I used to play this game with my friends quite frequently- as it used to have a lot of potential. Even in an unfinished state the core gameplay was enough to keep us distracted for hours at a time.

However since the 'official release' things took a turn for the worst. Many of us were surprised at this news because it still feels like the game is incredibly unfinished and totally lacking in basic functionality at the best of times. It feels like Fun Pimps just threw in the towel after twelve or so years of extremely erratic on-and-off again updates.

So what does that leave us, the community with? Well after 10+ years of development they finally crawled out of 'Early Access' with;

• An insane price hike from the initial $25 all the way up to $45.
• Overly complex and totally unnecessary changes to existing mechanics and UI that were easier to manage years ago.
• A complete lack of an overhaul on many of the game mechanics that ACTUALLY desperately needed optimization.
• Slightly better zombie models over the course of about 8 of the development years. (depending on who you ask)
• New buildings with pitfall traps that make solo exploration a total nuisance on higher difficulty levels.
• A massive nerf to XP gains when performing actions which makes grinding even more tedious.
• Scrapped features they planned for 1.0 including the highly anticipated NPC Bandits and 'better' Character Customization.
• The removal of entire biomes from random gen maps including; The Burned Forest and The Plains.
• The removal of existing features such as Leg Armor, Empty Jars, the Siren, and many reinforced blocks and spikes.

This game is a perfect example of scope creep and what happens when a team like The Fun Pimps can not get a clear picture of what they WANT to put into a game versus what they CAN ACTUALLY put into a game without wasting years of development time. Even if they continued to update 7 Days to Die, it would probably just be more of the same sporadic updates that offer little to no value to an already gutted game.

It's truly a shame to see a game with a lot of potential become stagnant after so long- but there are thousands of other games on Steam that put a lot more foresight into their projects and manage their time significantly better.

I can not recommend this game to anyone- ESPECIALLY at the current price.
If it goes on sale for around $10 or below, maybe pick it up if you have some friends to play with, otherwise steer clear and save your money for better purchases.

Wow, I can't believe the devs actually finished the game, it took them only 13.8 billion years!

I really struggle with my feelings for this game. It's consistently the thing that I stare at the longest, when it comes to being bored...and gazing at my Steam library for something to do. The game is fun...but that tends to only last for an hour before I find that I'm tired of having played the same thing for a decade. I just...want this to be something more than a tower defense game. Or a base defense game. The developers have just...hard coded this thing into a really specific experience...and it bothers me. Especially in a time, where some of the most successful and revisited games on Steam...are the ones that have had ~tons~ of mod options. Are there mods for this game? Yes. Do they alter the experience? Dear god, no.

Want to work through a destroyed city and rebuild the thing, to look somewhat modern or hardened? Well why would you do that, when zombies will just destroy any block you set down. Any interest in playing through a Metro like scenario, where you primarily live underground...and only come to the surface for the most necessary materials or items? Too bad, zombies can sense you under the ground...even if you turn horde nights off. And don't even get me started on the biomes. The fact that you can't go in as a mod-maker to set different options and difficulty bits for those things...is beyond annoying.

Additionally, there seems to be...no concern or interest in refining the PvP experience, or setting options for that sort of thing. What if I want to play with my community, and designate certain zones on the map that you can't build in? Maybe there's a 10 v 10 dynamic that I'd like to set, but I want to edit how land claim blocks behave to fine tune against griefing? Sucks to be you I guess.

Anyways, reviews are just a means for venting when you have more than x hours, since people automatically write you off for simply being jaded or upset about change. Have a good day.