(EDIT AS OF 4/11/22: The bot issue has been mostly fixed and they're an uncommon sighting last time i checked, however regular cheaters still remain unpunished and most other points i've made are still relevant. I'm keeping the rest of the review as is to act as a reminder of what the game was like at the time this review was written.)

This game has been a staple through my teenage years and is probably one of the best fps games available, even being available for free and only needing a one-time purchase of a cheap item to upgrade to premium. However despite my hours clocked in i can't really recommend this game in it's current state, especially to new players.

To get the biggest elephant in the room out of the way, this game has a massive cheating problem that has been going on for about 3 years or something. There have been bots running about casual matchmaking being an annoyance until they're booted off the server within 30~ seconds, bots that queue in groups of 3-4 to make them harder to clear, bots that micspam obnoxious sounds, and even bots that DDoS the server when you try to kick them! This issue has been going on for a while with Valve making many desperate and poorly thought out attempts to curb this issue. While some patches have stopped them from working for a while, they only come back after a couple of hours to be just as annoying as ever.

And how has Valve responded to this problem? Half-arsed poorly made solutions like:
-Muting F2P's (which extends to player voice commands)
-Preventing name changes mid-game
-Preventing kicks if you haven't joined at the start of the game (a double-edge sword)

And that's not to mention that regular cheaters can get away and continue playing unpunished because of how defective Valve's anticheat is for this game. It's so useless that i see cheaters with expensive unusual hats and australium weapons because they have no fear of being banned at all. And the worst part is that in most casual games, you are guaranteed to run into atleast one bot/cheater or more.

Secondly, this game has some balancing issues. Casual matchmaking adores giving me the most unholy team stacks imaginable. It's not particularly fun when you're on a team that effortlessly wipes the floor with the opposing team when no challenge is presented. Or vice-versa when you get a bad team and everyone is completely at the mercy of the other side.

And speaking of balance there haven't been balance changes in YEARS! Weapons like the scorch shot, vaccinator, jarate, wrangler, and crusaders crossbow are still incredibly strong and oppressive. Whereas things like the bison, pomson, and gas passer remain almost unusable due to their poor balancing.

And one last point to make. Valve doesn't care anymore. TF2 is merely a cash generator for this company. With the incredibly minimal updates that this game does recieve, we get lootcrates with hats that either barely fit or don't fit the games artstyle, community maps of various qualities, and sadly no new proper content updates or any way to actually address the rampant cheating problem of this game.

btw don't get me started on how competitive/MvM has been left to rot.

Yes community servers exist and can rectify some of the points i made above via plugins and moderation. But community servers also tend to house some hardcore veterans of this game and can be incredibly punishing to any new players who simply just want to learn the ropes. Or these servers host garbage, unwanted plugins that affect gameplay negatively.

The game's fun and i do tend to see myself returning by myself or with friends. But my god is it in a miserable state, i don't recommend this game if you're new.

(EDIT AS OF 4/11/22: The bot issue has been mostly fixed and they're an uncommon sighting last time i checked, however regular cheaters still remain unpunished and most other points i've made are still relevant. I'm keeping the rest of the review as is to act as a reminder of what the game was like at the time this review was written.) This game has been a staple through my teenage years and is probably one of the best fps games available, even being available for free and only needing a one-time purchase of a cheap item to upgrade to premium. However despite my hours clocked in i can't really recommend this game in it's current state, especially to new players. To get the biggest elephant in the room out of the way, this game has a massive cheating problem that has been going on for about 3 years or something. There have been bots running about casual matchmaking being an annoyance until they're booted off the server within 30~ seconds, bots that queue in groups of 3-4 to make them harder to clear, bots that micspam obnoxious sounds, and even bots that DDoS the server when you try to kick them! This issue has been going on for a while with Valve making many desperate and poorly thought out attempts to curb this issue. While some patches have stopped them from working for a while, they only come back after a couple of hours to be just as annoying as ever. And how has Valve responded to this problem? Half-arsed poorly made solutions like: -Muting F2P's (which extends to player voice commands) -Preventing name changes mid-game -Preventing kicks if you haven't joined at the start of the game (a double-edge sword) And that's not to mention that regular cheaters can get away and continue playing unpunished because of how defective Valve's anticheat is for this game. It's so useless that i see cheaters with expensive unusual hats and australium weapons because they have no fear of being banned at all. And the worst part is that in most casual games, you are guaranteed to run into atleast one bot/cheater or more. Secondly, this game has some balancing issues. Casual matchmaking adores giving me the most unholy team stacks imaginable. It's not particularly fun when you're on a team that effortlessly wipes the floor with the opposing team when no challenge is presented. Or vice-versa when you get a bad team and everyone is completely at the mercy of the other side. And speaking of balance there haven't been balance changes in YEARS! Weapons like the scorch shot, vaccinator, jarate, wrangler, and crusaders crossbow are still incredibly strong and oppressive. Whereas things like the bison, pomson, and gas passer remain almost unusable due to their poor balancing. And one last point to make. Valve doesn't care anymore. TF2 is merely a cash generator for this company. With the incredibly minimal updates that this game does recieve, we get lootcrates with hats that either barely fit or don't fit the games artstyle, community maps of various qualities, and sadly no new proper content updates or any way to actually address the rampant cheating problem of this game. btw don't get me started on how competitive/MvM has been left to rot. Yes community servers exist and can rectify some of the points i made above via plugins and moderation. But community servers also tend to house some hardcore veterans of this game and can be incredibly punishing to any new players who simply just want to learn the ropes. Or these servers host garbage, unwanted plugins that affect gameplay negatively. The game's fun and i do tend to see myself returning by myself or with friends. But my god is it in a miserable state, i don't recommend this game if you're new.