This past Thursday, players who tuned intoThe Game Awardswere treated to many new trailers for games coming in the near and far future. Between the Vin Diesel trailer forArk 2and the reveal of a newPerfect Darkgame from Xbox studio The Initiative, it seems like players have quite a bit to look forward to over the next few years when it comes to new titles. However, one game trailer in particular seemed to grab the attention ofLeft 4 Deadfans around the globe.
Developer Turtle Rock Studios, in conjunction with publisher Warner Bros. Interactive, released both cinematic and gameplaytrailers for its new co-op zombie shooter game,Back 4 Blood. Fans of theLeft 4 Deadfranchise will instantly be familiar with what this game will be as it looks like it has an incredibly similar gameplay loop. And while some may think that the studio is copying the zombie slaying Valve game, this entry will be Turtle Rock returning to its roots as the devs behind the originalLeft 4 Dead.
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While some players may recognize Turtle Rock Studios from its work onEvolve, the studio’s origins go back farther than that. The developer had initially formed as a small team and performed contracted work for Valve on both theCounter-StrikeandHalf-Lifefranchise. One of the games that came from this partnership was the popular titleCounter-Strike: Source. Not long after that, Turtle Rock Studios pitched a game based around surviving the zombie apocalypse in 4 player co-op to Valve, which then helped fund and publish the game. This game, of course, went on to becomethe originalLeft 4 Dead.
After seeing how promisingLeft 4 Deadwas throughout its development, Valve then proceeded to acquire Turtle Rock Studios and rebranded it as Valve South. This marriage ended up not being a happy one, however, with Turtle Rock co-founder Phil Robb stating that both studios had a difficult time working together. Robb later cited the 800 mile distance between Valve proper and the southern branch as a major obstacle, and so afterLeft 4 Deadshipped, theyTurtle Rock parted ways amicably with Valve. And while the studio was able to retain its studio name and logo in the separation, Valve kept the rights toLeft 4 Dead.
This history between Turtle Rock Studios andLeft 4 Deadis likely quite important for players to knowwhen it comes to discussingBack 4 Blood. Although the team did not develop theLeft 4 Deadsequel that followed in 2009, it now seems that this style of zombie survival game will be going back to its roots now that Turtle Rock has hopped back in the saddle.
WhileBack 4 Bloodappears to be the long awaitedLeft 4 Deadsequel fans have been awaiting, that doesn’t mean that the game will be a carbon copy of the past. Inthe gameplay trailer that was shown during the Game Awards, players can get the sense that Turtle Rock is bringing new ideas to the table with various new special zombie types. With one new enemy type appearing to be spider-like with multiple arms and an ability to stick enemies with web spittle, not to mention a colossal zombie that makes the Tank look like five year old child in comparison, it seems that fans of this format have a lot to look forward to in June 2021.
Back 4 Bloodis set to launch on August 08, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE:Back 4 Blood Has Campaign and PvP, But No Battle Royale
