Back 4 Blood: Controls Guide for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and How to Play

Developed by the original creators of the popular survival game Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood is set in a post-apocalyptic USA, where the majority of the human race has been transformed into zombie-like creatures known as ‘Ridden.’

You play as one of a group of veteran survivors called ‘Cleaners,’ tasked with defending and enhancing the Fort Hope settlement. The game features both solo and multiplayer campaign options.

In this article, you’ll find all the Back 4 Blood controls for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S for both the Cleaners and Ridden.

This controls guide notes the analogue sticks on either console controller as L and R with the action of pressing the analogue sticks shown as L3 and R3. The buttons on either d-pad are denoted as Up, Down, Left, and Right.

Back 4 Blood Cleaner Controls for PS4 and PS5

• Move: L
• Sprint: L3
• Rotate Camera: R
• Bash: R3
• Jump/Mantle: X
• Crouch: O
• Reload: Square
• Interact: Square
• Weapon Quick Swap: Triangle
• Ping: L1
• Aim Down Sights: L2
• Item Alt Use: L2
• Select Offensive Weapon: R1
• Fire Weapon: R2
• System Menu: Options
• Chat: Options
• Toggle Hub: TouchPad
• Comms Wheel: Up/Down
• Select Quick Item: Left
• Select Support Item: Right

Ridden PS4 and PS5 controls list

• Move: L
• Rotate Camera: R
• Jump: X
• Cancel Ability: O
• Crouch: O
• Ping: L1
• Charge: L2
• Leap: L2
• Melee: R1
• Ability 1 or 2: R2
• System Menu: Options
• Chat: Options
• Toggle Hub: TouchPad
• Comms Wheel: Up/Down

You can access the controls layout view by selecting Options from the main menu then scrolling across to the Controller tab before finally selecting the Cleaner or Ridden Input Layout. To create a custom controller layout, select Custom from the three options presented when viewing either controller input layout.

Back 4 Blood Cleaner Controls for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S

• Move: L
• Sprint: L3
• Rotate Camera: R
• Bash: R3
• Jump/Mantle: A
• Crouch: B
• Reload: X
• Interact: X
• Weapon Quick Swap: Y
• Ping: LB
• Aim Down Sights: LT
• Item Alt Use: LT
• Select Offensive Weapon: RB
• Fire Weapon: RT
• System Menu: Menu
• Chat: Menu
• Toggle Hub: View
• Comms Wheel: Up/Down
• Select Quick Item: Left
• Select Support Item: Right

Ridden Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S controls list

• Move: L
• Rotate Camera: R
• Jump: A
• Cancel Ability: B
• Crouch: B
• Ping: LB
• Charge: LT
• Leap: LT
• Melee: RB
• Ability 1 or 2: RT
• System Menu: Menu
• Chat: Menu
• Toggle Hub: View
• Comms Wheel: Up/Down

To create a custom controller layout, select Custom from the three options presented when viewing either controller input layout on the Controller tab of the Options page.

What do cards do in Back 4 Blood?

In order to spice things up and add a more diverse and engaging playing experience, the developers of Back 4 Blood included a Card system. Players can create custom decks comprised of cards that they’ve unlocked while playing through the game.

These decks consist of 15 cards chosen by the player from a pool of 156 cards. Each card can boost players in a variety of different ways, such as by improving reload speed, damage boosts, enhancing health, or boosting stamina.

Cards are split into four categories: Reflex (Blue), Discipline (Red), Brawn (Green), and Fortune (Yellow). There are also four subcategories that cards fall under, with these being Offence, Defence, Utility, and Mobility. You should re-evaluate your deck regularly to ensure that you have the best cards included.

Using your cards in-game is simple enough. At the start of each level, you will draw cards at random and must select one of these to activate for the rest of your campaign. The cards you don’t choose are reshuffled back into your deck, potentially being drawn again at the start of the next level.

For an extra twist, the AI Director also chooses cards at the start of each level, except they choose from a set of Corruption Cards. These cards contain random modifiers to alter your campaign experience, including challenges to complete for rewards or bonuses to Ridden enemies, and even weather changing cards – so be aware of which cards the Director draws to avoid any nasty surprises.

How Supply Lines work

Supply Lines are set pathways filled with unlockable items such as cards or cosmetics for characters and weapons. To progress through a Supply Line, you must unlock each section of that line by using Supply Points, which are earned by completing levels.

To earn more Supply Points, try increasing the difficulty that you’re playing on. Starting a Supply Line doesn’t commit you to only progressing that one: you can still spend your points on other lines before you complete the original Supply Line that you started.

How to unlock all eight characters

At the start of a campaign, you can select which Cleaner you wish to play as. Each character offers a unique team bonus, individual bonus, perk, and sidearm. When playing as a group, your choice of character could either pave your way to victory or spell your demise, so be sure to pick someone who’s going to synergise well with your team’s other choices.

There are eight playable characters in Back 4 Blood, with four of these available from the start. To unlock the remaining four characters, all that you have to do is finish the first four stages of Act 1. So, it shouldn’t take long to unlock the rest of the Cleaners.

Now that you’ve got an edge over the endless hordes of zombies in Back 4 Blood, squad up and get yourself out there!