Back 4 Blood‘s first expansion is now available, and playable to any group as long as one person owns it, which adds some much-needed new content to the cooperative zombie shooter. However, unlike how Left 4 Dead was supported with fully new campaigns to go through, Tunnels of Terror takes a much different approach by adding more variety to the base game. Whether this decision excites or disappoints depends on how often you play the shooter, but it undoubtedly improves upon an already solid base game.
The big addition is the titular tunnels of terror, which are tunnels that randomly can be found during regular levels that go into the Ridden Hives. You might be wondering why you’d want to go into a tunnel filled with Ridden and that’s a very valid question. The answer is that there is incredibly great gear that will either boost a run early on or prepare a team just before the final boss encounter. Due to the game restricting the number of retries, there is an interesting risk-reward mechanic on whether you want to even engage with these new levels.
If you do go into the tunnels, you’ll find a pretty samey-looking labyrinth that looks disgusting but is perfectly suited for these killing mutations. Overall, there are seven different Ridden Hives you can get into and there are chances to escape or go even further if you want to double down on trying to get good gear. There is also a fun melee weapon called a skull totem that can be found and redeemed for new cosmetics, although it’s a bit of a bummer that you can’t bash Ridden with the giant skull on a stick outside of these tunnels.
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If there is one negative thing about the Ridden Hives, it’s the divisiveness it can add to a campaign playthrough. I’ve played several matches where some players wanted to go to every Ridden Hive they saw, while others wanted to just move along with the campaign as they already had good enough weapons. This creates a weird tug-of-war as all four players need to agree for a decision to be made, which leads to seeing who lives the longest to force a move to their area of choice or if stubbornness subsides and players find a compromise. While the four-player nature of the game might make voting hard to pull off, it would make more sense if a leader of the group was able to break these stalemates. A deciding voice would not only solve this problem, but also add some drama to the team dynamics.
The three new Ridden enemy types, which are called the Warped Ridden, are the more meaningful additions since they are found both in and out of the tunnels. The Urchin is a devilishly annoying foe to deal with as the foe is able to plant land mines into the ground and makes it so players have to watch their steps when fighting one. Meanwhile, a Reeker-type Ridden called the Shredder has plant-like arms and is able to close space at a quick rate. Finally, the Ripper is a new type of Tallboy that is even bigger and looks to crush players with its giant arm. All three of the new enemies types are great additions, even if they already fit into already established molds, and are fun to overcome even if I’ve come to hate the sight of an Urchin as I know I’ll clumsily step in its landmines.
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Tunnels of Terror also comes with the inclusion of two new characters: a crafty survivalist named Heng and an axe-wielding firefighter named Sharice. They are a smaller part of the package and can feel tacked on since they don’t appear in cutscenes, the two additions aren’t without merit. Heng uses his knowledge of prepping to sense nearby secrets, such as hive entrances, prepper stashes, and attachments, which is super useful to have on a team since he cuts down on aimless searching. Meanwhile, Sharice can create makeshift armor whenever she shoots armor pieces off of the monsters. Throw in her already toughened trauma resistance and she’s a great character for those that are looking to tank damage. While neither will be replacing my first choice of the damage-inflicting Walker, they both have clear use cases and can add a new dimension to a team.
Back 4 Blood‘s first expansion gives players a good reason to reinstall the shooter, but with it intending to expand campaign replays rather than offering a wholly new experience, it won’t keep the attention of those that already bounced off before. However, for those that have never stopped playing Turtle Rock’s shooter, Tunnels of Terror is a much-needed refresh and adds another changing element to playthroughs. Hopefully, the two upcoming expansions will feature new campaign acts to explore, as the game feels complete on a base level now, it just needs more fresh and fleshed-out content on top of the winning formula that has been developed.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
