Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 302 sampled Steam reviews (194 positive / 108 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Multiplayer & servers8% mention it
- Story & writing7% mention it
- Combat4% mention it
- Progression & loot4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing16% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers8% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
46%
95 reviews
5-15h
69%
87 reviews
15-40h
72%
58 reviews
40-100h
74%
31 reviews
100h+
81%
31 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 81 |
| Creator reviews (3 tracked) | – | 74 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 69% | 66 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 75% | 70 | 79 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 225 reviews sampled · 153 total reviews in window · weighted 108.9 up / 36.7 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (136)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“If you can give Back 4 Blood a chance, then eventually the game will open up as a fun and original 4-player co-op based shooter.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“As a cooperative shooter, Back 4 Blood is not bad. But as it is, bland maps, awkward progression and controversial design decisions make it a game for only a couple of evenings.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“But for what it is, Back 4 Blood proves that what made Left 4 Dead good is still a lot of fun, even if this new iteration doesn't make use of every innovative convention to spring up since the series' original release. And there's something to be said for aging gracefully and not shoehorning in everything at once. As the old plastic surgery adage goes, sometimes it's best not to remake but maintain.”
read full review ↗ - 50
- 70
“The gameplay and combat is fun and engaging, the Ridden are terrifying and diverse, and the campaign packs a solid punch in terms of what you get out of it. When it does stumble though, the fall hurts.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Is Back 4 Blood the Left 4 Dead 3 we've been waiting for? Yes! It's a worthy spiritual successor to Valve's classic zombie-slaying series of multiplayer games, and offers a well-designed Campaign mode with some impressive new features such as its strategic Card system. The difficulty perhaps needs balancing a little more, and the lack of meaningful progression when playing Solo Campaign needs addressing sharpish, but otherwise we've had a blast with Back 4 Blood so far, and we look forward to many more Campaign runs in the weeks, months and years to come.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Back 4 Blood is another great multiplayer zombie game, but some serious balance issues force it to stumble out of the gate.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Having spent a lot of time with Back 4 Blood, we think it's well worth your time and, crucially, your money. It's just a lot of fun blowing Ridden heads off or smashing them with a baseball bat like a watermelon in an anime beach episode. It doesn't really deliver a compelling experience solo, the bots are just a touch too stupid for that, but Back 4 Blood ought to become a multiplayer fixture for the rest of the generation to come. Unless they bring out Back 4 Blood 2 in, like, a year.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Overall, Back 4 Blood is a good experience of a survival-driven shooter game and zombie killing.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While marred by useless bots, an unnecessary multiplayer mode, and some reused assets; Back 4 Blood is an excellent new take on the 4 player co-op shooter genre.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Back 4 Blood is a great successor to Left 4 Dead. Although it has some flaws, the title offers a fantastic experience when playing it with friends, which added to the mastery with which the progression system has been established, make the title an absolute recommended for those who like the genre.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Turtle Rock Studios have made a triumphant return to the genre that kickstarted a whole zombie craze so many years ago. That return isn’t perfect though, issues with the controls, missing game modes and bugs have marred what is otherwise an enjoyable zombie killfest. At the time of this writing a few patches have gone out that have corrected most of the larger bugs, but there are still issues with spawning too many special infected at a time and other little issues. While these things can be frustrating, they don’t destroy the fun of Back 4 Blood when playing the game as it’s meant to be. That is playing multiplayer with a group of friends smartly navigating a nightmare filled world.”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
3DNews
Paste Magazine
The Angry Joe Show
Nexus Hub
Pure Xbox
PC Invasion
Push Square
Zoomg
Capsule Computers
SomosXbox
ZTGD…and 124 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- MAY 2024 UPDATEMay 15, 2024
- Hotfix - Dec 14 2022Dec 14, 2022
- DECEMBER 2022 UPDATE - RIVER OF BLOODDec 5, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Halloween in Fort HopeOct 11, 2022
- OCTOBER 2022 UPDATEOct 11, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- SEPTEMBER 2022 HOTFIXSep 8, 2022
- AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - CHILDREN OF THE WORMAug 30, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- JUNE 2022 UPDATEJun 7, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- New Free Update, Coming June 7th!Jun 2, 2022
- April 19 2022 HOTFIXApr 19, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- April 13 2022 HOTFIXApr 13, 2022
- APRIL 2022 UPDATEApr 12, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- FEBRUARY 2022 UPDATEFeb 8, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- JANUARY 13 2022 HOTFIXJan 13, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- DECEMBER 2021 UPDATEDec 16, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Update November 10 2021Nov 11, 2021
- NOVEMBER 2021 UPDATENov 9, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- NOVEMBER 2021 UPDATENov 9, 2021significant · resets scoring window