Back 4 Blood review – a zombie-shooter tribute act with brains of its own

Xbox, PlayStation 4/5, PC; Turtle Rock/Warner Bros Interactive
Despite a messy start, this spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead becomes more challenging and characterful the longer you spend with it

I'm not sure what I expected from Turtle Rock's spiritual successor to zombie shooter Left 4 Dead, but I know that card-collecting wasn't on the list. Valve's 2008 cooperative classic was beautiful in its simplicity, a simplicity Back 4 Blood seems determined to bury beneath a mountain of artifice. Card powers! Loot tiers! Custom character skins! It's like ordering chips in a trendy burger restaurant and finding your fried potatoes barely visible beneath a pile of jalapenos and pulled pork.

Despite a messy first impression, the spice and protein Back 4 Blood heaps atop Left 4 Dead's framework ultimately pays off. It is an off-brand imitation of Left 4 Dead's classic action: up to four players band together as Cleaners', embarking on a four-act campaign to wash a post-apocalyptic world in the blood of awkwardly named zombies, the Ridden. Most missions involve players fighting with guns, bombs, and baseball bats to reach a safe-room, all while the game makes active efforts to thwart you. The action is overseen by an AI Game Director' that harries players with carefully timed undead hordes and an array of super-zombies, variously able to trap you in a sticky web or spatter your team with Ridden-attracting vomit.