WhileBack 4 Bloodhas proven to be a rather popular multiplayer shooter since its launch, there are a few signs that it may struggle in the long term. Notably,Back 4 Bloodhas faced stiff competition fromLeft 4 Dead 2, which recently even leapfroggedBack 4 Bloodin active players. IfBack 4 Bloodis to maintain a player base in the long term, it may have to implement new ways to improve its longevity.
Back 4 Bloodcould take notes fromLeft 4 Dead 2here, as it is a great example of a video game with longevity. Despite launching nearly 12 years ago,Left 4 Dead 2still has a solid player base, and it looks as though it has been bolstered in recent months.Left 4 Dead 2hasn’t remained popular by accident, and it provides a great framework toBack 4 Bloodto replicate going forward.
RELATED:Back 4 Blood Players Want a ‘Vote-Kick’ Feature
Back 4 Blood’s Difficulty Settings
One of the major bonuses ofLeft 4 Dead 2holds overBack 4 Bloodis its difficulty settingsthat kept gamers coming back to replay the game at higher settings. Traditionally, games may handle difficulty in a pretty straightforward way, which doesn’t necessarily yield the best results. Difficulty settings may work by incrementally making enemies more resistant to the player’s attacks and bullets. The practise is so widespread that there even exists a term for such enemies, “bullet sponges”. Alternatively, players may just notice an uptick in the number of enemies they’re facing, which can prove frustratingly difficult to deal with. Both of these methods of handling game difficulty are common in the game industry, but neither is particularly well-liked by fans.
Unlike other games in the industry,Left 4 Dead 2handles difficulty a bit differently. On higher difficulty settings, rather than havingLeft 4 Dead 2’szombies become bullet sponges, they will instead pack a greater punch on the player. Enemies will still take a bit more damage than on lower settings, but infected are far from claiming the title of bullet sponges. This makes theenemies inLeft 4 Dead 2a lot more of a threat and can change the way the player approaches the game. This adds to the replayability of each level, as the experience provided by harder-hitting enemies can often be vastly different to that on lower difficulty settings. This difficulty scaling is somethingBack 4 Bloodshould consider to keep players coming back.
Left 4 Dead 2’stake on difficulty does help to keep it feeling fresh as players go up to higher difficulties, but this isn’t the main reason gamers are still replaying it to this day. It takes quite a lot for a game likeLeft 4 Dead 2to remain relevant years on, but with a little help from the modding community, it is entirely possible.Left 4 Dead 2’smods and custom campaignsbreathe life into the game nearly 12 years on from its release.Left 4 Dead 2players have essentially free reign to customize the game in whatever way they see fit, and it has massively helped the experience. Mods have taken players fromMinecrafttoThe Lord of the Ringsto another Valve property inHalf Life 2.
There’s really no cap on the freedom modders are offered inLeft 4 Dead 2, which means player imaginations are the only thing limiting what can be made. This may be a large part of whyBack 4 Bloodplayers are flooding back toLeft 4 Dead 2just weeks after the game’s release. This is perhaps the single biggest factor that could leaveBack 4 Bloodstruggling to maintain a player base for years to come. As is becoming increasingly more common in modern gaming,Back 4 Bloodhas no mod support at launch, which comes as a blow to fans ofLeft 4 Dead 2who were hoping for another similar experience. As such,Back 4 Bloodshould consider adding mod support to improve the game’s longevity going forward.
Back 4 Bloodis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:The Best New and Upcoming Games on Xbox Game Pass
