A game on life-support with a die-hard community. The culture festers with toxicity and readily-slung slurs, while the economy is stagnant as the in-game material price of staples continues to balloon. TF2 remains in a uniquely hellish limbo, subsisting on maintenance patches with only community-generated content to poke the smoldering fire.

But why does the community cling to this game with a bedside manner better than any hospice care?

Because the game is fantastic. It captured the heart of the internet in its heyday and has kept it even today. It captured mine, surely. I learnt my deathmatch skills here. I learnt what my favorite playstyles in shooters were. I forged lifelong friendships, helped others learn about themselves, and met partners through the game, even.

It was, and still is, THE class-based shooter. Each class comes with its own tactical intricacies that can altogether take thousands of hours to truly master. There is plenty of loadout customization, and every weapon fits a niche. The world and its characters TF2 presents are full of charm, and there's years of external content to find--not just from the community, but Valve themselves (though their comic still remains unfinished to this day).

And if that isn't enough, the game also touts a second game within itself: Mann Versus Machine. Wave defense, robots, upgrades. It's an entirely new way to look at the game, and can be played for just as long as its other half. It answered the question we all had back then: "What if this gun was just a little bit stronger?"

Yet I say to you, potential newbie, reading this review and wondering "But if this game is dying, why should I bother?"

This game is a must-play. I don't care how late you come in, how entrenched and mired this game becomes in itself and its problems, you must experience this game's charm first-hand. Something will click with you, whether its a class, a gamemode, or a lobby, and when it does, you will understand.

But maybe you should wait until Valve actually puts in work to safeguard the game against the ever-present bot crisis threatening to finally consume it.

Edit: Valve has manually and diligently scrubbed the bot hosters and their bots (including the hosters' alts!) from the game. I've never seen it this alive, and I never thought I'd see the day where we can just frag without having to kick a bot every minute. It's glorious. But it's only a start. Come in if you want, but be very careful.

A game on life-support with a die-hard community. The culture festers with toxicity and readily-slung slurs, while the economy is stagnant as the in-game material price of staples continues to balloon. TF2 remains in a uniquely hellish limbo, subsisting on maintenance patches with only community-generated content to poke the smoldering fire. But why does the community cling to this game with a bedside manner better than any hospice care? Because the game is fantastic. It captured the heart of the internet in its heyday and has kept it even today. It captured mine, surely. I learnt my deathmatch skills here. I learnt what my favorite playstyles in shooters were. I forged lifelong friendships, helped others learn about themselves, and met partners through the game, even. It was, and still is, THE class-based shooter. Each class comes with its own tactical intricacies that can altogether take thousands of hours to truly master. There is plenty of loadout customization, and every weapon fits a niche. The world and its characters TF2 presents are full of charm, and there's years of external content to find--not just from the community, but Valve themselves (though their comic still remains unfinished to this day). And if that isn't enough, the game also touts a second game within itself: Mann Versus Machine. Wave defense, robots, upgrades. It's an entirely new way to look at the game, and can be played for just as long as its other half. It answered the question we all had back then: "What if this gun was just a little bit stronger?" Yet I say to you, potential newbie, reading this review and wondering "But if this game is dying, why should I bother?" This game is a must-play. I don't care how late you come in, how entrenched and mired this game becomes in itself and its problems, you must experience this game's charm first-hand. Something will click with you, whether its a class, a gamemode, or a lobby, and when it does, you will understand. But maybe you should wait until Valve actually puts in work to safeguard the game against the ever-present bot crisis threatening to finally consume it. Edit: Valve has manually and diligently scrubbed the bot hosters and their bots (including the hosters' alts!) from the game. I've never seen it this alive, and I never thought I'd see the day where we can just frag without having to kick a bot every minute. It's glorious. But it's only a start. Come in if you want, but be very careful.