During the 2020 Game Awards, players were given their first look at the newest game from Turtle Rock Studios,Back 4 Blood. Meant as thespiritual successor to Valve’s classicLeft 4 Deadfranchise(which Turtle Rock originally developed for Valve), the game showed off both a cinematic and gameplay trailer during the Game Awards which seemed to set the tone for players looking for that intense co-operative experience created by its predecessors. However, considering Turtle Rock Studios' track record,Back 4 Bloodseems poised to surpassLeft 4 Dead’s legacy with gamers.
While it’s certainly been a while since Turtle Rock Studios has worked on the originalLeft 4 Dead, that doesn’t mean the developer has been sitting in silence. In 2015, the studio releasedEvolveon PC, PS4, and Xbox One. While the game released to mixed reactions from fans and critics, perhaps one of the game’s biggest strengths lied in Turtle Rock Studios' dedication to consistent updates with new content, such asadditional Monsters, Hunters, and maps.
RELATED:Back 4 Blood is Basically Left 4 Dead 3, And That’s A Good Thing
And this is where Turtle Rock Studios could excel to escalateBack 4 Bloodto new heights: by bringing consistent and new content to the game. WhileEvolvesaw a dramatic drop off not long after launch, the developer made the decision to switch the game toa free-to-play model, causing a major boost in its PC player base. In addition to this,Evolvewas being supported by Turtle Rock with content along the way. This seems to show that the studio is heavily invested in creating a game that players will love and is flexible with how it reaches this goal.
Valve and Turtle Rock Studios seem to have different approaches to how they handle new and evolving content within their games. In the case ofLeft 4 Dead 2, Valve released three major pieces of DLC through various new campaigns for players to play through with two of them releasing within the first year of the game’s launch. However, the game’sCold StreamDLC is perhaps the most peculiar. This paid expansion on consoles released two years after launch, and gave players access to the previous campaigns from the originalLeft 4 Deadas well as a new campaign titledCold Stream, which was crafted by passionate members of the community.
This trend of community created content deemed official by Valve has continued now into 2020 with the release ofa new update calledThe Last Stand. While this trend of Valve allowing players to create official expansions for its games isn’t necessarily a bad one, it does show an area of development where Turtle Rock Studios could pull ahead. It seems clear that there is still an impassioned fanbase for these types of games, and if Turtle Rock can figure out a way to supportBack 4 Bloodwith consistent new content rather than relying on gamers, it could surpass its predecessor.
Back 4 Bloodis set to release on July 25, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE:Back 4 Blood Has Campaign and PvP, But No Battle Royale
