The multiplayer shooter recently started its beta for pre-orderers and Early Access owners – and it could hardly have been more successful. But the reactions in the community are not quite so euphoric.
On 12 October 2021, the new co-op shooter Back 4 Blood will be released. But many players have already been able to get a taste of the game in the form of a beta. And the statistics from Steam show: The interest in the spectacle around monstrous infected people seems to be very high!
Clever marketing helps the numbers
A look at SteamDB reveals that the beta was a huge success. In the period from 5 August 2021 to 9 August 2021, player numbers even climbed to almost 100,000 players at the peak. And that was not an isolated case: on each day of the beta, this limit was approached again and again.
This even beats big titles: A comparison with other multiplayer greats shows how impressive these numbers are for the shooter. Back 4 Blood could beat Team Fortress 2, Destiny 2 and even Final Fantasy XIV on Steam.
Access to the beta was granted to all pre-orderers and owners of an Early Access code. Getting hold of the latter was not particularly difficult. For example, to receive it, it was sufficient to attend a Twitch stream approved by the developers for one hour. Then you could secure a code via Twitch Drop. This clever marketing move may well have contributed to the high player numbers.
Also No. 1 in Steam bestsellers: The success of the beta is also reflected in the sales figures. Because Back 4 Blood was also able to take the top spot there last week, leaving other new releases such as The Ascent or Tribes of Midgard behind.
This is the reaction of the players
And what do the numerous testers say? They are not as euphoric as one might expect from the lively participation. On Reddit the different difficulty levels are the main topic of conversation.
Because on the “Survivor” difficulty level, the game is supposed to be “a walk in the park”, as one userput it in his summary. Another even described the game experience on the low level as an “absolute joke”. And one level higher, on “Veteran”, it is supposed to be the exact opposite. Here you need a well-rehearsed team that is not even allowed to use the same weapons in order not to run out of ammunition.
A further problem seems to be the entry in the middle of an ongoing game. This causes bugs for all players and prevents the new player from choosing the character bonuses he is entitled to from the card system.
But there is also praise: The character design and some special locations on the map as well as the associated horde events are positively highlighted. If you make the wrong decisions in the course of a round, you are supposed to stumble quite a bit in terms of life energy and ammunition towards the end. So a planned approach seems to be important.
The trauma system and the main menu, which functions as a kind of hub world, also meet with approval. In general, the game’s potential is often acknowledged despite all the problems.
Bugs cause frustration, but also laughs: Of course, there are still a large number of bugs and other problems, but such a beta is also there to detect and fix them. Sometimes weapons start firing automatically, which sets off the infected.
The AI of the bots currently still seems to fall more into the “expedient” category, as these players have amusingly noted:
The developers should also work on the muscle strength of some of the infected – or send the monster for doping control:
It remains to be seen whether the developers will be able to address some of the many balancing issues and technical stumbling blocks within a few days. Because from 12 August 2021 to 16 August 2021, the beta will start again – and this time completely open to all.
