Back 4 Blood developers have revealed the second expansion, Children Of The Worm, and given it a release date, adding new weapons, enemies and the fifth act of the game.
Back 4 Blood was first released in 2021 and is the latest game added to the roster of developer Turtle Rock Studios’ impressive list of co-op shooters that have influenced and inspired many of today’s multiplayer games. The studio is best known for their highly successful Left 4 Dead and their asymmetrical multiplayer shooter Evolve in which a team of survivors is pitted against one player who controls a monster.
The Latest Expansion
Children of the Worm is the second Back 4 Blood expansion which has recently been revealed through a promotional image on Twitter that showcased some of the new features that we will be seeing once it releases on the 30th of August.
The latest expansion adds a new playable ‘Cleaner’ (what the game calls their survivors) named “Prophet” Dan, an intriguing character sporting an exquisite moustache, an Irish flag, a clover pin and a stencil of the Bible verse Peter 4:12:
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
The additions to the game have a common cult-like theme as new cult-themed enemies such as a sniper and a gas mask-clad enemy carrying strange chemical concoctions are set to be added to the game, breaking away from the usual undead variants of enemies in a new direction for the game.
The Back 4 Blood Children of the Worm expansion will add eight new character skins for Cleaners that are already a part of the game, as well as a series of 8-bit weapon skins adding to the visual diversity.
The expansion also adds bear traps to the player’s arsenals, and the “Lockjaw” sniper rifle has a unique design which incorporates an animal’s jawbone around the rifle scope. Although more has not yet been revealed, there are plenty more weapons, accessories and cards coming with the expansion as well.
Continuing the story
Children of the Worm will build on the original four chapters of Back 4 Blood with the new Act 5 campaign – likely to see players facing off against the new cultist enemies that have been added, and more cult intrigue.
The expansion will be free for any players who own the game’s Deluxe or Ultimate editions but will also be available for individual purchase or along with the Back 4 Blood Annual Pass.
It’s interesting to see the development team exploring new enemy types, but hopefully, they won’t stray too far from what makes the game so much fun: the hordes of zombies.
Turtle Rock Studios
Back 4 Blood is the spiritual successor of Left 4 Dead as can be seen by the decision to substitute the ‘for’ with ‘4’ in each title. Left 4 Dead is a multiplayer co-op set in post-apocalyptic Pennsylvania where four immune survivors, Francis, Bill, Zoey, and Louis fight through hordes of zombies and Special Infected as they make their way to extraction zones. The game came out in 2008 and was a huge hit with zombie video game fans.
Their latest game, Back 4 Blood, also sees a team of survivors fighting their way through hordes of zombies but this time the zombies are smarter and evolving, and sometimes called “Ridden”. The game includes an AI game director that modifies the environment to keep players on their toes the whole time.