Team Fortress 2 is an undying gem. A whole generation of people was born during this game's relevancy in internet culture, and it's for a good reason: Everything. Just. Ticks. Right. This game came from an era when Marvel one-liners weren't a Pony's One Trick of all media, when Free to Play didn't necessarily mean "Unenjoyable for less than 30$\mo", when game development was a form of art. And now it has been gathering dust for years due to negligence on the Valve's side.

AN UPDATE! I had to rewrite a detailed part of this review, since a lot of things had changed recently. But in my eyes, the point still stands clear.

So, what's wrong with TF2 now? Well, the main issue, being the overwhelming amount of malicious actors abusing the game and its community for years, seems to be fixed, partially, for now. Not sure for how long this is going to stay, and I'm not ready to let go of the fact that it took years for the ban wave to arrive. As for now, I guess that the best time to play the game is now, so break a leg!
I am still not recommending this game. The reason behind it is that the game is still being treated like it was after the Jungle Inferno update - a seasonal money furnace. More community made stuff bloats current item pool even more (BOTLER 2000 follower?? Absolutely not!), new maps stretching the playerbase even thinner, and the community server tab is still as unreadable for new players as ever, discouraging people from creating and playing said servers. Most of the official content has already been made it seems like, unless you're into gambling, and it would be fine if the content we do have weren't constantly distilled with whimsical shinies. I'm not saying that community made content is bad though, it's great, and fun as its own thing! It's just that this being alongside everything that is official kind of makes the "official" side of TF2 less directed. I do not support handicapping user experience for the sake of milking more money.

UPDATE OVER!

With that said, I encourage readers to spread the word about Valve's negligence towards its client base, and adwise them to not support this behaviour financially. By buying games from steam, spending money on microtransactions, even participating in Steam Community Market, you are supporting Valve's malicious business practices.

VALVE'S GAMES AND YOUR STEAM ACCOUNT ARE NOT A GOOD INVESTMENT!

TF2 NEEDS TO BE FIXED!

Team Fortress 2 is an undying gem. A whole generation of people was born during this game's relevancy in internet culture, and it's for a good reason: Everything. Just. Ticks. Right. This game came from an era when Marvel one-liners weren't a Pony's One Trick of all media, when Free to Play didn't necessarily mean "Unenjoyable for less than 30$\mo", when game development was a form of art. And now it has been gathering dust for years due to negligence on the Valve's side. AN UPDATE! I had to rewrite a detailed part of this review, since a lot of things had changed recently. But in my eyes, the point still stands clear. So, what's wrong with TF2 now? Well, the main issue, being the overwhelming amount of malicious actors abusing the game and its community for years, seems to be fixed, partially, for now. Not sure for how long this is going to stay, and I'm not ready to let go of the fact that it took years for the ban wave to arrive. As for now, I guess that the best time to play the game is now, so break a leg! I am still not recommending this game. The reason behind it is that the game is still being treated like it was after the Jungle Inferno update - a seasonal money furnace. More community made stuff bloats current item pool even more (BOTLER 2000 follower?? Absolutely not!), new maps stretching the playerbase even thinner, and the community server tab is still as unreadable for new players as ever, discouraging people from creating and playing said servers. Most of the official content has already been made it seems like, unless you're into gambling, and it would be fine if the content we do have weren't constantly distilled with whimsical shinies. I'm not saying that community made content is bad though, it's great, and fun as its own thing! It's just that this being alongside everything that is official kind of makes the "official" side of TF2 less directed. I do not support handicapping user experience for the sake of milking more money. UPDATE OVER! With that said, I encourage readers to spread the word about Valve's negligence towards its client base, and adwise them to not support this behaviour financially. By buying games from steam, spending money on microtransactions, even participating in Steam Community Market, you are supporting Valve's malicious business practices. VALVE'S GAMES AND YOUR STEAM ACCOUNT ARE NOT A GOOD INVESTMENT! TF2 NEEDS TO BE FIXED!