4:Loop developers spotlight enemy behavior and team improvisation as central to the design of the game's boss fights. Game director Mike Booth reveals how their unique Scanner boss took shape.
4:Loop’s The Scanner Stands Out Among Its Co-op Boss Fights
Cross-Map Coordination Over Direct Combat
4:Loop developer Bad Robot Games revealed that the upcoming co-op roguelike shooter hinges on its memorable boss battles as a core element of game replayability beyond visual design. In a PlayStation Blog post on April 28, game director and the studio's chief creative officer, Mike Booth, shared insights into the team's approach to one of its bosses, called The Scanner—a massive geologic surveyor shaped like a rotating 3D puzzle.
"When we first started exploring the Scanner, or "The Cube," as it's called internally, I wanted to do something a bit different: create a boss battle that wasn't about direct combat, but navigation, spatial awareness, and cross-map coordination," he stated.
According to Booth, what began as a simple image of a cube with destructible panels evolved into one of their most iconic enemies. "[It's] one that touches on almost every layer of how players can improvise to overcome overwhelming obstacles together," he said, "And it does all of this without firing a single shot at the players."
Six-Sided Doom
The Scanner shifts away from the game's other boss encounters—where players wait out attacks and deal heavy blows—by forcing constant player movement to avoid its Laser Matrix sweeping the map. A single contact knocks a player down, and the second takes them out of the fight entirely. Although this "Grid of Doom" starts slow, it compresses into tighter spaces as the fight progresses, leaving no room for complacency.
However, evading the lasers is only half the battle, as players must also coordinate assaults to defeat it. Each of the cube's six faces holds nine breakable tiles, and only by smashing all 54 "at once" can players expose its weak spot. During this brief window of vulnerability, the team must act in unison to maximize damage output on the Reactor Core.
In addition, another challenge lies in the Scanner frequently rotating and reshuffling sections, while also repairing its damaged panels over time.
Probability Map Reveals the Act’s Boss
Booth noted that the developers aimed to craft gameplay moments that push players to make meaningful choices and face their outcomes, with the Scanner serving as a prime example.
He proceeded to explain how the bosses connect to the Probability Map, the game's vote-based progression system that reveals branching nodes before the team embarks on their first mission. At the end of each act, an ultimate confrontation awaits among the many bosses the game offers, giving players the chance to plan gear and abilities tailored to the specific boss fight.
"The Scanner is just one of several bosses in 4:Loop, each built to push on players’ coordination, cooperation, and creative problem-solving skills," he added. "We hope all our bosses will generate crazy moments you’ll be talking about with your friends for a long time after you win or lose."
Booth previously expounded on 4:Loop's larger gameplay system in a different blog post on February 12, accompanied by a gameplay deep dive posted by PlayStation on YouTube. He asserted that the dynamic interplay of enemies, weapons, items, and objectives drives mission loops and defines the replayability and emergent runs that the developers strive to deliver.
First announced at The Game Awards 2025 by Bad Robot Games CEO JJ Abrams and Left 4 Dead designer Mike Booth, 4:Loop is a co-op sci-fi shooter where four players must stop an alien invasion that has turned nearly all of humanity into glass. It is slated for release on PC via Steam and PlayStation 5, with an unconfirmed release date, and wishlists are now open on both storefronts.
Players who are interested in experiencing the development build can sign-up for the closed beta playtest on the game’s official website. To stay up to date with the latest information about 4:Loop, check out our article below.
Sources:
PlayStation Blog | Inside the gameplay systems of 4:Loop
YouTube | 4:LOOP - Gameplay Deep Dive | PS5 Games
