I didn't think it was possible to do less legwork design-wise than Overwatch, but human ingenuity finds a way. It has basically nothing going for it that TF2 or Paladins can't do better, no characters are particularly special or play in a way that makes the game fun for any playstyle, the maps immediately lose like 8 points for not making it feel like you're piloting a giant robot, etc.

The only caveat I'll give it is that the sounds are kinda cool and you lose basically nothing for trying it: you don't even have to make a new account on anything.

I can see why people consider it a classic. It really is the title where Saints Row came into its own, and the story really helps form that: contrary to the rest of the series, it's just serious enough to keep you invested in every cutscene, but also funny enough to make you laugh.

Sadly, though, it's not the best one to actually play: the AI is actually so dumb it's a coinflip as to whether or not a mission will be easy as shit or they'll just randomly run you over and insta-kill you, about half the side activities suck (though I did like the touch where there's an actual reason you were hired to do them), and the PC port is so bad that most of the major issues with it can't even be wholly fixed.

It made me appreciate Saints Row a lot more and even question if I liked the lack of seriousness in the rest of the series, but I'm not gonna pretend it's spectacular to play.

In all honesty, it's hard to really hate the game despite all the numerous flaws: the AI is stupid, the graphics look terrible, the overall design makes no sense, it's easy as hell, yet I can't say I wasn't having a good time playing it. Rather, I had a fun time not taking it seriously and nearly mastering it despite only barely understanding what was going on or why.

It's not a game I'll ever play again, or, if I do, it'll be in a completely mocking fashion, but I don't hate how objectively bad it is.

Speaking from someone that played the series in reverse, it's astounding how well it holds up. While I prefer the sequel, said sequel wouldn't have existed if this clever little title randomly popped into existence.

The only truly critical thing I think bogs it down is that it feels a lot like a Source Engine mod with the reused assets and sounds, but even that critique is meaningless when you remember that some of the best titles Valve ever produced were just mods given some love and production value.

It's a completely fine game, but it's not the end-all-be-all of strange indie horror. The mechanics and general aesthetic is unique, and I respect it for its consistency, but the issue with it is that the strangeness of it quickly becomes the norm.

At the beginning, sure; it's strange every weapon is edible and could set you on fire and inanimate objects could just as easily kill you or hug you, but when you play this game for anywhere above 2 hours, it becomes standard. And it becomes less about horror and experimentation and more about just getting to the end with as little hassle as possible.

You could tell someone that this was an official expansion to HL2 and, as long as they don't look too hard, they'd believe you.

The newer weapons feel satisfying and creative to use to the point of one being just a general problem solver, the voice acting is good enough to fool anyone to believe this is a professional project, and the story is deep enough that there are entire branches dependent on a side character you can ignore soon after meeting.

The only gripes I can think of after playing is that there were occasional bugs with sprinting and some segments dragged on too long, but I can consider them nitpicks. The fact that this was made for free is astounding.

I can see why this is classified as one of the better HL2 mods; the atmosphere is great, the combat is more weighty than the vanilla game due to the premise, and some of the set pieces are incredibly interesting.

It's not without flaws, though; both of the bosses are bad, ranging from slightly annoying to not even knowing if you're progressing till it's already over, and playing on the difficulty that makes the game most interesting leads to it being so wholly unfair that anyone who played on it would be forgiven for either cheating or giving up at some point.

The more I play games from this franchise, the more I think of each installment as growing a foundation that could be a really interesting survival game, but hasn't reached that point yet. Despite the new "threats" and slightly more in-depth NPC and community interactions, it ultimately feels like it needs another overhaul to become something truly spectacular.

On top of that, the DLCs aren't worth much, either; the best one takes away most of the sandbox elements and pits you against an ultimately unfair challenge, and rest are milquetoast at best. All in all, I can't see why you would choose this game over other games with more depth, like Project Zomboid.