Thanks to a hefty feature from Game Informer, we've learned a wealth of information about Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock's next game, Evolve, and it seems like the two games have more than their fair share of similarities.
On the most basic level, both games are shooters with an emphasis on team play and cooperation. While Left 4 Dead had four "survivors" taking on hordes of zombies, Evolve has "hunters" who battle alien creatures. Left 4 Dead's characters didn't vary much in playability, but Evolve will switch that up by offering different classes, like Assault, Medic, Support, etc.
Both games provide the option of having an A.I. play as a partner if gamers can't find enough human players, and both games allow players to take on the role of the enemy, of which there are numerous types: L4D has its Witch, Tank, Boomer, Smoker, and so one, and Evolve will have its own array of creatures that have "evolved rapidly" as a response to human presence.
Both games also have their own game modes to keep things interesting, though we haven't heard all the details for Evolve's different modes. But the most glaringly obvious similarity has to be in the game's respective covers. Seen above, Evolve's cover features the same style as the iconic Left 4 Dead art. While the print is obviously of an alien creature, it's hard not to be reminded of Left 4 Dead games' covers with the mangled hands, especially with regard to the amount of "digits."
That's not a bad thing mind you. After all, it's not like Turtle Rock is ripping off the box art of some other game. Given Left 4 Dead's critical and commercial success, a bit of piggybacking is certainly understandable to help the game appeal to the L4D audience. But still, a new game deserves new art, not some kind of alteration or cannibalization.
As you may or may not already know, Evolve takes to the stars on a frontier planet called Shear, where hunter characters are dispatched to take out the planet's dangerously hostile alien creatures and make the planet hospitable to human colonies. Players can choose to play as specific hunter classes, forcing cooperation amongst teammates to take out a deadly alien, which another player can control if he or she so wishes.
More details to follow as they become available. Evolve is scheduled to arrive on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 this fall.