Preview: Does Back 4 Blood live up to Left 4 Dead's legacy?

Back 4 Blood seems poised to give us a spiritual third entry in the Left 4 Dead series.

Among the many awards and game reveals at The Game Awards 2020 stood Back 4 Blood, a new zombie co-op shooter from Turtle Rock Studios, the same studio responsible for the popular Left 4 Dead series and the much less popular Evolve. Back 4 Blood promises to bring back the same cooperative zombie slaying that made Left 4 Dead so great, while also introducing new elements like currency and a deck system, which allows you to draw cards that buff you and the team.

Shortly after the world premiere, gamers were invited to register for a closed alpha that took place between December 17th to December 21st, which gave lucky players the chance to shoot, explore, and break Back 4 Blood and offer feedback to improve the game.

After spending about a dozen hours with the Closed Alpha build of the game, I'm happy to report that almost seven months ahead of its release date, Back 4 Blood is shaping up to be ...