Back 4 Blood's card system explained in new trailer

In a new trailer, Back 4 Blood’s gameplay transforming card system has been detailed, showing off just how it should spice up the co-op zombie massacring gameplay. 

As you start a mission, Back 4 Blood’s game director will play a set of corruption cards to keep each mission unique. These corruption cards can be special events, such as all the power being out on the level, or the inclusion of a variety of special Ridden who pose a different challenge to the standard horde. 

To balance this out, you and your own team have your own deck of cards that you’ll be dealt a selection of as you join a game. These cards tailor you into a premade or fully customised build that can give you such wonders as infinite secondary weapon ammo, or a big ol’ pointy knife. 

Decks of cards and the builds you can create do sound like a great way to add some variety into mowing down hordes of Ridden, so long as there’s enough customizability. Turtle Rock Studios just has to avoid the trap of having perfect sets for a medic or demolitionist build, as if somethings the best, why use anything else? 

Even if the card system doesn’t strike your fancy, the gameplay shown off in the trailer does look like a zombie-killing romp, exactly what you would expect from a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead.  

While this deck-building system does sound like a haven for microtransactions, Turtle Rock Studio’s has already announced that “no. Cards will not be available for purchase via any in-game storefront or first-party storefront.” Some cards may still be added down the line “post-launch paid content drops” but they promise that they won’t be pay to win. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NT7zrkQjmM

All the good looks and customisation options could all be for nought if Back 4 Blood doesn’t actually play well, but to find that out, we’ll have to wait to get our hands on it when it releases on October 12th.