Many fans and players of Valve's Left 4 Dead series were blessed with a proper trailer for Turtle Rock Studios' spiritual successor to the series, Back 4 Blood. This game will give a modern take on surviving with friends throughout campaigns while fighting off hordes of zombies.
Like with Left 4 Dead, players won't be fighting just ordinary zombies in Back 4 Blood. They will also be going up against a number of mutated zombies capable of using their new abilities to hunt for survivors far more aggressively. While it is entirely possible that not all of them have been officially announced, a number of these powerful zombies have already been shown off. Due to Back 4 Blood still being in its pre-alpha state, there are some special zombies that have been referred to with multiple names by different sources. It is also possible for the mechanics of these zombies to be changed around as development continues.
Updated April 12th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: Back 4 Blood hasn't seen the same success as Left 4 Dead, but developers are still working hard to bring new content to the title as much as they possibly can. There are still those out there that are dedicated to the zombie-survival first-person shooter and there is a lot to love about Back 4 Blood's tuned and visceral gameplay. One of the coolest and most frightening aspects of the title is the addition of multiple types of zombies. To better showcase the different types of zombies in Back 4 Blood, and highlight their variants, the following list has been updated to include even more entries and information.
Hocker
Hockers are mutated zombies with four arms that are capable of powerful agility as well as the ability to jump long distances and hang onto walls. The most chilling part of their abilities, however, are their ability to spit goo at survivors from a long range. When a survivor is hit with the goo, they will be pinned to the ground until they are freed by another survivor. They cannot defend themselves while in this state and are vulnerable to attacks from all kinds of zombies in the meantime.
Players in Back 4 Blood will be able to pick up if there is a Hocker nearby by the hearing loud coughing noises made by the creature, which will allow them to prepare for it to attack or to begin searching for it in order to put it down. Hockers don't have very much health, allowing them to be quickly dealt with if found early enough. They additionally have a weak spot in their chest due to that being the source of their goo.
Other Variants In The Hocker Family
The Hocker's variants are the Stalker and the Stinger. Together, these special infected are exceptionally skilled at sneak attacks. Players will need to keep their wits about them around Hockers, Stingers, and Stalkers to ensure they aren't pulled away from their team or rendered blind. Here's a look at what the other two classifications are capable of:
- Stalker - The Stalker is a fairly straightforward mutation that skulks in the shadows and can leap long distances at players. They have a swipe attack that does solid damage but players should be more worried about their pounce attack. If the Stalker manages to pounce on a Cleaner, they will drag them away from their team and will only let go if teammates can dish out enough damage or outright kill the beast.
- Stinger - The Stinger is very similar to its Hocker counterpart but is much more agile, capable of leaping and scurrying across the map at high speeds, making it difficult for players to track and eliminate. It also has a projectile-based ability that will cover the player's screen in an acidic goo that makes it exceedingly difficult to see for a short period of time.
Bruiser
Bruisers are very dangerous mutated zombies that parallel Left 4 Dead's chargers. They are outfitted with an extremely muscular right arm that can be used to slam into survivors, dealing massive amounts of damage. This attack will also knock back all survivors by several meters.
While its power is intimidating, survivors more often than not will have access to firearms in order to take Bruisers down from a distance, as it needs to be in close range in order to benefit from its abilities. Players can also shoot at its weak spot, which is on its right shoulder where the muscle mutations begin. After shooting at a Bruiser's weak point enough, the muscle arm will fall off and literally disarm the Bruiser, and players can then easily take the zombie down with much less overall risk.
Other Variants In The Bruiser Family
The Bruiser has its own set of variants that are terrifying to take on for Cleaners that are unprepared. The Tallboy is definitely the most docile of the two, as it's considered the "basic form" of this particular family, but that doesn't make it any less punishing. Players will need to be sure that they keep wide-open space between them and the Bruiser crew, as they'll pay the ultimate price pretty quickly if they're cornered with no escape from this mutation's massive arms. Here's what the Tallboy and Crusher bring to the table:
- Tallboy - The most basic of the tall mutant infected. The Tallboy uses a simple overhead smash but to great effect, inflicting heavy damage and actually knocking Cleaners backward. Players that aren't careful could find themselves separated from one big overhead smash.
- Crusher - The Crusher does exactly what its name implies by picking up Cleaners when it gets close and forcefully squeezing the life out of them. This attack renders players immobile and takes away all their abilities and weapons while within the grasp of the Crusher. It will deal a large amount of damage over time, meaning players want to try their best to avoid being grabbed by these punishing foes.
Retch
Retches can be considered to be the unholy love children between Left 4 Dead's Boomer and Spitter special infected, and they are massive and bloated zombies that are capable of spitting corrosive acid in order to damage survivors. This acid, however, also attracts hordes of zombies to its location. While Retches can be compared to Boomers and Spitters, Retches are tougher to deal with than either of them. They have plenty of health, making survivors need to work together in order to take them down instead of taking them down in one shot.
Thanks to the imposing and large silhouettes of Retches, players will be able to see Retches from long distances. This means that unless players are in an indoor location with limited sight lines, players can start to whittle down the health of these creatures upon first sight.
Other Variants In The Retch Family
As if the Retch wasn't bad enough, players will also have to contend with the Reeker and Exploder. Together, this trio of hulking Ridden are capable of dishing out some serious damage to unaware players that allow them to get too close. Retches and their counterparts should be eliminated immediately, and Cleaners should do their best to mark them for their teammates to help take down before it's to late. Here's what the Reeker and Exploder are capable of:
- Reeker - Considered the most basic of the trio, the Reeker can dish out some decent damage with melee attacks but its self-destructive explosion can turn the tide of battle for the Ridden by damaging players and covering them in a layer of goo that attracts nearby infected to attack ravenously.
- Exploder - The Exploder is one of the most dangerous Ridden if players don't keep a close eye on it. Its signature ability is a timed, enhanced explosion. After it glows for a short period it will combust and cause a much greater explosion that has increased AOE and damage output compared to its counterparts. It can even interact with the environment, setting off chain-reaction explosions.
Snitch
Snitches are long-necked zombies without much combat capabilities or health. However, this doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous, as their main ability is to be able to alert a horde of zombies to the location of the survivors if it isn't killed quickly. The concept of Snitches came from a cut special infected from Left 4 Dead known as Screamers, but it has been reworked a bit for Back 4 Blood in order to make its concept work while also being relatively fair to players.
In-game, Snitches will only alert the horde over after being made aware of the survivors' presence. This means that players can sneak around this zombie if they don't want to kill it for some reason or they can take advantage of it to get a surprise kill.
Sleeper
Sleepers are one of the most frustrating special infected that players can come across during their journey through Back 4 Blood. These wall-mounted special mutations are immobile until a Cleaner comes within range. Once they are close enough, the Sleeper will leap onto them and do quite a bit of damage. Thankfully, they can be taken care of from range, but they're difficult to see in some of the darker areas strewn throughout the game.
Hag
Those that played quite a bit of Left 4 Dead 2 will remember the ire of the Witch. Those that were loud or foolish enough to startle her would soon find themselves incapacitated on the ground thanks to the Witch's immense damage output and speed. It was always smarter to leave them alone. Back 4 Blood continues to tradition of "creatures that should be avoided" with the Hag. This hulking beast is a bit more intimidating-looking than the Witch and is capable of devouring a Cleaner whole. Once they get their hands on a player, they will attempt to devour them bit by bit, giving their teammates only a small window to eliminate the Hag and prevent the player from becoming a snack.
Breaker
At times, players will be forced to deal with a Breaker, which is a heavily-armored Ridden that is particularly agile considering its immense size. It can be difficult to get away from these hulking beasts, and players will have their hands full trying to dish out enough damage to bring one down. If they manage to get close enough, the Breaker will pin a Cleaner down and pummel them until they perish. These creatures are similar to the Tanks in Left 4 Dead 2.
Ogre
The most powerful of all the mutated zombies is the Ogre. These zombies are 20 feet tall and play the role of level bosses in Back 4 Blood's first campaign. They are made of many different dead bodies, giving them large health pools. They can additionally restore their health in the middle of fights against survivors. While Ogres have a lot of power, they are also extremely slow. This means that there may be situations for players involving Ogres where it would be wiser to run away from them instead of even trying to fight them.
Players will need to be aware that Ogres are capable of throwing projectiles and breaking down obstacles that are in their way. They can also grab survivors within its reach in order to throw them. In order to get away from Ogres, players will need to get to small passageways that are too small for the Ogre to enter, so players will need to be careful to stay out of the reach of the Ogre even if they are in a place it cannot enter.
Common Infected
Common Infected are as their name suggests and are the most common type of zombie found in Back 4 Blood. While they are normally weak, they gain power in groups and can overrun players if there are too many of them around.
The speed of Common Infected is determined at the beginning of each level by the corruption cards drawn by the Director. This means that they can moving as slow as a stereotypical zombie shamble to a full running sprint depending on how the cards are dealt.
Back 4 Blood is set to release on June 22, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
