Turtle Rock Studios has revealed some new gameplay details regarding its upcoming co-op zombie shooter, Back 4 Blood. These include the different playable characters, enemies, and gameplay systems, as well as the kick-off of a PC alpha.
In the game’s upcoming alpha test, there are four playable characters, called Cleaners, each with their own unique perks and secondary weapons. Their names are Walker, Holly, Evangelo, and Hoffman. The unique perks can range from increased stamina regeneration to increased melee damage. Together, they take on the infected zombie enemies, called Ridden. In the alpha test, there are 5 different types of Ridden.
The most prevalent ones are described as the Common Infected, but special Ridden exist as well. The Stinger has four arms and can seemingly jump long distances. The Retch is a large Ridden, and the Tall Boy has one big arm with a massive range. The Ogre is an even larger Ridden that towers over the Cleaners and takes quite the firepower to bring down.
Additionally, there’s a roguelike card system that is handled by the omnipresent game director during each match. It will play Corruption Cards, which will make the match harder and more dynamic, such as spawning larger hordes of enemies or making ammunition scarcer. However, players can also play their own cards that grant effects like finding more of a specific weapon or faster regeneration. Cards are earned through completing certain challenges, and in the final release of the game, players will be able to customize their own decks.
Back 4 Blood‘s PC alpha test is now open through Dec. 21 in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, and France. The game is scheduled to release on June 22, 2021, for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S.
Check out The Escapist’s live playthrough of the Back 4 Blood alpha.
