New Back 4 Blood trailers reveal PvP Swarm mode and playable Ridden

Warner and Turtle Rock Studios have revealed Back 4 Blood's competitive PvP Swarm mode, as well as a look at the playable Ridden.

Shown during E3 2021 as part of a discussion with Turtle Rock Studios’ lead game designer, Brandon Yanez, the Back 4 Blood PvP gameplay trailer shows off how this mode "complements the game’s cooperative campaign elements," providing its own twist on team-based strategy.

In Swarm mode, two squads of four will face off against each other in a best-of-three series of rounds as teams swap between playing as the Cleaners and the Ridden.

Points are awarded based on how long the Cleaners can stay alive and endure Ridden attacks, with the team that keeps the clock going the longest as Cleaners winning the match.

Also unveiled today, was the playable Ridden. The trailer for it provides a closer look at the different playable Ridden available in Swarm mode.

While playing from the Ridden perspective, you can choose from nine Ridden variants, including the Tallboy, Bruiser, Crusher, Reeker, Exploder, Retch, Stinger, Hocker, and Stalker.

Each Ridden type has its own unique abilities that can be upgraded with enhancements called mutations. See for yourself in the trailer below.

Back 4 Blood will be released on October 12 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

A beta will be held on August 5-9 for those that pre-order the game, and an open beta will go live August 12-16.

Both betas will be playable on the aforementioned platforms, and both include cross-play and cross-gen support.