Back 4 Blood is “Far More Difficult Than Intended,” Developer Admits

Back 4 Blood has finally delivered what Left 4 Dead fans have been starved for for years, but as good as Turtle Rock Studios’ co-op zombie shooter is, it does have issues. Sometimes, for instance, the game tends to be a bit too difficult. Playing it solo is essentially a soul-crushing experience, but even when playing 4 player co-op, it can be a very demanding experience.

It is, in fact, much more demanding than the developers had intended. In a recent stream (and a subsequent Reddit post recapping the stream), the developer admitted that the game was “far more difficult than intended.” The team has identified several reasons for that unintended challenge, which includes trauma damage being dealt out too quickly, and speedrunning being essentially the only viable way forward on higher difficulties.

In particular, Turtle Rock says that the high spawn rates of Special Ridden has contributed to the game’s grueling challenge quite a bit. The developer wrote: ” We believed the recent fix for Specials frequently duplicating their spawn cards fully addressed the increased difficulty and… we spoke too soon. Throughout the process, we identified another major cause of the unintended increased difficulty and we are actively working on a solution. We will nail this and continue crafting a game that improves over time.”

There’s no word yet on what exactly the planned timeline for fixing these issues is, but fans of the game should be glad to know that the developers are listening to feedback and making changes based on it. Given Turtle Rock and WB Games’ long-term plans for the game, it’s reassuring to know that consistent tweaks are planned to make for a more balanced and more enjoyable experience.

Back 4 Blood is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.