Back 4 Blood: Deluxe Edition

Back 4 Blood doesn't nail all the twists it attempts, but a creative card-based progression system, fantastic campaign, and lighthearted tone make it a fun spin on a familiar genre.

Back 4 Blood recaptures the spirit of Left 4 Dead while introducing some engaging modern trappings.

Back 4 Blood is a strange mix of old and new, but it works. The result is a delightfully scrappy hang-out shooter.

Back 4 Blood is an exceptional FPS that sets a new standard for co-op zombie murderfests.

Left 4 Dead is a beautiful relic, something I and many others spent hundreds of hours playing in high school and college. But with games like Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and even Aliens: Fireteam Elite branching out and taking more of a class-based approach, I was sure Back 4 Blood’s more classic bone structure would crumble under the pressure. But Back 4 Blood is more like that makeshift, armor-clad Hummer you see in every zombie show and movie: The bones of what it once was are easy to see, but it’s been reinforced to survive in a new environment.

Back 4 Blood is brilliant, co-op fun, with an interesting card system, but it's marred by terrible bots, awkward solo campaign choices, and a lackluster PvP mode.

Back 4 Blood shines when playing with others and has enough systems, spooks, and FPS fun to make players want to come back for more

Despite a messy start, this spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead becomes more challenging and characterful the longer you spend with it

It seems backhanded to say that a game is only worth playing if you can find people to distract you from the actual game, but if your group wants something mindless to wind down after an intense night on Warzone or Rainbow Six: Siege, Back 4 Blood is ideal.

Back 4 Blood takes an old-school approach where it makes sense, and modernises where it doesn’t. It’s heartening to be engaged by a game purely for its gameplay and variety, and not to pad out a progress bar somewhere.