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Back 4 Blood Receiving No More New Content

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Back 4 Blood

As we get closer further into 2023, it seems games are taking a sideline as Back 4 Blood, the Left 4 Dead spiritual successor, developed by Turtle Rock Studios won’t have any more post-launch content. The game isn’t going to fully shut down, though.

In an announcement on its website, the studio is moving onto a new game, and as a result of them being a small team making a AAA game, it had to decide if it wanted to keep working on new content for its four-player online experience or venture forth into other pastures.

Unlike other games as of late, just because they’re stepping away from developing new content, that doesn’t mean Back 4 Blood is going offline. The game will remain operational and is currently part of the Extra and Premium tiers for PlayStation Plus, so if you don’t want to spend $59.99 on it, you can possibly just get it through your subscription.

This is some bittersweet news for fans as this means the spiritual successor is down and out, but it also means a bright future for Turtle Rock as they shift gears toward making a new game.

Turtle Rock’s Back 4 Blood Statement

“Turtle Rock Studios is actually pretty small for a studio making AAA games. We don’t have quite enough folks to continue working on Back 4 Blood content while we spin up another game – yes, another game! Given this, it’s time for us to put our heads down, get back in the lab, and get to work on the next big thing.”

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Back 4 Blood Now Has Solo Campaign And Offline Play

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Back 4 Blood

Turtle Rock Studios is finally addressing a not-so fun aspect of its four-player multiplayer zombie survival, Back 4 Blood. Understandably deemed the successor of Valve’s Left 4 Dead franchise, Turtle Rock’s take on the co-op zombie survival genre forced four players, leaving those who just want to play alone in the dust.

Now, however, it’s getting addressed in the way of the latest update featuring a spiffy offline campaign for solo players alongside seasonal skins and weapons. New Christmas-themed spray and emblems are also on the list of content tossed in with the new update.

The update means that players no longer have to play in Training mode just to play alone and consequently not any sort of points or achievements or stats tracked. Instead, there is a proper solo campaign to go through. On top of that, it can also be played offline, which was something Back 4 Blood simply didn’t have — you had to still be connected to the internet to play the game at all.

Turtle Rock also patched out some glitches and bugs like its duplication glitches.

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Turtle Rock Studios Defends Lengthy DLC Plans For Evolve

Ben-Dutka 8 Comments

It's always a touchy subject: Premium downloadable content.

Developer Turtle Rock Studios has extensive DLC plans for the upcoming Evolve , but the sheer amount of content coming for a price has annoyed the community.

In response, Turtle Rock co-founder Phil Robb took to the game's forums to explain a few things. Firstly, he says the DLC plans are in-line with their peers and secondly, he emphasizes that the team did not finish development on Evolve and then cut content so they could charge for it. As Robb wrote:

"When Evolve hits the shelves, none of the DLC will be done. Behemoth won't be done. None of the planned DLC hunters or monsters will be done. The only exception to this might be some skins that were working on now while we wait for all the final stages of packaging, manufacturing etc. to finish."

Robb added that the extra Hunters and Monsters will require a fair amount of time and money to create, and gamers will see that once they start playing. Finally, he clarified that due to time and budget constraints, they couldn't possibly include all the Hunters and Monsters they wanted to include in the base game:

"As we got closer to finishing Evolve we ended up with designs for a bunch of monster and hunters that we just didn't have the time and money to make. Instead of throw them all out, why not put together a budget to make them as DLC?"

Means more content for the people who love the game and want more. It also means all those ideas get to see the light of day. Oh yeah, and it means more work for TRS and we can keep paying our bills and making cool stuff!"

Well, talk amongst yourselves…

Related Game(s): Evolve

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Evolve’s Evacuation Mode Offers Dynamic Co-Op Action

Ben-Dutka 2 Comments

Okay, so the game doesn't have a traditional campaign mode.

However, the more we learn about the Evacuation Mode in Evolve , the more we realize that it could satisfy those who have always preferred solo experiences.

As explained over at the game's website , Evacuation pits a group of heroes against one massive monster. Now, you can play this by yourself even though it supports up to five players. Furthermore, the progression of the mode boasts several campaign-like features, and actions made in one round can have an impact on future rounds. For instance:

"…one example, the Dam is saved and the Hunters win for that day. As a result, the workers are able to power up Perimeter Fences, which cut neighboring maps into half sized portions, creating an interesting advantage for the Hunters."

Evolve was supposed to be available for the 2014 holiday season but it got delayed. It's now scheduled to drop on February 20, 2015.

Related Game(s): Evolve

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Gamer Reactions To Evolve Will Dictate Future Content

Ben-Dutka 2 Comments

These days, it's common for developers to talk about downloadable content long before the game even releases.

However, Turtle Rock Studios would like to make one thing clear: The fans will have a say in the extra content the team ends up producing for the hotly anticipated Evolve .

Speaking in a new Official Xbox Magazine interview , Turtle Rock co-founder Chris Ashton addressed the differences between Left 4 Dead and the new IP as it pertains to DLC:

"You know, in Left 4 Dead we could make new environments, but we really didn't have a structure there to make new characters or zombie types, so we were pretty limited on what we could do, DLC-wise.

But with Evolve… we made these modular pieces–the way the whole game fits together means we can make new maps, new environment types, new wildlife, new monsters and hunters, and all of that stuff just plugs into the game."

Ashton added that the community will play a significant role in determining how the developers approach DLC. He says they want to see how gamers react, because Evolve is "designed to have a long life." In fact, Ashton believes the new title supports the concept of DLC better than any game they've done before, and that's a good thing, right?

There's plenty of opportunity to expand upon Evolve in a positive way…a way that goes well beyond a few extra maps.

Related Game(s): Evolve

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2K Pleased With Evolve’s Domination Of The E3 2014 Awards

Ben-Dutka 2 Comments

There are lots of shooters on tap for the second half of 2014, but perhaps the most intriguing is Evolve .

As reported by GameSpot , the upcoming co-op FPS from Turtle Rock Studios and 2K Games dominated the E3 2014 Game Critics Awards and as a result, the publisher is humbled and encouraged. As 2K boss Christoph Hartmann said:

"Evolve continues to solidify its position as one of the most anticipated games of the year. The accolades for Evolve highlight the excitement and desire for new IP on next-gen systems, and we are poised to deliver what we believe will be the defining next-gen experience of 2014."

Evolve snagged the prestigious Best of Show award, and also won Best Console Game, Best Action Game and Best Online Game. Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock is out to create an innovative 4-on-1 experience that sees players assuming the roles on both sides: The four humans, and the one monster. With multiple classes and monsters, players will have to utilize various strategies to succeed.

Said studio co-founder and design director Chris Ashton:

" We are encouraged and humbled to see that critics are realizing what we've known for a long time: that Evolve is a special experience unlike anything that we’ve ever played before. "

Don't forget that most of the other shooters still to come this year are part of big franchises ( Call of Duty , Battlefield , Borderlands , Far Cry , etc.). Only Destiny and Evolve are new IPs and perhaps not coincidentally, they're also the most promising in the eyes of many.

Evolve is slated to arrive on October 21 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. To learn more, check out our preview .

Related Game(s): Evolve

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