How Back 4 Blood is different from Left 4 Dead

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Left 4 Dead is one of those core Valve properties locked away for far too long. When both games in the series were released, they were genre-defining experiences, but that door has remained shut for well over a decade. Enter Back 4 Blood, a game developed by Turtle Rock Studios, formerly known as Valve South, and the first Left 4 Dead game developers before becoming an independent studio in 2011. Given they are no longer connected to Valve, they cannot use the Left 4 Dead IP and set out to make their own series. Regardless of how you feel about the potential of Left 4 Dead 3, this is not that game. Here is how Back 4 Blood is different from Left 4 Dead.

Cleaners are the human characters players take control of in Back 4 Blood. At launch, Turtle Rock has promised eight different characters to choose from, equaling the total available in both Left 4 Dead games put together, with more on the way with the game’s three post-launch expansions. However, only four cleaners will be played at a time.

In Left 4 Dead, while survivors looked different and had little personality quips, they were, by and large, the same. There were no differing gameplay aspects or real reasons to choose one over the other. Back 4 Blood is looking to flesh out human characters. For starters, each Cleaner has perks that help them stand out from the others. For example, Karlee can sense danger around corners and point it out to her teammates. They also have a signature secondary weapon, but that can be swapped out at anytime. For some, it will be a melee weapon. Others will have smaller firearms.

In Left 4 Dead, the infected were basic zombies, brought on by a flu-like illness that mutated. The cause of the