The end of the year and 2022 roadmap for Back 4 Blood was posted recently and with several additions highlighted. While the update for November is focusing on some needed quality of life improvements alongside fixing major bugs, it also features other additions. Most if not all of these have been asked for by fans and will in the end make the fun experience that Back 4 Blood provides even more enjoyable. On top of this, the roadmap lays out a plan to add a slew of new content in the near future and keep Back 4 Blood going through 2022.
Before even making it to 2022, though, there will be additions in December of this year. This includes adding solo offline progression to Back 4 Blood next month along with new supply lines, which will likely feature the new card types and cards being added to Back 4 Blood. Since the roguelike nature of Back 4 Blood is so dependent on its cards to provide its unique experience, expanding the current card list should help keep players engaged through the end of the year. To top off these additions and keep those worried about FOMO dedicated to Back 4 Blood, players will also be treated to a Holiday seasonal event in December with its own content.
Back 4 Blood Roadmap
When the first of next year’s three expansions does arrive in Back 4 Blood, it will start off with the Tunnels of Terror. The new story expansion will feature new Cleaners for players to try out as well as new Ridden for them to encounter. While the recent Back 4 Blood update unlocks all characters for players, it’s likely that fans will need to progress to unlock the new Cleaners from Tunnels of Terror. This first of the three expansions will also include a new activity type alongside new weapons, cards, and exclusive cosmetics.
This makes sense for keeping some kind of player progression going and also feeds into the longevity of the game. A concern that players should have, though, is the new Ridden being added. It was recently confirmed that Back 4 Blood was spawning too many special zombies, which adds to the ramping difficulty that players can already experience. While the issue has been addressed, if it ends up being a recurring bug, future updates could see players struggling just as much when loading into new story missions.
The silver lining to this is that plenty of Back 4 Blood players have been willing to test their mettle despite the abnormal number of Special Ridden spawning in the game, meaning harder difficulties could be warranted. Since the free update for 2022 has already confirmed this, players could find themselves facing a difficulty that matches the pre-patch challenge they’ve had recently. Complimenting this will be a new co-op mode, an update to Back 4 Blood’s melee mechanics, new corruption cards, and even more new player cards for fans to collect and build decks with. While there are still big fixes Back 4 Blood needs, all of this is a great start to moving the game forward.
These additions are also great for helping to build out the roguelike mechanics that Back 4 Blood uses, but it’s still only a start. Moving forward, there’s still a lot that Back 4 Blood can learn from Left 4 Dead 2’s longevity. Both games fill the same zombie-shaped hole, albeit through with approaches, and Back 4 Blood is even seen as a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead by many. As more plans for the game’s future are announce, it would be nice to see some deeper story mechanics used in tandem with all of the innovative steps that Back 4 Blood is already taking.
Back 4 Blood is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.