Ellis is an irrepressible mechanic, and always has another weird story to tell. Nick is a pessimistic con man who bleeds sarcasm. How I learned to stop worrying and love the zomĮvery memorable character leaves behind an impression.īill is a gruff-but-lovable Vietnam vet. And while there is a tradeoff for a deeper system of gameplay, a level-to-level item economy, and the ability to customize characters to your playstyle – all great things – Back 4 Blood’s characters deserve more credit than user reviewers on Metacritic give them. So for me, Walker became a supportive leader thanks to his gameplay and his personality.īy opting to include eight characters instead of four, and giving each unique traits, Turtle Rock hasn’t been able to give the characters the same narrative attention as their compatriots in Left 4 Dead.

Walker has an ability that makes special enemies’ do less damage, so I used cards that make his attacks debuff them too. Back 4 Blood has a veteran character similar to Bill, called Walker. But more important than my personal satisfaction, the abilities give Back 4 Blood’s characters a mechanical identity, something Left 4 Dead’s cast never had. I found myself drawn to shotguns as a personal favorite zombie-clearer, but I was able to make it more my own with a card that gave me temporary health with each hit. I’m not ready to place Back 4 Blood on the same shelf as Final Fantasy, but I can see that promise of choice and agency under the cloak.īack 4 Blood’s cards introduce a wide range of customization possibilities, letting you construct a deck that fits your play style. I can experiment in my own gaming science lab.

I’m still pouring hours into games such as Final Fantasy Tactics because I can build on what I’ve done in previous playthroughs. Getting to play a character the way you want is good - player agency and choice are what keep me returning to games years after their release. Following the competition in the co-op genre, such as Vermintide 2’s talent trees, Dead By Daylight’s perks, or Payday 2’s character roles, Back 4 Blood’s characters aren’t interchangeable – each has unique perks and abilities, and you can use cards to buff and empower them on missions. In Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock went in a different direction. If I want to run into an oncoming zombie horde armed with a pistol, I will have as much a chance of surviving the fight as either character, though playing as Ellis I might hear him talk about his (possibly imaginary) friend Keith, and as Bill I might learn about one of his war exploits. They didn’t have any special abilities, individual character stats, or unique weapons. But in terms of their game mechanics, there were no distinctions: Vietnam veteran Bill played exactly the same as mechanic Ellis. While the Left 4 Dead games didn’t follow a linear story, the incidental dialogue between the cast fleshed out these characters and the state of the world they fought through.

Left 4 dead 2 release date