As a spiritual successor to the widely popular Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood scratches a lot of the right itches for fans. When it comes to the core experience, Back 4 Blood wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but the title's competitive multiplayer mode might not be what fans of Left 4 Dead would expect. Swarm Mode still pits a team of survivors against a group of player-controlled enemy variants, but Back 4 Blood stages the encounter around a holdout in an ever-shrinking arena instead of throughout the campaign missions.

Left 4 Dead's Versus Mode was a high point of that game, opening up its campaign to two opposing teams vying for a faster clear. Teams would alternate playing as the survivors, with the other team playing as Special Infected zombies with unique abilities. Back 4 Blood narrows the focus to a single point on the map, creating a stand-off against a horde of Ridden. Here's what to expect from Back 4 Blood's Swarm Mode and how it's different from the Versus Mode of its predecessor.

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How B4B's Swarm Mode Differs from L4D's Versus Mode

Back 4 Blood Swarm Ridden Select

Swarm matches in Back 4 Blood have two teams compete to see which can survive longer against a growing mass of Ridden and the opposing team. In addition to these active threats, a damaging insect swarm will slowly close in around players, reducing the safe area they can navigate. Each match consists of three rounds, with victory going to the first team that gets two wins. While Back 4 Blood tasks players with surviving as long as possible, Left 4 Dead's Versus Mode asked players to complete objectives with speed.

Left 4 Dead's competitive multiplayer took players through a specific campaign, chapter by chapter. The two teams would rotate between playing the Survivors and the Infected, but the ultimate victory would go to the team with the highest score. Players increase their score by defeating Infected and having as many Survivors as possible reach the chapter's end. To that effect, item drops and the dreaded Tank enemy spawn are similar for both teams, ensuring no team has an unfair advantage.

Back 4 Blood's Swarm Mode allows for much more flexibility between matches. Though Survivors will be constrained to a single shrinking locale, they'll have access to a wide assortment of weapons and items randomized in crates on top of card picks from their chosen Deck. The Ridden can purchase team-wide upgrades as the match goes on to improve a specific Ridden variant or make the accompanying horde more formidable. The extra options Swarm delivers may be a nice change of pace compared to the sometimes stagnant competitive Left 4 Dead matches, but not all players will feel the same.

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Is Back 4 Blood's Swarm Better Than Left 4 Dead's Versus?

Back 4 Blood Swarm Gameplay

Whether a player prefers Back 4 Blood or Left 4 Dead's competitive multiplayer will depend entirely on what type of experience they're looking for. Of course, Left 4 Dead is older than Back 4 Blood and offers a more linear competitive multiplayer than its progeny. Essentially the campaign with other players controlling the Special Infected that appear, Left 4 Dead offers A more straightforward experience, but certainly a more time-intensive one as well. It doesn't cater to players looking to jump into something any quicker than the standard campaigns. Sure, they could stop partway through, but completing the entire campaign was the way to get the most out of Versus Mode.

While Back 4 Blood's Swarm Mode benefits from modern gameplay improvements, some might not love the aggressive, face-to-face nature of the mode. Soon after spawning and scavenging equipment, Survivors will be bombarded by players and the Ridden horde with little space to maneuver. On the other side, Ridden that might prefer lurking at a distance or approaching stealthily will find the Swarm maps lacking in both cover and adequate range to avoid sharp-eyed Survivors. Swarm feels made specifically for competitive multiplayer -- for better and for worse.

Sooner or later, players digging into Back 4 Blood will check out Swarm and either love it or hate it. That will largely depend on their expectations going in. Players looking for a recreation or successor to Left 4 Dead's Versus Mode will likely be disappointed. However, those going in with an open mind who appreciate competitive, confrontational fun will have a blast.

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