Back 4 Blood has been relentlessly marketed by Turtle Rock Studios as a spiritual successor to the highly popular Left 4 Dead. While the game itself was a really good game with its own merits, one thing is for sure: Back 4 Blood is no Left 4 Dead. While the skeletal forms are largely similar, there is a lot of difference that makes the two distinct. If they're not the same games, then the question becomes more focused on Back 4 Blood vs. Left 4 Dead. Here, we explore arguments as to why Back 4 Blood is better than Left 4 Dead, as well as give arguments on why Left 4 Dead is better than Back 4 Blood.
3 Reasons why Back 4 Blood is better than Left 4 Dead
1. Graphics
Back 4 Blood‘s graphics are way superior compared to Left 4 Dead. This is mostly expected, especially since the two games are released over a decade apart. Still, Left 4 Dead held its candle for a long while. L4D still looks good today, but technology has moved forward that straight out of the box, Back 4 Blood simply looks more gorgeous.
2. Better Gunplay
Years of experience away from the Left 4 Dead franchise allowed the folks at Turtlerock Studios to improve their craft and become overall better as developers. The combination of the crisp sound design, as well as the satisfying tactile feedback for gunplay, makes Back 4 Blood a superior game in terms of gunplay. There's a large variety of weapons and weapon modifications that give players a lot of options in blasting zombies' brains away. In this regard, Back 4 Blood is better than Left 4 Dead by a long shot.
3. The Card System and Character Classes
The biggest improvement from Left 4 Dead that Back 4 Blood adds to the table is the card system. The card system adds more than just an extension of the game's shelf life. Sure, it adds variety to every run you do, but it allows a sort of class system in Back 4 Blood to take place. Each character already has different abilities and capabilities that make them special, but the card system can further differentiate each player's playstyle from everyone else in the party. You want to make a healing-focused character? You can do that. Gun nut? Sure. Want to become a sprinter who bashes zombies heads in with a baseball bat? You bet. In Back 4 Blood, you can face the undead horde with however you want, so long as you have the cards to build the playstyle you'd like.
3 Reasons why Left 4 Dead wins the B4B vs. L4D debate
1. Better AI Director
Back 4 Blood has the better gunplay, and thank god that they do. Players need the added help from the game's guns and weapons because of its terrible AI Director. The reason why the difficulty jumps from easy to impossible between Recruit and Veteran is because of its AI Director. The special ridden spawn out of nowhere, in large numbers, wrecking through the entire party with impunity. There's also no way to find out when a new special ridden has spawned, making the party susceptible to unexpected (and unfair) jumps. This is one of the things that Back 4 Blood didn't get right that Left 4 Dead did.
2. Stronger Storybuilding
Left 4 Dead simply had more charm than Back 4 Blood has. The worldbuilding from the dialog banter between the characters is richer, as well as the environmental storytelling in Left 4 Dead. You realize how things turned out by exploring the areas you play in, realizing how awful the events have been. In terms of how rich and interesting the world is, Left 4 Dead simply did it better.
3. Better Level Design
Finally, Left 4 Dead has longer, bigger, and much more detailed stages. One complaint many fans have about Back 4 Blood is its short and linear worlds. Both games have a linear level design but Left 4 Dead felt more expansive, more lively, and gave players a lot more room to explore. To add to this, Left 4 Dead‘s arena moments are so much better, with a lot more suspense and tension. Back 4 Blood‘s feature that allows players to buy weapons and supplies at the start of each level takes away a lot of the frantic tension that there is in Left 4 Dead, where every weapon you see and supply you see in the level turns out to be essential, arriving just in time when you're about to run out.
Either way, both games are good by their own merits. Back 4 Blood is no Left 4 Dead, and it's better off that way. Of course, there will still be people who would prefer Left 4 Dead over Back 4 Blood, but newer players are also discovering the fun factor of a four-player zombie horde co-op thanks to Back 4 Blood. Both games have their spot in gaming history and the argument on which one is better should be laid to rest.
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