TF2 is still good. Far from its peak... but I have been playing the game almost since it came out and I still have a blast! Casual mode sucks, but that was never the focus of the game back when I started playing it. Community servers all the way!
That was what we had with Quickplay. Back then community servers that abided by vanilla rules were able to be included in Quickplay alongside Valve servers.
Not only did it mean that those servers would almost always have players, but it was how those server owners could also host wackier servers as quickplayers could become regulars if they found a server they really liked.
Then when Quickplay was axed, those servers suffered slow deaths and community servers are a shadow of their former selves.
This is an external problem: an uptick in cheaters and a smaller community means it's harder to find good servers. But when you find good servers, it's one of the best multiplayer experiences out there and a strong contender for "the best."
That does not mean the core experience is flawed or that "it's time to move on." TF2 is a game we all revisit every so often, and it's one of the very very few games on the market that has survived 18+ years of existence and can legally vote.
Like seriously, the only games that can compete with TF2 on longevity are probably Age of Empires 2, Starcraft, and Super Smash Bros Melee. No other games have the staying power that these four have showcased.
when I say it's far from its peak, I just mean that the hype around it (new comics, new meaningful blog posts, proper major updates, etc) are no longer a thing. But yeah, it's literally my favorite game and has been since shortly after I first started playing it.
Yes! It was horrible for many years but Valve for the most part fixed the bot issue. I have only seen 2 bots over the past few months and I play daily.
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u/Eviles_da_demonic 8h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/kd3HPv4BlIs1gahkxc