Back 4 Blood

Turtle Rock Studios’ Back 4 Blood is a glorious tribute to Valve’s Left 4 Dead series, and while it definitely has a few flaws – that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is a really fun time with friends. There are plenty of enemy types and the encounters do a good job of mixing things up on a consistent basis, which makes it a consistently enjoyable experience that’s even better with friends. 

Splitgate

Splitgate combines the high-octane first-person shooting of contemporaries like Halo with some ingenious portal mechanics that come together to create a markedly fresh experience. It’s a lot of fun to move around portals while spraying bullets at your opponents, and the map design provides many options for coming up with your own creative strategies. While Splitgate’s player count has dropped by quite a margin in recent times, it remains an enjoyable time nevertheless.

In the meantime, the developer is working on a new game, and it’s not big enough to also keep making content for Back 4 Blood. It won’t offer many details in the short term, but it promises to be “Back, bigger, bolder and better than ever!”

Released in 2021 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC, Back 4 Blood was touted as a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. It features multiple playable characters, each with unique abilities, and cards which could activate different benefits in levels. Three paid expansions were released last year – Tunnels of Terror, Children of the Worm and River of Blood, adding new weapons, content and characters.

Reviews ranged from average to good, though some balancing updates drew criticism from fans. Check out our review here. Time will tell where the studio goes from here, especially since its parent company, Slamfire, was acquired by Tencent in 2021. Stay tuned for more updates in the future.

Original story follows:

Sony has announced the titles joining the Game Catalog for PlayStation Extra and Premium this month. Starting January 17th, subscribers will have access to Back 4 Blood on PS4 and PS5, Dragon Ball FighterZ on PS4, and Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition on PS5 (along with Devil May Cry 5 on PS4).

But that’s not all. Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm on PS4 is coming along with Sayonara Wild Hearts. Jett: The Far Shore, which receives a free campaign in “Given Time” this year, will be playable on PS4 and PS5. Those seeking open-world chaos can check out Just Cause 4 on PS4 and Just Cause 4: Reloaded on PS4 and PS5.

Emotional adventure game Omno and FMV thriller Erica round out the remaining PS4 titles. As for PlayStation Plus Premium Classics, there’s the addition of Syphon Filter 3, Star Wars Demolition and Hot Shots Golf 2 on PlayStation One. For this month’s free PlayStation Plus Essential titles, head here.

Titled River of Blood, the new chunk of content brings plenty for players to dive into. That includes the addition of Act 6 to the campaign, as well as a new playable Cleaner, the bow-wielding former Cultist Tala (who, interestingly, also comes with a sidekick in the friendly Tallboy named Jeff). In addition to that, the expansion also adds eight exclusive character skins, 12 exclusive weapon skins, new weapons, accessories, and cards.

Meanwhile, going along with the launch of the new paid expansion, Back 4 Blood’s latest update has also added new PvE mode Trial of the Worm for free.

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

The story will continue in River of Blood with the addition of act 6 of the campaign. Players will also be joined by new friendly ally Jeff, and new cleaner Tala as they take on new Ridden as well as 2 new variants. As for skins, players can expect 8 new character skins, as well as 12 new weapon skins.

Back 4 Blood saw the release of its second expansion—Children of the Worm—back in August, which continued the story with act 5 of the campaign at the time. Other updates to the game since its release a year ago include new features, more content, as well as quality-of-life features.

Back 4 Blood is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our full review.

Let's see where the River of Blood takes us. Here's what to expect for Expansion 3, available December 6th, 2022. pic.twitter.com/SnSBYvKcSN

— Back 4 Blood (@back4blood) November 8, 2022

PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDS

Illfonic’s asymmetrical multiplayer title Predator: Hunting Grounds was a flawed game in more ways than one, but for fans of the property, there was some fun to be had in getting to play as a Predator. With multiple different Predator types to play as and unique abilities to make use of with each of them, the game certainly had some interesting mechanics up its sleeve- even though not all of them were as well executed as they should have been.

Of course, as indicated in the earlier tease, Children of the Worm offers a new threat in the form of humans. Four different types are showcased, including a sniper and acid-throwing goon to a bow-and-arrow wielding hunter and claw-using melee fighter. These enemies appear to be part of a cult, judging from the symbols on their masks.

Children of the Worm also offers eight exclusive character skins from casual wear to a baseball uniform. New 8-bit weapon skins are also coming. In addition to the new content, there should also be balance changes for all owners of the game. Stay tuned for more details and gameplay in the coming weeks.

New Cleaner, new Act, new enemies. Who knew? Here's a little sneak peek of what to expect for Expansion 2: Children of the Worm. pic.twitter.com/x9GhgrCJKu

— Back 4 Blood (@back4blood) August 4, 2022

The developer addressed the same on its official Twitter, noting that it needed more time. “We’d love to confirm the release date for our Expansion 2, but we need a bit more time. It’s an exciting update and we’re so pumped, it’s been like a cult around these parts – some of us are so giddy that we Act like we’re 5.” The attached image seems to indicate a cult of sorts, so it should be interesting to see what kinds of new enemies appear.

But perhaps most interesting is the inclusion of “Act 5” in the last sentence. This seemingly hints that Act 5 is coming with Expansion 2, thus continuing the story (and likely adding new weapons and characters). Time will tell though, so stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Back 4 Blood is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. You can check out our review for the base game here.

We'd love to confirm the release date for our Expansion 2, but we need a bit more time. It's an exciting update and we're so pumped, it's been like a cult around these parts – some of us are so giddy that we Act like we're 5.

Stay tuned and thanks for the continued support! pic.twitter.com/MGA0jZbFLr

— Back 4 Blood (@back4blood) July 15, 2022

Another new feature with this update is Player Kicking. If a player is idle for too long or shoots their teammates too much, then the system will kick them. It’s not currently final but will be monitored closely in its current state. Other new content in this update includes new banners, sprays and emblems.

Twelve new Burn Cards, Warped Chest Corruption Cards, Cleaner skins, and Legendary Accessories have also been added. Check out some of the patch notes below with full notes here. Back 4 Blood is currently available for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S. Stay tuned for more details on further updates and its second paid expansion.

JUNE 2022 UPDATE

New Features

Full Deck Draw

• Play all 15 cards from your deck at the start of a Campaign for all difficulties.

Developer Note: We felt like the 15 card draw in No Hope went over well with the community, and wanted to roll out this option to all difficulties. In the future we are considering adding multiple deck styles like ordered draw and full random decks. Some difficulties have been rebalanced to work better with this feature.

Player Kicking

• The new Player Kicking system identifies and allows kicking from a Mission when a Cleaner is idle for too long or deals too much friendly fire damage.

Developer Note: We discussed this feature at length to try and do what’s best for the community, so we want to try this conditional kick feature that will only trigger if someone is playing outside the bounds of the game. We also feel that the traditional Vote to Kick can be exploitable and toxic. This feature is not final and we will be monitoring it closely.

• New banners, sprays, and emblems
• 12 New Burn Cards
• New Warped Chest Corruption Cards
• New Cleaner skins
• Legendary Accessories
• A more detailed breakdown of Supply Points, Copper, and Skull Totems is now present on the post-round screen.