I have a disgusting number of hours in this game and I could go on for about an equivalent amount of time talking about it. I will probably write about it for too long as a result, but if you have a little bit of time, then hopefully by the end of this you'll understand why this is one of my favorite games.
Valve is infamous by this point for being one of the most influential players in the PC gaming market, for better or for worse. The things they do tend to break new ground in one form or another, and the fact that you're statistically likely to be playing the bulk of your PC games through their own digital storefront is a testament to how that can definitely be a mixed bag. When it comes to the games they release, though, I'd say they tend to hit the mark more often than not. Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, Half-Life, Portal, Dota 2. No matter who you are, you are probably familiar with at least one of those names. And sitting on its own little cloud up in Olympus: Source, shrieking and flailing its arms around while its brethren quietly try to enjoy their dinner of ambrosia and gold, there is Team Fortress 2.
The game has a very interesting development history that led to the creation of a TF2 that is radically different than how it was initially envisioned. I won't get into it all here, but at the end of that long nine years was a production that ended up taking off in ways that I don't think anybody at Valve possibly could have predicted.
TF2's secret sauce actually has a very simple recipe behind it: It's a masterfully designed class-based FPS hiding beneath a veneer of cartoonish violence and absurdity. With an aesthetic inspired by Norman Rockwell prints and 60's spy films, it immediately stands out when lined up with its contemporaries, and it's accentuated by a zany sense of humor which permeates the whole experience up to and including its gameplay. Valve promoted the game heavily with fun animated "interviews" with the game's nine playable classes, lending each of the nameless mercenaries a fistful of hammy charm. It had a definite allure, and that allure is exactly what roped me in when I first played it back in 2009, and was single-handedly responsible for introducing me to PC gaming proper, making me realize what I had been missing out on living exclusively in Nintendo's world for most of my childhood.
At the heart of TF2's gameplay is the nine classes and their distinctive toolkits that, while sometimes contentious with regards to their efficacy, have well-defined strengths and weaknesses. Each of the classes are simple to understand but relatively difficult to master, and while the game might trick you into thinking that running and shooting and ending the sentence there is the whole of the core TF2 experience, you will quickly realize how much that would undersell what's on offer here. Team Fortress 2 relies heavily on an intersection of the uniqueness of its classes and the underlying mechanics of the Source engine to create an experience that is far more nuanced than it appears. Scouts can quickly accomplish objectives but are also deceptively deadly, capable of removing key players from the field and making a quick escape if they're skilled enough. Soldiers and Demomen can utilize explosive jumping to clear unreal amounts of distance in a short period of time, a technique that is absolutely essential at the highest levels of play. Engineers can blindside enemies with creative or unconventional building placement, Pyros can shut down pushes with clever use of their airblasts, Spies can cause panic amongst enemy teams by carefully choosing when to engage their targets - even the more "straightforward" classes like Sniper and Heavy, whose jobs are ostensibly to simply point and shoot, can use their kit in ways that will reward them and their team for thoughtful play. It takes hours of practice to master the mechanics and develop a strong game-sense. Toss in a variety of maps and objectives, alongside a long list of unique weapons with properties that often go far beyond "fires faster but deals less damage", and the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. It's chaos, though it is ultimately controlled chaos, and no matter how hectic things get, it's still skill and quick thinking that win the game in the end (usually - but I'll touch on that). But no matter how intense the experience becomes, it's still a blast to play, and even the most inexperienced of players will find a lot to love on their way up the ladder.
So yes, the game itself is great - but that isn't the reason why many of us stay. Hardcore players will always keep a game alive and relevant far past its prime, as demonstrated by the tight-knit communities behind shooters like DOOM and Quake. However, what keeps TF2 in the public eye and keeps new and old players alike from ever truly forgetting it is its charm. There is so much about the Team Fortress experience that you simply don't get in most games these days. The endless quotability of the delightfully deranged mercs. The timeless appeal of a ragdoll cartwheeling sixty feet into the air from a well-placed rocket. The wild screams of an angry Scottish man barreling towards you at Mach 3 being the last thing you hear before he separates your head from your shoulders with a massive claymore. The sight of a large tutu-clad man clubbing your foes to death with a sign adorned with a picture of the anime community's Waifu of the Month. A Scout laughs at a corpse only to be shot down by another Scout, who then laughs, and initiates a conga line of small men laughing at corpses before subsequently being murdered. And that's before the actual conga line starts. Informal ceasefires are commonplace so everybody can take a break from the shooting and just goof off for a few minutes. Players keep a key bound to "kill" for no other reason than because spontaneously falling lifeless to the floor for the most contrived of reasons is never not funny. TF2 is chaotic and hilarious and it never tries to betray that quirkiness by taking itself too seriously. The appeal never fades away no matter how many years pass, and I think that even if TF2 was a mechanically perfect game, it wouldn't be as beloved as it is today if not for that.
But it obviously isn't all peaches and cream. Even for as tight as TF2's gameplay is, it has some definite failings with regards to enforcing team balance, which is as essential here as it is in any competitive multiplayer game. The learning curve and astronomically high skill ceiling can easily alienate newcomers, who will find themselves dramatically outclassed by experienced players who know how to weaponize all of the game's quirks. And naturally, this being an online game, there are plenty of sour grapes who will occasionally make the player-to-player experience a hostile one, though they are blessedly still in the minority. There are some truly baffling design decisions that have plagued the game since day one, with things such as random crits (which, contrary to the name, actually operate on a rich-get-richer principle where you're more likely to crit the more damage you've been dealing) and random bullet spread sometimes making winning an interaction infuriatingly RNG-based. Free-to-players will have some trouble experiencing every aspect of the game without actively engaging in trading, and the greater limitations placed upon them in the last few years due to the recent botting crisis means they will definitely feel pressured to spend some money. And on that note - and definitely TF2's greatest claim to infamy - this is perhaps the progenitor of the "loot box" craze, and while far less predatory than many of the games that took inspiration from it, it's still a system that entices you to spend real-world money for a slim chance at getting a virtual item that will make you look and feel cool. If there's any one sin that TF2 and, by extension, Valve will never be able to totally wash its hands of, it's that one.
Indeed, Valve's treatment of TF2 over its lifetime is probably its biggest failing as a whole, and yet is simultaneously the best demonstration of this game's strength on its own merits. Their initial decision to make the game free-to-play after a short time as a standard retail release was initially met with some criticism, but it ultimately worked in the game's favor by ensuring anybody with even a passing interest in the game could try it free of commitment. Needless to say, a whole lot of people were hooked. For a while, things were great, with big and exciting updates adding new weapons, maps and gamemodes that ensured there was always a reason to crack the game open. However, as time has gone by, Valve has shown less and less interest in supporting the game as anything other than a simple revenue generator, failing to provide meaningful new content for its playerbase while still being more than happy to pump out new cosmetics for them to empty their wallets onto. This, along with the aforementioned bot invasion that made the casual experience nigh-on unplayable for many, lead to fans practically having to beg Valve to show some meaningful support for their beloved game. There was a response, if not much of one, and we're all still waiting for something truly substantial to come as a result - but we are all still here. After sixteen years and many ups and downs, TF2, a game that is fundamentally the same one we were all playing back in 2007, is still going strong, enjoying a healthy player count and celebrated by the community through gargantuan heaps of artwork and animations that still manage to sneak their way into the Internet's cultural zeitgeist. Private servers, mods and a strong competitive scene ensure that the faithful have a place to enjoy themselves no matter how much the "true" TF2 experience stagnates. It's a game that simply won't die, and that's because it's a game that, when all is said and done, is just plain fun. It's goofy, it's addicting, and at its best, it's exhilarating. Team Fortress 2 is and will always be one of my favorite games of all time, and even if I have a harder time recommending it today than I did ten or even five years ago, that isn't the fault of the game itself, but rather of its creators who fail to appreciate what an absolute gem they've made. There never needs to be a Team Fortress 3. What we need is a Team Fortress 2.1 - a promise from Valve that, for as long as people love the game, they will keep giving them reasons to come back to it. But I do feel content knowing that even if Valve has no intention of keeping the game alive, its fans will.
Valve is infamous by this point for being one of the most influential players in the PC gaming market, for better or for worse. The things they do tend to break new ground in one form or another, and the fact that you're statistically likely to be playing the bulk of your PC games through their own digital storefront is a testament to how that can definitely be a mixed bag. When it comes to the games they release, though, I'd say they tend to hit the mark more often than not. Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, Half-Life, Portal, Dota 2. No matter who you are, you are probably familiar with at least one of those names. And sitting on its own little cloud up in Olympus: Source, shrieking and flailing its arms around while its brethren quietly try to enjoy their dinner of ambrosia and gold, there is Team Fortress 2.
The game has a very interesting development history that led to the creation of a TF2 that is radically different than how it was initially envisioned. I won't get into it all here, but at the end of that long nine years was a production that ended up taking off in ways that I don't think anybody at Valve possibly could have predicted.
TF2's secret sauce actually has a very simple recipe behind it: It's a masterfully designed class-based FPS hiding beneath a veneer of cartoonish violence and absurdity. With an aesthetic inspired by Norman Rockwell prints and 60's spy films, it immediately stands out when lined up with its contemporaries, and it's accentuated by a zany sense of humor which permeates the whole experience up to and including its gameplay. Valve promoted the game heavily with fun animated "interviews" with the game's nine playable classes, lending each of the nameless mercenaries a fistful of hammy charm. It had a definite allure, and that allure is exactly what roped me in when I first played it back in 2009, and was single-handedly responsible for introducing me to PC gaming proper, making me realize what I had been missing out on living exclusively in Nintendo's world for most of my childhood.
At the heart of TF2's gameplay is the nine classes and their distinctive toolkits that, while sometimes contentious with regards to their efficacy, have well-defined strengths and weaknesses. Each of the classes are simple to understand but relatively difficult to master, and while the game might trick you into thinking that running and shooting and ending the sentence there is the whole of the core TF2 experience, you will quickly realize how much that would undersell what's on offer here. Team Fortress 2 relies heavily on an intersection of the uniqueness of its classes and the underlying mechanics of the Source engine to create an experience that is far more nuanced than it appears. Scouts can quickly accomplish objectives but are also deceptively deadly, capable of removing key players from the field and making a quick escape if they're skilled enough. Soldiers and Demomen can utilize explosive jumping to clear unreal amounts of distance in a short period of time, a technique that is absolutely essential at the highest levels of play. Engineers can blindside enemies with creative or unconventional building placement, Pyros can shut down pushes with clever use of their airblasts, Spies can cause panic amongst enemy teams by carefully choosing when to engage their targets - even the more "straightforward" classes like Sniper and Heavy, whose jobs are ostensibly to simply point and shoot, can use their kit in ways that will reward them and their team for thoughtful play. It takes hours of practice to master the mechanics and develop a strong game-sense. Toss in a variety of maps and objectives, alongside a long list of unique weapons with properties that often go far beyond "fires faster but deals less damage", and the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. It's chaos, though it is ultimately controlled chaos, and no matter how hectic things get, it's still skill and quick thinking that win the game in the end (usually - but I'll touch on that). But no matter how intense the experience becomes, it's still a blast to play, and even the most inexperienced of players will find a lot to love on their way up the ladder.
So yes, the game itself is great - but that isn't the reason why many of us stay. Hardcore players will always keep a game alive and relevant far past its prime, as demonstrated by the tight-knit communities behind shooters like DOOM and Quake. However, what keeps TF2 in the public eye and keeps new and old players alike from ever truly forgetting it is its charm. There is so much about the Team Fortress experience that you simply don't get in most games these days. The endless quotability of the delightfully deranged mercs. The timeless appeal of a ragdoll cartwheeling sixty feet into the air from a well-placed rocket. The wild screams of an angry Scottish man barreling towards you at Mach 3 being the last thing you hear before he separates your head from your shoulders with a massive claymore. The sight of a large tutu-clad man clubbing your foes to death with a sign adorned with a picture of the anime community's Waifu of the Month. A Scout laughs at a corpse only to be shot down by another Scout, who then laughs, and initiates a conga line of small men laughing at corpses before subsequently being murdered. And that's before the actual conga line starts. Informal ceasefires are commonplace so everybody can take a break from the shooting and just goof off for a few minutes. Players keep a key bound to "kill" for no other reason than because spontaneously falling lifeless to the floor for the most contrived of reasons is never not funny. TF2 is chaotic and hilarious and it never tries to betray that quirkiness by taking itself too seriously. The appeal never fades away no matter how many years pass, and I think that even if TF2 was a mechanically perfect game, it wouldn't be as beloved as it is today if not for that.
But it obviously isn't all peaches and cream. Even for as tight as TF2's gameplay is, it has some definite failings with regards to enforcing team balance, which is as essential here as it is in any competitive multiplayer game. The learning curve and astronomically high skill ceiling can easily alienate newcomers, who will find themselves dramatically outclassed by experienced players who know how to weaponize all of the game's quirks. And naturally, this being an online game, there are plenty of sour grapes who will occasionally make the player-to-player experience a hostile one, though they are blessedly still in the minority. There are some truly baffling design decisions that have plagued the game since day one, with things such as random crits (which, contrary to the name, actually operate on a rich-get-richer principle where you're more likely to crit the more damage you've been dealing) and random bullet spread sometimes making winning an interaction infuriatingly RNG-based. Free-to-players will have some trouble experiencing every aspect of the game without actively engaging in trading, and the greater limitations placed upon them in the last few years due to the recent botting crisis means they will definitely feel pressured to spend some money. And on that note - and definitely TF2's greatest claim to infamy - this is perhaps the progenitor of the "loot box" craze, and while far less predatory than many of the games that took inspiration from it, it's still a system that entices you to spend real-world money for a slim chance at getting a virtual item that will make you look and feel cool. If there's any one sin that TF2 and, by extension, Valve will never be able to totally wash its hands of, it's that one.
Indeed, Valve's treatment of TF2 over its lifetime is probably its biggest failing as a whole, and yet is simultaneously the best demonstration of this game's strength on its own merits. Their initial decision to make the game free-to-play after a short time as a standard retail release was initially met with some criticism, but it ultimately worked in the game's favor by ensuring anybody with even a passing interest in the game could try it free of commitment. Needless to say, a whole lot of people were hooked. For a while, things were great, with big and exciting updates adding new weapons, maps and gamemodes that ensured there was always a reason to crack the game open. However, as time has gone by, Valve has shown less and less interest in supporting the game as anything other than a simple revenue generator, failing to provide meaningful new content for its playerbase while still being more than happy to pump out new cosmetics for them to empty their wallets onto. This, along with the aforementioned bot invasion that made the casual experience nigh-on unplayable for many, lead to fans practically having to beg Valve to show some meaningful support for their beloved game. There was a response, if not much of one, and we're all still waiting for something truly substantial to come as a result - but we are all still here. After sixteen years and many ups and downs, TF2, a game that is fundamentally the same one we were all playing back in 2007, is still going strong, enjoying a healthy player count and celebrated by the community through gargantuan heaps of artwork and animations that still manage to sneak their way into the Internet's cultural zeitgeist. Private servers, mods and a strong competitive scene ensure that the faithful have a place to enjoy themselves no matter how much the "true" TF2 experience stagnates. It's a game that simply won't die, and that's because it's a game that, when all is said and done, is just plain fun. It's goofy, it's addicting, and at its best, it's exhilarating. Team Fortress 2 is and will always be one of my favorite games of all time, and even if I have a harder time recommending it today than I did ten or even five years ago, that isn't the fault of the game itself, but rather of its creators who fail to appreciate what an absolute gem they've made. There never needs to be a Team Fortress 3. What we need is a Team Fortress 2.1 - a promise from Valve that, for as long as people love the game, they will keep giving them reasons to come back to it. But I do feel content knowing that even if Valve has no intention of keeping the game alive, its fans will.