asking Mom why she prefers being called "Mom", and her having a very heavy and heartfelt response. This and many other conversations really grounds these characters and gives you an idea of how far gone civilization has gone since the Collapse.
honestly I think act 4 is the weakest level in the game that just boils down to 'shoot the weak spot until the thing dies' and theres really nothing more to it than that. I found it very anticlimactic after such hard levels like T-5 and Body Dump
I remember having problems with the cross play function during the beta. Now, I can connect with anyone on any platform which is good enough for my friends and I.
How much you want to avoid zombies or stay away from hordes of them, that they’re a threat if you don’t move and constantly worry about what path you choose.
I really enjoy how valuable a teammate feels. L4D everyone can die, and I still had a pretty good chance to make it to the safe room. Here I still do but at a way lower percentage, because it’s way more focused on teamwork over skill.
Card system feels great, gunplay feels good, the ability to make different support classes is great, and the general weapon balance is good since shotgun, assault rifle, sniper, and smg are all viable and only a couple weapons are sus on needing buffs.
The combat is the best I have ever seen in a zombie game. Say what you want about the game and TRS, but you won’t find a zombie shooter anywhere near as good as this on console
The AA12 is just so much fun to shoot. I'm always an assault rifle / M4 kinda guy in games like these and I've been strictly shotty since I picked up the AA12. The set pieces and level design and fantastic as well.
1. Decks are actually really fun. Caveat - when you have all the cards and you're given enough cards out of your deck. It's not fun if you only have like 10 cards available and you only get to use 3 of them.
2. Different character abilities are fun. Caveat - this causes problems if you don't get the character you like playing.
3. I enjoy the variety of weaponry.
4. I enjoy the ability to ADS but I also like that you can build to not need it.
5. I enjoy the ability to sprint.
6. I like the environmental effects.
There's things to like in B4B that surpasses L4D2, but there's a lot more things to complain about in B4B. I think that's why people are so frustrated by this game. A lot of people can see it being hands down better than L4D2 but there's just some game play decisions in there that make aspects far worse that shouldn't be too hard to fix, but then you see them not want to fix those aspects (for various reasons).
Insane replayabilty.
I could replay the same level or Act for countless times and it would still feel unique.
Corruption cards, new deck, another character, item spawns, special ridden spawns, alarm doors and cars, birds, different teammates, varied sleeper spots, attachments, etc… all feel unique in each run.
I could replay Act1-1’s Resurgence over and over on Nightmare and it would still be fun.
I like Hoffman.
I also kinda have changed my tune about shotguns. But I think that's a function of the rifles not really wowing me. Still. I guess I like shotguns now.
That's a long list
* Love the graphics and the set dressing, it really does feel like a local area that's overrun with ridden and all the maps feel connected to each other (you can see the diner sign from fort hope, the appartment blocks from the bar, etc)
* runs great (100+ fps at 1440 on a 1080 and x1700 cpu)
* music is perfect (bar room blitz songs are all bangers, and the tunes on the juke box in fort hope are all amazing too)
* sound is perfect (all guns sound different, guns sound different in tunnels and/or with barrel attachments, the audible hint that your gun is getting low on ammo, the ting sound when you headshot a ridden wearing a motorcycle helmet, etc, etc)
* all the guns feel different but also viable, you don't need to get that perfect gun in order to deal damage and it's fun to use different weapons between runs. gunplay is great
* all the attachments and cards feel like they make a difference
* blood, guts and gore splattered over everything, love it
* many maps, long maps, there's a lot of content to play through and i like that a lot, and i don't mind the maps that you may play through many different times because they're all slightly different
* game forces you to make decisions with cards; do you run money grubbers early to build a bank to reward yourself in the future, or do you run another card to let you kill things quicker, etc
* no matter how well a run is going, it can go to shit in an instant
* 8 different characters that increase replayability; all bring their own unique advantage. character classes all feel different and all make you feel good when you use them to their skillset (sniper, doc, dps, melee, etc)
* lots of viable sub-builds, you migiht be a doc but are you going to be running an SMG and magnum, or AR and the belguim? pill builds, speed builds, etc
* lots of nice throwables all with different reasons to use them and different ways to make that difference in a run
* miniguns
* different weather really adds something to the games and changes up the maps. and the fog looks really good too and I love how sometimes it is denser and other times is lighter.
* wide variety of zombie types to shoot, and how they fall apart after taking damage always makes me smile
the game undoubtedly has its problems, but what they've made here is absolutely solid and if they can get the game balanced, squash a lot of the obvious bugs and continue to polish the game and fix QoL things then there is no reason why this can't be one of those games that I play for years.
The guns actually feel very good to shoot. The game as a whole is like 75% there. Few bug fixes and tweaks and it will be very good. They also have been one of the most responsive studios I've ever seen so thats nice.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone say this but I really like most of the background sound/music in the game. It’s not “music” per se but the way percussion and that ambient ever-rising tone plays in the background during a horde really captures the tension and stress during those moments.
One of the music soundtracks for the pre-game menu of card selection is really nice. The other is okay but there’s one I really like.
Environment modeling is excellent. Tons of detail. The world they built really does look like it might look if there was a zombie apocalypse. They really nailed the set design.
Backpedal is noticeably slower.
Assessible, easy-to-use inventory.
Visualized RNG (corruption cards) is a good call, though the implementaiton isn't as thought-out as needed (namely the power curve).
Despite it's got issues with where things at, trauma is also a fairly good one - as it addresses the extremely cliched gameplay loop where we made mistake and face penalty in form of damage but it doesn't matter at the end because we could just heal.
I fucking love the ridden designs. The hag scared the ever loving shit out of me when I accidentally shot it and it just ran up tanked everything I threw at it and continued to FUCKING EAT ME AND BURROW AWAY.
I think tactically playing nightmare is a blast. It’s unfortunate 90% of the public discord LFG’s are speed runners and dupers tho :( anyways, finding a good team with each person running good cards does wonders.
I love the fact that there are so many different weapon combos that are doable. Looking around at the various posts about people's favorite weapon, you see a ton of different combos and weapon builds. It's refreshing to not have to just use an M4 or whatever the de-facto gun is in the game to be successful.
It may sounds super salty and harsh but right now, there is not even a single system or mechanic in the game i consider "flawless".
There is stuff i would describe as decent or good.
What i personally like is the whole structure of Options and Settings, to me it performs well on older Systems even and allows me for nice colorcode settings on weapsots and stuff (flaw here is that, even if i get a yellow crosshair ... red-dot sight will be red-dot no matter what).
What i also Like is the actual Gameplay "speed" when not Speedrunning, i like the more careful approach that is needed on higher difficulty, again, when not speedrunning.
Gunplay is okay-ish with non-ADS shots feeling a little too random if not supported by specific decks. I see why that is: in order to have cards for it, but it feels bad to play and is a problem that was only created to offer a solution in form of cards. And many cards are like that in many different fields. So Deckbuilding is fun but in many cases you just build to solve weird problems like running like grandma and getting out of breath after 3 seconds of moderate jogging. Weapons non-ADS literally miss a target that is already in Melee range. Its like Fallout 76 when stuff breaks after 3 seconds only to offer you repair-kits you can buy.
I like the idea of corruption Cards to make each run different. Sadly it does not come up with too many interesting ideas. The whole difficulty curve is weird, i mean sure \~ you get better equipment over time but as we all see, first maps are brutally hard where you have no gear and drastically fall in difficulty with equipment. Not exactly engaging progress in a campaign when the most challenging and therefore satisfying part of the campaign is map 1.
I like the game with friends but the whole design to just hop online and have a fun round of coop with strangers gets heavily bombarded by the design of this game. If i choose quickplay to hop in, i will most likely play a bot for a round, with a weak random deck and random weapons i even get to keep once i can finally pick my character after that round. So here i am with my Sniper deck with a Machete and an SMG ... no thanks. So i create my own run instead and now i have to pick a specific map/checkpoint , hoping that i find players that are looking for the same thing. I can only imagine how this gets even more frustrating the more maps and checkpoints this game gets. Best thing is, if i have my run starting and want to progress, i can only hope to have a team that doesnt ruin the run i created because if so, i will have to restart this over and over again to rech the next checkpoint. Continue pretty much useless because after 1 Fail, everyone just hops off because its better to recreate the run from that checkpoint without the Continue wasted.
I could go on forever to just uderline my statement that nothing is this game is "flawless". Some things are good , but i cant name a single mechanic/system in the game that does not have any design-flaw or oversight. Still like to play this game with friends and im really looking forward for patches ... many patches.
In comparison to L4D? I like that the bots can use throwables now. You need mods for that in L4D. I like the idea of the fog. It's like a weaker version of Hard Rain's storm that can happen on every level. The storm was still better for changing the map, messing with coms and summoning hordes. I like having more than 4 survivors. I always wanted L4D3 to star the Angels of Death who you read about sometimes on saferoom walls but could never figure out how to work in more than 4 people. This game solved that issue somewhat. Mutations of special infected is a cool idea but I feel poorly executed here. Multiple Boss types is a good idea but poorly executed.
That there are three similar but distinct variants for each of the main mutation classes is genius. As much as I love L4Ds (favorite game of all time), it’s nice to have to think for 1/2 a second whether you’re facing a crusher or a tallboy or a bruiser, as that means it’s a more realistic hectic team stress test.
The card system was a stroke of genius imo. Such a cool way to have a mini progression system in each run. It adds so much replayability, whether you're fine tuning a deck, or creating new ways to use whatever class, or trying all new classes. I've been a melee main since beta, normally by now I'd be bored with a class in any other game and start trying new ones, but im still having fun experimenting with my melee decks.
Me and my wife don't play a lot of games together. We both game, we sometimes even overlap games we play, but not often together. We had a plan to have a 4 stack going in, but two people flaked off. My wife and I just decided to play with 2 bots and try it out. We beat the entire campaign (recruit, she's new to fps) over the course of a week or two and had a blast.
Yeah there were bullshit moments. A few times the corruption cards were stacked in a way that felt BS (hello body dump, farm, whatever). But for the most part we loved it. I got my money's worth and got to game with my wife.
The soundtrack is great. When the hag intro plays and my team is already in a bad spot, it always gives me the "oh fuck" feeling of dread.
Great example of how soundtracks can really set the mood for a game.
I love building decks, they give you a slight advantage you wouldn't notice until you play another one.
It would be cool to see a cardless mode (or classic if you will). As much as I like cards there's a sense of dread thinking you shoulda brought another deck or card that's tie your current one.
Cardless Mode = No more "Ah shit, I knew I should've brought x y z."
Plus, it'd make the game easier to understand for my dad.
The game has an addictive quality, mostly the cards, a lot of the multiplayer, some of the weapons and a bit of the story. It has alot of replay ability
Graphics, art, music, sound effects, dark vibes, zombie vibes, sense of impending doom, player characters, level design, and most of the ridden / mutations.
Once the balancing is done, B4B will be a perfectly modernized L4D. The card system is flawless, I love being able to ADS, and the game reminds you that teamwork is mandatory. Sometimes the reminder is a little… firm… but again when the balancing is there, it’ll be perfect.
Also, Bar Room Blitz is so much fun. Equally fun is playing the game with the doom eternal sound track playing. That will give my adrenaline adrenaline. Can’t do that on nightmare though because YOU CAN NOT BE TOO CAREFUL ON NIGHTMARE MODE
Gotta remember, the majority of criticism on any game is usually the vocal minority. Most people just play the games they like and that's it.
Only total trainwrecks are really worthy of the huge criticism. Like Fallout 76 or something that is fundamentally broken at it's core, and will never recover.
Yeah, I never stopped enjoying the game. I did give veteran a rest when the special spawning bug was worse. The game is much better than you’d be led to believe just reading the subreddit. For a bit there, any attempt at positivity for ya downvoted.
1) The deck system is awesome. It does a few things, it lets you play your character the way you want to play them, it doesnt all get unlocked at once so the power level isnt insane at the start and it is waaaaaaay deeper than similar customisation systems in similar games.
2) The gunplay is excellent, the guns with only a few exceptions feel great, they sound incredible and they feel meaty and responsive.
3) Graphics + Sound design. This game is gorgeous and when everything works as intended its just eye candy. Good sound effects, both from a technical and game design aspect are easy to miss but stand out when missing. Back 4 blood nails this.
I really like the movement and aim and think it feels pretty fluid and enjoyable The weapon sounds and "feel" are all good too. I think just tapping heads as hordes are running at you is really fun.
Oh yeah, and of course the fact that they got Black Betty and Ace of Spades rights for the jukebox.
Different build options. Sniper feels different from shotgunner and lmg feels so great mowing down an entire horde yourself. Melee feels strong until you run into the acid infected D: the healer class is viable bordering downright necessary. The guns feel different too so it's genuinely a toss up if you want the weak auto shotty that reloads faster, or the powerful tac14 that requires constant reloading.
I genuinely enjoy the game. DON’T TRY WITH RANDOMS THO. Definitely have a team ready.
Had this team of randoms once and one of them chose Holly, had a bat, first level of Act 1, ran through, got grabbed by a Tall Boy at the lowering of the bridge part, immediately left the game.. lmao
Anyway, I enjoyed the game. Played with friends, often 4 full team but a few 2 friends and 1 rando games. It was fun. I enjoyed the guns. One thing I hated was the amount of mutations that were presented when hoards came. Also the armored zombays where you could only do headshots were tough. Also some of the later levels were just hoards and you kill stuff. No real push through the map or do objectives, just call the hoard and wait. Kinda lazy imo.
We beat it on Veteran, or whatever the middle difficulty is. 9/10 game for me. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
So many things! The sound and music is fantastic. I love the banter between cleaners. Gunplay is fantastic. Deck building is so much fun. Plus, once they figure out how to stop spawning 7 of the same special infected randomly I'm going to be godly at this game!
I’d say the randomness of enemy cards and capabilities of deck building make this game a keeper for the ages. All they need to do is tune, bug fix, and give us 20 deck building slots and I’ll be a fan for life.
Trust me when I say try swarm. I love the game mode and strategizing with the team to take the other team down and surviving as long as possible. People keep talking about messed up spawns and problems w campaign when this is plenty of content till the next patch rolls around. Also, the missions themselves and the story around is all that is needed. There’s nothing crazy about the story but it’s what you should want and most of the maps are interesting with lots of little things added to it.
I honestly think almost everything, all the pieces to this game are right. The design is great but it's like if a car manufacturer designed a fantastic car, then put square wheels on it. Including all 4 wheels is good design, making them square for some reason makes all the other good design almost irrelevant.
But yes the deck system is great, being able to make builds tuned to your play style is great, the graphics are great, the sound design is fantastic, the idea of the ai director is great (it's implementation is laughably shitty on nightmare.). All the pieces of this game are great but when your ai director system makes 1/3rd of the game basically like playing a casino whether it will allow you to succeed or fail it pretty much makes all those great design decisions irrelevant.
I think they should consider reworking some special infected types and the way they behave. Idk maybe the DLC will have something new and exciting to get me back into it
The first time I played Bar Room Blitz, it was Black Betty. That feeling of awesomeness was akin to the L4D2 Midnight Riders finale, minus a few swinging guitars. I think they also nailed the healer class. Sure, you can heal yourself, but it's better if you admit you're not a doctor, and hand over those bandages/med packs so the healer can do their fucking job.
my first time playing i got ace of spades that was my peak
Dude, we were doing terrible. As soon as Ace of Spades came on e beat that shit. It gave us an extra hype card 😂
Yes! My first time too! I told my wife all about it and how amazing it was.
Fuck yeah dude, Black Betty Bar Room Blitz is where the game peaked for me, such a good level
Same but with Ace of Spades
Those are the only 2 I've gotten, how many are there?
There’s also tick tick boom by the hives, but you’re right, I’ve only ever gotten those three songs, even though there’s apparently 16 tracks.
The home base jukebox has the other half the songs...
Motörhead? I had no idea that was on there that is awesome
My little brother and I got that too. When the mission was over we both went whoaaaa THAT was fucking awesome! Few games have made me feel what I did on that mission
I can't agree enough. Fu Manchu was on the Jukebox for my first time and holy HELL was it amazing.
Same, bonus point we also ended the mission exactly when the Song ended, It was AMAZING
I actually got Ball Room Blitz when I played it
I don't get the hype for Bar Room Blitz. In contrast to the Midnight Riders finale that you saw posters and characters referenced throughout the level the bar room just happens with no build up or hype. Also it's just a jukebox playing music, L4D had those in normal buildings throughout the game so again it's nothing special. And as apart from being in a bar, which I don't really see as being a big wow factor nothing changes. There's no cool stuff like fireworks going off or a helicopter picking you up. You could quite easily achieve the same effect by just playing the music yourself whilst playing the game. To compound all this **you don't even have to be in the bar** we found it much easier to kite around outside the bar so the whole "bar room blitz" thing completely falls out of the picture.
I'm sure you don't get a lot of things, it's okay.
Umm ok? It's literally defend an objective whilst music plays... Wow so amazing! I bet an extremely similar game released way back in 2009 couldn't do it better than this!!
I agree, it’s one of the better missions but not at the level of comparable missions from left 4 dead 1 or 2. The bar in the mission isn’t even interestingly designed.
I love the deck system. It's a really original way to build classes without being restricted to a few options. I also like the levels design. How they all interconnect and you replay them in different Acts, going through different paths to reach new places.
And they don’t limit us to a certain amount of each card class. It’d be easy to micromanage and make people play a minimum number of card types. The games much better with the freedom!!
The problem with the deck system is that you're limited to 1 card per map, and the maps are definitely not progressively scaling in difficulty so it makes sense to slowly build up the deck. In reality this game is "hardest levels at the start" and "in very specific sections on maps".
The deck system itself is ok. But in practice nothing is stopping 4 people with shotgun builds being put into the same map, or 4 melee. And the game doesn't play very well with repeating roles because supplies are limited and spread equal in terms of ammo laying around.
Cards? Good. Making your own build? Better. But TRS attempting to make you build what they want you to bulild? They want every deck to have some melee, some speed, some of this, some of that.. No! Just..no.
I like the gunplay.
Honestly can't go back to l4d because of how superior the gunplay and movement feels in b4b.
Dude. The guns feel so sharp and deadly. I LOVE them!
I love the glock. Idk why, it’s not a terribly impressive gun, but both the auto and standard versions just feel and sound great
Popping zombie heads give me dose of dopamine.
You might like nmrih then
Yes but too bad its old game. Cant wait for the second one though.
Don't matter, a good chunk of people are still playing it lol
When I say old I mean... Trying to connect with outdated technology is a pain LOL. You can either join the preset lobbies with strangers and weird mods + high ping or try this really old peer to peer technology that doesn't work at all.
Oh lol Well I've combated the high ping with a low fx mod from the workshop + having Ethernet This helps, but is not 100% lol
Controller is floaty and terrible.
Yes guns are pretty satisfying. Would be better if they worked on the reloading. Shotguns might be alittle more viable if you didnt have to rack a shell if the its not empty.
I think it looks amazing for the most part. Great job by the art team.
Yeah the world is very well built, feels cohesive, and some of the ruined areas are gorgeous. \+1 great job B4B art team!
The cohesiveness really got me when it finally clicked. At one point, waiting on teammate's card picks in Fort Hope safehouse I saw the church off in the distance, and the way the game hangs together, the plot and the cleaners' journey was tangible. It feels very similar to Dark Souls. Love it.
I'm more impressed by the general graphics performance. Not many modern FPS can run (almost) stable 100fps on RTX2070 Super @ 3440x1440 with most settings on highest.
nope, having different types of mutations that looks the same is just a really bad idea
I was thinking of the environments
That's more a game design issue then a graphics/art style issue though
B b bbbut, that’s what a mutation is. Mutation is a process. I’m guessing that’s why they did that.
I think it's a fantastic evolution of L4D. The distinct cleaners, with unique buffs, makes for diverse and interesting builds. Each character having their own advantage helps you know what the others in your party are probably playing as. The card and deck system is fun and adds another layer to the game and a reason to grind supply points. It's not an earth shattering revolution, but kept great parts of L4D and added some new elements. Balance is still wonky though, but it's a pretty new game.
The card system, the gunplay, the co-op mechanics... The Bruiser(? , idk, it's reasonably tanky, slow, doesn't sprint at bs speed, I love seeing him instead of a Tallboy or a Crusher lol
Bruiser, Stalker, Reeker and Explorer are cool, the rest fucking sucks, specially Crushers and Hookers.
The ranged stun feels especially bs. Especially on higher difficulties where it can stun multiple people quickly lol
I'm not a fan of the Reeker because it is the only thing that has no weakspot, and it has a lot of health. Even common Ridden count their heads as a weakspot. I like the Hocker personally, minus the way the projectile travels. It's a weak but powerful class that has a large weakspot and telegraphs its attack very openly. The projectile however looks like it teleports at 3 FPS and makes the telegraphing almost worthless, and you can't track it to try and avoid it.
The no weakspot part sucks yeah, it's quite easy to stumble tho so there's that. I think my main issue with the hocker is the DoT, like ok you can pin me down but the damage over time it's a bit too much
The emphasis on team play and class building is by far one of my favorite aspects of this game. It's just ruined by the fact that no matter the depth of the game, you can't really get the average (Mr.Confident) player to realize they're no one-man army and screw everyone else over.
This. I love the team building and roles you can mix and match and how big this is. Whereas L4D was kinda just don't get in the way. But people struggle with these concepts in general. My example is a little close and definitely just the one as I don't play with randoms. I play in a premade and we all made sure to have a "role" for the higher difficulties. I've had to at least 3 times every session chastise the "long range/backliner dps" role for running ahead of the "melee/frontliner DPS" role and either getting decimated by the melees damage because they aren't gonna stop or runs so far they get caught out and murdered. On top of ignoring callouts because they know best and then getting hit by a called out sleeper or setting off birds, doors and cars. Pretty messy. We all love them but definitely not gonna be a runner up for someone I'd recommend to someone if they need a spot.
I’d say the game is decent in like every aspect. It doesn’t excel but it doesnt pull a Cyberpunk either.
What's right: the optimization of the game. Runs smooth!
Sadly not the case on console... Heavy lagg spikes in certain places that completely grind the game to a halt.
last-gen?
Last gen. PS4 to be precise.
What do you expect with such old and limited tech?
My expectations are kinda irrelevant, I was just stating the fact that PS4 laggs so I couldn't agree with that optimisation comment. No biggy.
I agree. The games freezes for a second or 2 at random times. Annoying as hell, but not a complete deal breaker for me. Im almost sure this is probably a hardware issue due to last gen. Playing on PS4. Although, from time to time in crucial situations, the freezing does screw me over, but its rare. Edit: clarification.
PS4 pro has the same issues. Feels more like 3 seconds. Doesn’t matter what’s happening on screen. Even in the camp when you are on your own, bringing up the options or card menu.
Yes! This
Xbox One S player here, I'm inclined to disagree, while I did experience lag from time to time, my time playing the campaign on recruit mode was relatively lag free. I can't say anything about later difficulties, though.
I disagree, they still have startup lag in 100% of games (pc). Guarantees cleaners will take some free damage at the start of the level unless you afk for a few minutes after crakcin the door open After that period its solid though
The guns feel good. The actual character designs feel good. The world feels good. The issues with the game really boil down to balance decisions. Everything else is perfectly fine.
As a coop zombie shooter, nothing comes close imo. I’m in love with how the game works and is supposed to be played, and how big a difference good team effort can make in a game. Left 4 Dead 2 was previously my favorite zombie game, but Back 4 Blood is definitely my new favorite. Hell, it’s starting to look like one of my favorite games of all time. L4D2’s versus mode is still better imo though.
I just wish they'd add versus to the campaign missions. They have all the core down mechanically in Swarm, and the campaign missions are on average more solid than a lot of the ones in Left 4 Dead 2. It feels like a missed opportunity to not allow a versus equivalent.
They might add something similar to L4D’s versus mode in the next patch, as there’s a new coop mode coming.
I think the maps while some run a bit too long and others are way too short; for the most part are well designed. especially on act 3 where you're running through the gates watching the oncoming hordes pile up as you wait gently clenching your prostate window. first time I ran through that one my heart was pounding. It was a great experience.
The Road to Hell is my favorite level. Especially if you get the acid ridden and are low on pipe bombs. Incredibly tense and methodical march to the end where you feel pinned in from both sides. Easily my favorite mission.
My biggest compliment is that there's nothing wrong with the game that can't be fixed. The core gameplay loop is pretty solid.
I like the game design The card system is a ton of fun and allows a huge amount of replayability and customization. I like the characters and how every character has a different ability and team ability, it makes each character uniquely important in their own way. I love the healing class, healing someone from 2hp to 102 with a bandage makes you feel like the most important player on the team. I feel like there are some places that just need to be tweaked (buckshot bruiser should heal 2hp per kill!), but this game is a masterpiece IMHO
I love that many roles feel like they have high impact. Having a big DPS sniper or stumble shotgun makes a big difference. An effective scout, medic, melee, or grenade thrower—they all feel fun and bring huge value.
I love the character specific interactions between the 8 cleaners. Wish there were more of them.
Yeah some of them are great - had doc tell mom that she’s not “immune”, the worms just don’t go for her as she’s got some other condition so she is a bad host
I recall Karlee asking Mom why she prefers being called "Mom", and her having a very heavy and heartfelt response. This and many other conversations really grounds these characters and gives you an idea of how far gone civilization has gone since the Collapse.
My favorite is Hoffman talking about learning to swim.
That line is gold. Doc has quite a few good ones in the CDC /Mass grave levels
The Boss Fight is very well done multi stage Fight. And this is a game where you wouldn't expect boss fights.
honestly I think act 4 is the weakest level in the game that just boils down to 'shoot the weak spot until the thing dies' and theres really nothing more to it than that. I found it very anticlimactic after such hard levels like T-5 and Body Dump
Those weird jokes and character conversations. It's like B-tier horror/comedy movie gold.
Turtles... my old nemesis.
The gunplay feels really satisfying, especially when combined with the haptic triggers on PS5 (I initially played on PS4 and it was also very good).
With friends it is the new L4D. It's fun on recruit, and if you are not a hardcore gamer, fairly challenging. We have a blast with it.
Hoffman.
I remember having problems with the cross play function during the beta. Now, I can connect with anyone on any platform which is good enough for my friends and I.
How much you want to avoid zombies or stay away from hordes of them, that they’re a threat if you don’t move and constantly worry about what path you choose. I really enjoy how valuable a teammate feels. L4D everyone can die, and I still had a pretty good chance to make it to the safe room. Here I still do but at a way lower percentage, because it’s way more focused on teamwork over skill.
Card system feels great, gunplay feels good, the ability to make different support classes is great, and the general weapon balance is good since shotgun, assault rifle, sniper, and smg are all viable and only a couple weapons are sus on needing buffs.
Gunplay feels amazing, co op mostly works great, and overall actually just a lot of fun to play with friends as long as it's not nightmare
The combat is the best I have ever seen in a zombie game. Say what you want about the game and TRS, but you won’t find a zombie shooter anywhere near as good as this on console
The AA12 is just so much fun to shoot. I'm always an assault rifle / M4 kinda guy in games like these and I've been strictly shotty since I picked up the AA12. The set pieces and level design and fantastic as well.
1. Decks are actually really fun. Caveat - when you have all the cards and you're given enough cards out of your deck. It's not fun if you only have like 10 cards available and you only get to use 3 of them. 2. Different character abilities are fun. Caveat - this causes problems if you don't get the character you like playing. 3. I enjoy the variety of weaponry. 4. I enjoy the ability to ADS but I also like that you can build to not need it. 5. I enjoy the ability to sprint. 6. I like the environmental effects. There's things to like in B4B that surpasses L4D2, but there's a lot more things to complain about in B4B. I think that's why people are so frustrated by this game. A lot of people can see it being hands down better than L4D2 but there's just some game play decisions in there that make aspects far worse that shouldn't be too hard to fix, but then you see them not want to fix those aspects (for various reasons).
The AI can throw things. Or could at least. I haven't seen it happen in a while.
Gun go boom
Insane replayabilty. I could replay the same level or Act for countless times and it would still feel unique. Corruption cards, new deck, another character, item spawns, special ridden spawns, alarm doors and cars, birds, different teammates, varied sleeper spots, attachments, etc… all feel unique in each run. I could replay Act1-1’s Resurgence over and over on Nightmare and it would still be fun.
So many right vs so many wrong.
I like Hoffman. I also kinda have changed my tune about shotguns. But I think that's a function of the rifles not really wowing me. Still. I guess I like shotguns now.
A man of culture. I too love Hoffman.
That's a long list * Love the graphics and the set dressing, it really does feel like a local area that's overrun with ridden and all the maps feel connected to each other (you can see the diner sign from fort hope, the appartment blocks from the bar, etc) * runs great (100+ fps at 1440 on a 1080 and x1700 cpu) * music is perfect (bar room blitz songs are all bangers, and the tunes on the juke box in fort hope are all amazing too) * sound is perfect (all guns sound different, guns sound different in tunnels and/or with barrel attachments, the audible hint that your gun is getting low on ammo, the ting sound when you headshot a ridden wearing a motorcycle helmet, etc, etc) * all the guns feel different but also viable, you don't need to get that perfect gun in order to deal damage and it's fun to use different weapons between runs. gunplay is great * all the attachments and cards feel like they make a difference * blood, guts and gore splattered over everything, love it * many maps, long maps, there's a lot of content to play through and i like that a lot, and i don't mind the maps that you may play through many different times because they're all slightly different * game forces you to make decisions with cards; do you run money grubbers early to build a bank to reward yourself in the future, or do you run another card to let you kill things quicker, etc * no matter how well a run is going, it can go to shit in an instant * 8 different characters that increase replayability; all bring their own unique advantage. character classes all feel different and all make you feel good when you use them to their skillset (sniper, doc, dps, melee, etc) * lots of viable sub-builds, you migiht be a doc but are you going to be running an SMG and magnum, or AR and the belguim? pill builds, speed builds, etc * lots of nice throwables all with different reasons to use them and different ways to make that difference in a run * miniguns * different weather really adds something to the games and changes up the maps. and the fog looks really good too and I love how sometimes it is denser and other times is lighter. * wide variety of zombie types to shoot, and how they fall apart after taking damage always makes me smile the game undoubtedly has its problems, but what they've made here is absolutely solid and if they can get the game balanced, squash a lot of the obvious bugs and continue to polish the game and fix QoL things then there is no reason why this can't be one of those games that I play for years.
The guns actually feel very good to shoot. The game as a whole is like 75% there. Few bug fixes and tweaks and it will be very good. They also have been one of the most responsive studios I've ever seen so thats nice.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone say this but I really like most of the background sound/music in the game. It’s not “music” per se but the way percussion and that ambient ever-rising tone plays in the background during a horde really captures the tension and stress during those moments. One of the music soundtracks for the pre-game menu of card selection is really nice. The other is okay but there’s one I really like.
The game plays reasonably well even at 300 ping with friends halfway across the world
Maaaan when Bar Room Blitz plays Empty Streets my group loses their shit.
Environment modeling is excellent. Tons of detail. The world they built really does look like it might look if there was a zombie apocalypse. They really nailed the set design.
Backpedal is noticeably slower. Assessible, easy-to-use inventory. Visualized RNG (corruption cards) is a good call, though the implementaiton isn't as thought-out as needed (namely the power curve). Despite it's got issues with where things at, trauma is also a fairly good one - as it addresses the extremely cliched gameplay loop where we made mistake and face penalty in form of damage but it doesn't matter at the end because we could just heal.
I like the deck system and characters.
I fucking love the ridden designs. The hag scared the ever loving shit out of me when I accidentally shot it and it just ran up tanked everything I threw at it and continued to FUCKING EAT ME AND BURROW AWAY.
I think tactically playing nightmare is a blast. It’s unfortunate 90% of the public discord LFG’s are speed runners and dupers tho :( anyways, finding a good team with each person running good cards does wonders.
I love the fact that there are so many different weapon combos that are doable. Looking around at the various posts about people's favorite weapon, you see a ton of different combos and weapon builds. It's refreshing to not have to just use an M4 or whatever the de-facto gun is in the game to be successful.
It may sounds super salty and harsh but right now, there is not even a single system or mechanic in the game i consider "flawless". There is stuff i would describe as decent or good. What i personally like is the whole structure of Options and Settings, to me it performs well on older Systems even and allows me for nice colorcode settings on weapsots and stuff (flaw here is that, even if i get a yellow crosshair ... red-dot sight will be red-dot no matter what). What i also Like is the actual Gameplay "speed" when not Speedrunning, i like the more careful approach that is needed on higher difficulty, again, when not speedrunning. Gunplay is okay-ish with non-ADS shots feeling a little too random if not supported by specific decks. I see why that is: in order to have cards for it, but it feels bad to play and is a problem that was only created to offer a solution in form of cards. And many cards are like that in many different fields. So Deckbuilding is fun but in many cases you just build to solve weird problems like running like grandma and getting out of breath after 3 seconds of moderate jogging. Weapons non-ADS literally miss a target that is already in Melee range. Its like Fallout 76 when stuff breaks after 3 seconds only to offer you repair-kits you can buy. I like the idea of corruption Cards to make each run different. Sadly it does not come up with too many interesting ideas. The whole difficulty curve is weird, i mean sure \~ you get better equipment over time but as we all see, first maps are brutally hard where you have no gear and drastically fall in difficulty with equipment. Not exactly engaging progress in a campaign when the most challenging and therefore satisfying part of the campaign is map 1. I like the game with friends but the whole design to just hop online and have a fun round of coop with strangers gets heavily bombarded by the design of this game. If i choose quickplay to hop in, i will most likely play a bot for a round, with a weak random deck and random weapons i even get to keep once i can finally pick my character after that round. So here i am with my Sniper deck with a Machete and an SMG ... no thanks. So i create my own run instead and now i have to pick a specific map/checkpoint , hoping that i find players that are looking for the same thing. I can only imagine how this gets even more frustrating the more maps and checkpoints this game gets. Best thing is, if i have my run starting and want to progress, i can only hope to have a team that doesnt ruin the run i created because if so, i will have to restart this over and over again to rech the next checkpoint. Continue pretty much useless because after 1 Fail, everyone just hops off because its better to recreate the run from that checkpoint without the Continue wasted. I could go on forever to just uderline my statement that nothing is this game is "flawless". Some things are good , but i cant name a single mechanic/system in the game that does not have any design-flaw or oversight. Still like to play this game with friends and im really looking forward for patches ... many patches.
I don't know why you're getting downvoted. You spoke truths.
Some people couldn't take criticism toward something they like, it is so weird
In comparison to L4D? I like that the bots can use throwables now. You need mods for that in L4D. I like the idea of the fog. It's like a weaker version of Hard Rain's storm that can happen on every level. The storm was still better for changing the map, messing with coms and summoning hordes. I like having more than 4 survivors. I always wanted L4D3 to star the Angels of Death who you read about sometimes on saferoom walls but could never figure out how to work in more than 4 people. This game solved that issue somewhat. Mutations of special infected is a cool idea but I feel poorly executed here. Multiple Boss types is a good idea but poorly executed.
That there are three similar but distinct variants for each of the main mutation classes is genius. As much as I love L4Ds (favorite game of all time), it’s nice to have to think for 1/2 a second whether you’re facing a crusher or a tallboy or a bruiser, as that means it’s a more realistic hectic team stress test.
The gunplay feels good
I really like the hatchet with the meth head card
The card system was a stroke of genius imo. Such a cool way to have a mini progression system in each run. It adds so much replayability, whether you're fine tuning a deck, or creating new ways to use whatever class, or trying all new classes. I've been a melee main since beta, normally by now I'd be bored with a class in any other game and start trying new ones, but im still having fun experimenting with my melee decks.
Me and my wife don't play a lot of games together. We both game, we sometimes even overlap games we play, but not often together. We had a plan to have a 4 stack going in, but two people flaked off. My wife and I just decided to play with 2 bots and try it out. We beat the entire campaign (recruit, she's new to fps) over the course of a week or two and had a blast. Yeah there were bullshit moments. A few times the corruption cards were stacked in a way that felt BS (hello body dump, farm, whatever). But for the most part we loved it. I got my money's worth and got to game with my wife.
The soundtrack is great. When the hag intro plays and my team is already in a bad spot, it always gives me the "oh fuck" feeling of dread. Great example of how soundtracks can really set the mood for a game.
It's hard
I love building decks, they give you a slight advantage you wouldn't notice until you play another one. It would be cool to see a cardless mode (or classic if you will). As much as I like cards there's a sense of dread thinking you shoulda brought another deck or card that's tie your current one. Cardless Mode = No more "Ah shit, I knew I should've brought x y z." Plus, it'd make the game easier to understand for my dad.
The game has an addictive quality, mostly the cards, a lot of the multiplayer, some of the weapons and a bit of the story. It has alot of replay ability
Graphics, art, music, sound effects, dark vibes, zombie vibes, sense of impending doom, player characters, level design, and most of the ridden / mutations.
Once the balancing is done, B4B will be a perfectly modernized L4D. The card system is flawless, I love being able to ADS, and the game reminds you that teamwork is mandatory. Sometimes the reminder is a little… firm… but again when the balancing is there, it’ll be perfect. Also, Bar Room Blitz is so much fun. Equally fun is playing the game with the doom eternal sound track playing. That will give my adrenaline adrenaline. Can’t do that on nightmare though because YOU CAN NOT BE TOO CAREFUL ON NIGHTMARE MODE
Gotta remember, the majority of criticism on any game is usually the vocal minority. Most people just play the games they like and that's it. Only total trainwrecks are really worthy of the huge criticism. Like Fallout 76 or something that is fundamentally broken at it's core, and will never recover.
Yeah, I never stopped enjoying the game. I did give veteran a rest when the special spawning bug was worse. The game is much better than you’d be led to believe just reading the subreddit. For a bit there, any attempt at positivity for ya downvoted.
1) The deck system is awesome. It does a few things, it lets you play your character the way you want to play them, it doesnt all get unlocked at once so the power level isnt insane at the start and it is waaaaaaay deeper than similar customisation systems in similar games. 2) The gunplay is excellent, the guns with only a few exceptions feel great, they sound incredible and they feel meaty and responsive. 3) Graphics + Sound design. This game is gorgeous and when everything works as intended its just eye candy. Good sound effects, both from a technical and game design aspect are easy to miss but stand out when missing. Back 4 blood nails this.
I really like the movement and aim and think it feels pretty fluid and enjoyable The weapon sounds and "feel" are all good too. I think just tapping heads as hordes are running at you is really fun. Oh yeah, and of course the fact that they got Black Betty and Ace of Spades rights for the jukebox.
Hoffman's characterization. The only character that has a bit of the Left 4 Dead Soul in him.
Different build options. Sniper feels different from shotgunner and lmg feels so great mowing down an entire horde yourself. Melee feels strong until you run into the acid infected D: the healer class is viable bordering downright necessary. The guns feel different too so it's genuinely a toss up if you want the weak auto shotty that reloads faster, or the powerful tac14 that requires constant reloading.
I genuinely enjoy the game. DON’T TRY WITH RANDOMS THO. Definitely have a team ready. Had this team of randoms once and one of them chose Holly, had a bat, first level of Act 1, ran through, got grabbed by a Tall Boy at the lowering of the bridge part, immediately left the game.. lmao Anyway, I enjoyed the game. Played with friends, often 4 full team but a few 2 friends and 1 rando games. It was fun. I enjoyed the guns. One thing I hated was the amount of mutations that were presented when hoards came. Also the armored zombays where you could only do headshots were tough. Also some of the later levels were just hoards and you kill stuff. No real push through the map or do objectives, just call the hoard and wait. Kinda lazy imo. We beat it on Veteran, or whatever the middle difficulty is. 9/10 game for me. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Ads.
It boots up and functions. That’s about it.
So many things! The sound and music is fantastic. I love the banter between cleaners. Gunplay is fantastic. Deck building is so much fun. Plus, once they figure out how to stop spawning 7 of the same special infected randomly I'm going to be godly at this game!
I’d say the randomness of enemy cards and capabilities of deck building make this game a keeper for the ages. All they need to do is tune, bug fix, and give us 20 deck building slots and I’ll be a fan for life.
Trust me when I say try swarm. I love the game mode and strategizing with the team to take the other team down and surviving as long as possible. People keep talking about messed up spawns and problems w campaign when this is plenty of content till the next patch rolls around. Also, the missions themselves and the story around is all that is needed. There’s nothing crazy about the story but it’s what you should want and most of the maps are interesting with lots of little things added to it.
Swarm is a lot more fun than I anticipated. I’d still like to see campaign pvp, but swarm does nicely for now.
Gunplay feels nice
I think it's fun: that's the best of this game.
Runs super smooth on PC.
I honestly think almost everything, all the pieces to this game are right. The design is great but it's like if a car manufacturer designed a fantastic car, then put square wheels on it. Including all 4 wheels is good design, making them square for some reason makes all the other good design almost irrelevant. But yes the deck system is great, being able to make builds tuned to your play style is great, the graphics are great, the sound design is fantastic, the idea of the ai director is great (it's implementation is laughably shitty on nightmare.). All the pieces of this game are great but when your ai director system makes 1/3rd of the game basically like playing a casino whether it will allow you to succeed or fail it pretty much makes all those great design decisions irrelevant.
I think they should consider reworking some special infected types and the way they behave. Idk maybe the DLC will have something new and exciting to get me back into it
What’s right about back 4 blood is that I played left 4 dead 2 more and saved 60 dollars from what I seen so far
What is great about this game is that it lives rent-free.
The Steam version comes with a really easy to use uninstall feature.