Back in the halcyon days of 2008, when things were simple and gas cost a ha’penny, Turtle Rock Studios (under the name Valve South) let Left 4 Dead loose upon the world. Much like the zombie virus itself, the game took the world by storm, as did its sequel, Left 4 Dead 2. The community still thrives, and Steam’s workshop support has kept both games in pristine condition.

Now, on June 22, 2021, Turtle Rock is returning to a concept they’re very familiar with in Back 4 Blood. Having gotten a hands-on look at the game in its current state during the closed alpha test, the game itself seems to be coming along nicely. With six months still left to go before its full release, though, the game has some things to work on, and some things that players hope come to fruition.

10 Long-Term Support

As with any game with live service elements, the long-term stability of the in-game economy is always in question. Turtle Rock, unfortunately, has a bit of a spotty record with this, as their last big release, Evolve, was…well, Evolve. Their short-term support was solid, with a decent set of new content available to players within a reasonable timeframe.

But, once the game went free-to-play, things turned for the worst. But, the middle of the 2010s was notorious for this exact maneuver, and companies seem to have learned from their past mistakes. Three post-launch DLCs are confirmed so far, so that is a good sign.

9 Reasonable In-Game Progression Rates

One of Turtle Rock’s other biggest problems with Evolve was the frankly stupid amount of microtransactions perforating the entire experience. Luckily for now, it seems that the only paid material in Back 4 Blood will be cosmetics, alongside the three heftier future DLC packages that are slated to include new story elements, characters, special Ridden, and more. This game seems like a grind-to-get-stuff-type experience a la Vermintide and its various classes and careers rather than a buy-stuff-to-get-stuff-type game, which is good! Stay that way, please, Back 4 Blood, and don’t make gamers buy packs of random perk cards.

8 Improved Enemy UI Indicators

Special Ridden are just as menacing here in Back 4 Blood as the Special Infected were in Left 4 Dead 1 & 2. The remixes here are fun, in particular, the Hocker, who glues Cleaners to one spot with a ranged spit attack before pouncing in for the kill. Retches are fun, too, basically being the lovechild of a Boomer/Spitter crossover. However, the indicators for running around in Retch acid are muted, which chips away at health rather quickly. Sensing another player being glued down by a Hocker, too, could use more clarity in the occasionally cluttered HUD. These are easy fixes, but important ones gamers need in the full game.

7 Improved Director AI & Difficulty

Instead of stationary stand-offs like Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood features more dynamic finales. The one players got to experience in the alpha, where the Cleaners had to descend to the bottom deck of a cruise liner to plant some explosives, was insanely difficult, even on normal difficulty. The ship is absolutely teeming with infinitely spawning infected. Oh, and when the bombs are planted, Cleaners have less than a minute to escape. While some of the difficulty can be chalked up to new players, limited customization, and no leveled Cleaners, some of the blame can be shifted to the seemingly unending torrent of enemies. The AI Director — a staple of the Left 4 Dead series — needs to tone it down a bit come June.

6 Mod Support

While some people would undoubtedly be playing a vanilla Left 4 Dead still to this day, it is doubtful that the community would be as populated and robust as it is without the extended mod support Steam provides to the game. It would be a shame to lose that access to such versatile options of content.

As a live game, though, it does leave players wondering if Turtle Rock and their old pals at Steam could etch out some kind of agreement. Back 4 Blood may very well be an amazing game at launch, but without the longevity mods provide games like this, it certainly won’t stand the test of time like its spiritual predecessors.

5 Manage To Keep PvP Balanced

This may be the single hardest thing on the list to accomplish. Turtle Rock struggled with the 4v1 gameplay in Evolve. Even without a card or perk system to worry about, the PVP in the Left 4 Dead games can be a little hard to overcome due to the sheer skill differences. Usually, one side steamrolls the other. It’s usually never even close. Now, with Back 4 Blood having the card system in place, it will be even harder to keep the Cleaners vs. Ridden PVP matches on an even keel.

Nobody is actually sure if cards will even be used in the PVP section of the game yet in order to maintain a semblance of balance. So, here’s to hoping that the studio keeps a close eye on this aspect of the game, as many gamers may be playing just to dig into PVP.

4 Make Scavenging For New Weapons More Beneficial

The gun roster in the Back 4 Blood alpha was commendable, with eight guns and three melee weapons to be found scattered around the levels, some even coming with fun attachments and mods. However, some of the found guns also come with mods that add detriments, such as slower ADS or reload speed. The mods that can be purchased in the safe rooms, too, help Cleaners kit themselves out that it almost doesn’t seem worth it to scavenge for weapons or change your default loadout too much. Hopefully, with more weapons, mods, and card abilities in the full release, switching around may feel more fun than it currently does.

3 Keep Card Bloat Reasonable

With just a taste of the cards in the game available in the alpha, it is almost too early to say there are useless cards no player would use. But, uh, there were useless cards no player used. Fallout 76 has suffered from similar issues, which best-of lists out there can help with. More cards will certainly allow Back 4 Blood’s Cleaners to have robust perk sets, and players making custom decks will surely always find overpowered combos no matter what. But, making sure there aren’t 40 cards cluttering the multiple pages between the three core stats is also important. Turtle Rock will have to work hard to maintain a balance between too few and too many cards. But they’re more competent developers than on previous projects, so this may not be too big of a worry.

2 Make Melee More Viable

During playthroughs of the alpha, it seemed to be a rather common sentiment that the melee-focused characters were found to be lacking in comparison to their quick-firing, long-ranged partners. While a vampiric tank-type build could play as a bit of a bulwark to their comrades as multiple hordes descend all at once, the lack of precision and iffy hit detection left the brawlers feeling a little underpowered. On the other hand, the card that turned every character’s standard non-damaging pushback attack into a deadly knife that can one-hit common Ridden seems to be almost necessary in order to survive. More cards, UI tweaks, and character traits should fix this, but who can tell this early on?

1 Get Rid Of The Murder Ladders

The toughest enemy in Back 4 Blood was not the big-armed Bruiser, nor was it even the gigantic Ogre. No. The biggest, most murderous thing of all in the Back 4 Blood alpha was…a ladder. One ladder, in particular. No hyperbole here, either. Before Turtle Rock removed the Steam forum posts, one of the most common issues was the killer ladder before the trainyard that downed many a player. The few guides that still remain are mostly satirical ones on how to avoid the ladder’s wrath. So, Turtle Rock, please: either nerf ladders or give the Cleaners a fighting chance against this cheap, one-shot enemy bologna.

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