You don’t necessarily have to check the ESRB rating to know that Back 4 Blood is for mature players. Given that the game is full of gore and violence, curse words don’t really seem like such a big deal, relatively speaking. Regardless, Back 4 Blood has a profanity filter that’s dialed all the way up to 11. As a result, common words and user names wind up getting censored. It’s more than annoying; it’s almost insulting. Thankfully, there’s a very simple way to turn this feature off.
Here’s how to disable the Back 4 Blood profanity filter
The profanity filter in Back 4 Blood can be disabled through the Options menu:
- From the title screen, select Options
- Under the Gameplay tab, scroll down to Accessibility
- Locate the Profanity Filter toggle, then set it to off
With the profanity filter disabled, you will once again start seeing normal usernames. Of course, in doing so you’ll also open the gates for potentially offensive communication. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, but it seems most players prefer to have uncensored communication.
It’s good that the developers gave the option to disable the profanity filter. However, most players can’t help but wonder why the profanity filter is so aggressive. There are a number of posts on forums and the Back 4 Blood subreddit with players discussing “oo” specifically as a banned term, as the system censors words like “cool” or “book.” You couldn’t even call a teammate “foolish” for engaging in friendly fire without the system butting in.
Other apparent banned words — such as “hell” — do make some sense. However, in a game so filled with blood and violence, many can’t help but wonder what makes such a low-level curse worthy of censorship. As a curse, that word is allowed in films the MPAA rates as PG — more or less suitable for all ages. Yet here it’s censored in a game the ESRB rates as M for Mature, intended only for players 17 years of age or older.
Frankly, the profanity filter in Back 4 Blood is a mess. The system takes itself too seriously, and as a result, regular old user names are being censored. Thankfully, you can turn the filter off with the flip of a toggle in the options menu. While you’re in there, you might also want to check out the game’s crossplay settings.
