Back 4 Blood Is Looking To Make Difficulty Adjustments

We enjoyed Back 4 Blood when it launched last month. Calling it "fantastic fun - in the right circumstances" in our review, we had some issues with the game's challenge, advising that the difficulty spikes could make gameplay unbalanced.

Evidently, its a wider issue, as developers Turtle Rock Studios has now addressed this in a Reddit post. Acknowledging that "sometimes a bit of difficulty can add a lot of replayability," they confirmed that "issues and bugs" have made it "far more difficult than intended."

Read More: Back 4 Blood Roadmap: Every Major Update Coming in 2021 and Beyond

Back 4 Blood Is Looking To Make Difficulty Adjustments

Accordingly, Turtle Rock outlined plans to change the Trauma Damage system, Ridden Mutations spawn rate and Melee Cards.

Part of this statement confirmed:

Difficulty needs to be our “baby bear” in Back 4 Blood’s Goldilocks story. It needs to be “just right.” We want it tense. We want it challenging. We want you barely squeaking into the saferoom with a horde hot on your heels and you feeling that rush. We do not want it unmanageable. We do not want it to be unfair.

That is our mission. Players must have agency. They must win and lose, prevail or perish, by their own actions. Skill, planning, and teamwork should carry the day. That’s the goal. Part of reaching that goal is finding the right balance -- just right -- through constant adjustment to the various card systems, spawning systems, AI director, and other facets that affect gameplay.

Right now, its unclear when these changes will be implemented in Back 4 Blood, though it's reassuring to know that Turtle Rock are actively looking into this. Soon as we hear more, we'll keep you informed.