Back 4 Blood, the new cooperative zombie game from the developers behind the Left 4 Dead series, makes a surprise appearance at The Game Awards, showing off a brand new cinematic trailer. The game will officially be debuting on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in June next year, with a beta available to play next week.
The footage will instantly be recognizable to anyone who's played Left 4 Dead before, focusing on a team of four survivors battling against onslaughts of zombie hordes. The trailer highlights several aspects of developer Turtle Rock's previous titles, including ravenous hordes of the undead, a team of charismatic central survivors, and special infected that challenge the player with a set of unique abilities.
Unlike previous the studio's prior work, however, Back 4 Blood will add new, giant zombies that the developers assure players they'll need to come together to vanquish, adding a new element to the co-operative zombie-slaying mayhem the team has become renowned for. All in all, the trailer seems to hint that the developer hasn't missed a step in the time it has been away, with a whole load of explosive zombie carnage slated to debut in the game next year.
As for other early teases as to what to expect from Back 4 Blood, the map shown in the trailer appears to be a ransacked cityscape flooded with zombies. Meanwhile, the witty dialogue and tongue-in-cheek writing of Left 4 Dead is back in force, with the four-person squad exchanging some solid banter throughout the zombie-massacring carnage. For those wanting to how Back 4 Blood will play, Turtle Rock also debuted a substantial slice of gameplay, showcasing the title's four-person co-op in action. The footage features tons of gruesome zombies, some high-octane gunplay, and a first look at the giant zombies teased during the cinematic trailer, well and truly cementing it as one of the most intense zombie games on the horizon.
For those unacquainted with the studio, Turtle Rock originally developed Left 4 Dead and its sequel Left 4 Dead 2 alongside Valve. However, the team has since ventured off on its own, opting to create a spiritual successor to the franchise in Back 4 Blood. The original creator of the franchise, Mike Booth, won't be part of the new title, however, with the designer recently announcing he's working alongside Bad Robot's gaming division to create a new AAA experience.
Back 4 Blood will be available on June 22, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.