The co-op zombie shooter Left 4 Dead was so successful that a sequel was preordained - and just as popular. Fans have been waiting for the third part for 12 years, but they never did - but they received from the same authors an ideological successor with new graphics, new characters and a new name. However, in all other respects, there were no cardinal changes. Is it possible to enter the same river not even twice, but three times? Let's find out in our review.
SHAWN THE INFECTED
The plot, despite the frankly secondary importance for such online game from the developer Friv2Online Studio, is, of course, in the game. Naturally, he does not shine with originality - we have before us a banal zombie story in a very similar (or even the same one - there is not much sense to understand) on the Left 4 Dead setting.
A couple of hackneyed clichés of the genre can be seen in the very first cut-scene. It doesn’t even change the fact that zombies, like in Left 4 Dead, are called “infected” - and if then it could pass for something original, now the reasons for such a decision are completely incomprehensible. Although it is quite possible, it is a matter of continuity.
It is in the cut-scenes that the plot mainly develops - the game even tries to be cinematic, but all these videos leave a strong feeling of deja vu. Somewhere we have seen it all before, perhaps more than once. However, these are just links between runs with the shooting of hordes of infected - should we expect anything more from them? And on some side, this is even a plus in terms of loyalty to the laws of the genre.
As you progress through the action, the action warms up a bit and pleases with some pretty funny finds, but even they copy what happened before to one degree or another - for example, the bar defense mission (sorry for the spoiler) was clearly inspired by the great movie "Shaun of the Dead ".
MORE THAN ALIVE
The gameplay has remained virtually unchanged compared to Left 4 Dead, however, there are only two modes left - in fact, the campaign and the asymmetric PvP multiplayer "Swarm", where players take turns taking on the role of the infected and trying to defeat the cleaners - now your heroes are named exactly So.
You can go through the campaign solo or with friends - and technically these are different modes, so starting to play alone and then calling a friend will not work. Although even in solo mode, the group of cleaners still consists of four people, but bots play for other characters.
With or without bots, conceptually, this, I repeat, is still the same Left 4 Dead 2 - you need to fight through hordes of infected (among which there are both ordinary and especially strong mutated creatures) from one "safe room" to another, performing as you go different tasks such as rescuing survivors or planting explosives.
True, now, in accordance with new trends, a hub location has appeared in the friv game - Fort Hope - and the entire passage is built as sorties from this very fort. And in each safe room between the stages there is a huge supply box where you can buy equipment (previously it was possible only with mods), but globally this does not change anything. The same run, the same safe rooms, the same crowds of infected between them, the same statistics after each mission. Even the interface is similar.
By default, all platforms play together, but crossplay can be disabled. There are three difficulty levels - "Recruit", "Veteran" and "Nightmare", differing in the number and strength of the infected, as well as the lethality of friendly fire. Naturally, the higher the difficulty, the more serious the requirements for team play.
From personal experience, it’s hard even on the Recruit without a good team, and with random comrades it can be great bad luck - for example, once a player was caught who basically fought only in close combat, constantly ran forward and died.
CARDS, MONEY AND A LOT OF GUNS
But what has really changed, and for the better, is the weapon. Of course, the abuse of skins and the newfangled color differentiation of gun pants into ordinary, rare, epic, and so on in the spirit of looter shooters do not look quite out of place here, but the models are simply incomparable - very realistic and detailed. Not far behind and gunplay - "Barrett" is different from the "Kalashnikov", and the "Colt" from the "Glock".
The variety of the arsenal, of course, is much inferior to any Borderlands, but it covers the entire range of weapons that can be found in a provincial American town with access to military depots. Pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, sniper and assault rifles, machine guns. We did not forget about additional items such as first-aid kits and grenades, as well as melee weapons.
Separately, it is worth noting the customization of weapons. Now, depending on the model, the gun can be equipped with an improved buttstock, an extended barrel, an enlarged magazine, a silencer, optical and laser sights, or other upgrades, and many improvements change the appearance of the weapon. Of course, everything is done quite simply and not without conventions - all additions are installed instantly - but it is very convenient, intuitive and really useful in battle.
Customization is available not only for weapons, but also for the characters themselves - in Back 4 Blood this is implemented through the map system. In a nutshell - you have a set of cards with certain modifiers, you form decks from them, before the start of each mission, one or more deals are made in which you choose one card at a time - they give your character certain bonuses.
Additional cards can be found during the mission. By the way, the character you have chosen (there are eight options in total) also has its own card - it determines its unique abilities. There are also interference maps - as a rule, these are conditions or secondary tasks of the mission.
New cards can be obtained along with achievements or for the so-called supply points - a special in-game currency that you earn for successfully completing missions. In addition to new cards, you can use these points to buy various cosmetic items from a special character in the hub.
The assortment is determined by supply channels - sets with the possibility of sequential purchase - which also open as you progress through the game. So some kind of progression system is added to the customization.
In theory, the card system should make each playthrough unique and provide Back 4 Blood with replay value, but in reality it looks like just leveling characters combined with equipment selection. I did not notice any serious impact on the basics of the gameplay - it becomes a little easier or a little more difficult to play, no more.
EVEN IN DEATH THERE IS BEAUTY
12 years have passed since the release of the second Left 4 Dead, and it would be strange if the ideological successor did not become more beautiful. The old Source was replaced by Unreal Engine 4, which provided the friv game with a nice environment, the already mentioned beautiful weapon models with all the body kit and, of course, the company's signature spatter of characters with blood and guts.
However, the impression of a beautiful picture turned out to be somewhat spoiled by an outdated movement model, mediocre animations, not the highest quality enemy models and limited interactivity in the spirit of 10-year-old shooters. What is worth the mere inability to swim and instant death when falling into the water.
The sound in the game is pretty good - first of all, this, of course, concerns weapons. But the screams of the infected create quite the right atmosphere. Separately, it is worth noting the music - for example, in the same mission with a bar, to distract the infected, you need to turn on the jukebox that plays peppy metal. For such moments, the game wants to say “thank you”.
But the management let us down. While it can still be configured on PC, on console (I played on Xbox) the confusion with A and X for confirming actions, as well as with additional items, some of which are tied to the D-Pad, and some to the bumpers, is quite annoying.
Finally, about localization - the Russian translation is present, but without voice acting. The translation itself is of quite normal quality, preserving a lively language, most likely in a zombie apocalypse, and not embarrassed by a strong word. Get kids away from screens if you haven't already.
PLAY OR NOT?
On our site, we traditionally rate games on a 10-point scale, but for myself, like probably many other people, I decide quite simply, without analyzing the friv game into any components - it either catches or it doesn’t.
So, Back 4 Blood does not catch at all. One gets the impression that before us is the same Left 4 Dead 2, which has risen from the dead like a zombie tinted with modern “cosmetics”. On the one hand, in these games we value first of all the moments that arise during teamwork, and the rest is secondary. On the other hand, making an almost identical game after 12 years, changing only the external surroundings and adding a couple of minor details, is a rather controversial decision.
Back 4 Blood will certainly find its audience, the more interesting finds the game really has, and technically it looks pretty nice, even despite the problems with the animation and movement model. At the very least, the game will definitely be appreciated by Left 4 Dead fans, for whom it can be a long-awaited new adventure series. But, alas, she was not destined to be a super hit.
