Started on Starlight, one of the more complicated servers to get into pretty much right off the bat. That said, been having a blast and the core game mechanics are awesome! It's definitely a game where you have to ask and rely on other players to help you out in the beginning, but it makes up for it in roleplay potential and ability to goof around. Explore a few servers and find the right place for you!

I would heavily recommend this game to anyone who enjoys modded experiences in other games, multiplayer roleplaying games, and customization both in character and gameplay.

My one gripe (and I'm not sure if this is a server customization thing?) is the number of hours it takes to unlock certain things that really ought not take as long as it does. I get the hour goals for things like higher rankings to ensure you understand the base game mechanics, but for cosmetics it's a bit unpleasant. Again, not sure if this is individual to the servers so it could just be a server thing though.

I may sound like a hypocrite here, but I'm nominating this game for the labor of love award.

Team Fortress 2 came out in 2007. As of today, it is over 14 years old.

I began playing Team Fortress 2 a bit before October of 2020, I believe. Having gotten into the lore, comics, fanart, and media of the game, my interest was piqued. All that time beforehand, I believed it was still pay to play. It was not.

It was a riot.


Confusing, sure, but for a game that came out in 2007, it still holds up astoundingly well against other games far younger and more technologically advanced than it. A garbled mess of code? Sure. Bot problems? Absolutely. Neglect? I beg to differ.

Neglect is when the developers allow a game to fizzle out and die because they can't bother--or don't care to--do the bare minimum upkeep for the community to stay alive. Not only was Team Fortress 2 built upon an unbelievably strong framework for a community to thrive on, but the servers are still running to this day. Player counts continue to rise; I mean, I joined in 2020, when the bot crisis was beginning to rear it's head, and I was having a blast! And here's the thing. Creators still love this game.

There are only a few developers working on the game today. Instead of letting it drown in the depths of server-shutdown hell, they decided that it wouldn't do to milk the money cow dry and throw it into the garbage.
And yes, I agree, there's a lot of financial incentives involved. I'm not disregarding that, because it's true.
But after Christmas of 2020, the developers have realized that they can't get away with what they pulled and cleaned up their act. Bug fixes, for one, could have been left behind in lieu of more money. But they decided to fix things. Sure, implementing a new large update would put a lot of stress on a tiny team's shoulders, but the community has already done enough of the legwork for them to run the final mile and keep the game afloat.

I don't expect a new large update for TF2 any time soon. And it will never go back to it's glory days. But I refuse to say that they don't care about this game. That small team could have been working on anything else, but right now, they've done what they can to fix up the small things, polish up a 14 year old game, and keep it going. Regardless of if they had let TF2 flounder, the community would likely still keep working their behinds off with their own content and passion for the game. But they've stood their ground, and I can only hope that they continue to do so, regardless of the complains they receive from other players.

I know that I've missed a lot of points I could have made in this review.
I know that I could come across as defending a clearly under-updated game.
I know that I never experienced the "glory days" of TF2, and therefore am used to the way it is now.

But that doesn't stop this game from being amazing. And I'd at least like to give the developers a bit of credit for their upkeep on an old game. Whether or not it's a lot of upkeep, I'm just happy that it's there.

So, thank you.

As someone who ignored terraria for a long time, i have a lot of regrets. I may not get too far, but in the end what matters is how. good. the game. is. It's enjoyable just to walk around and look at things, make cool items, and kill an easy boss or two... But i hope to get more into the game as i go along.
But for those who are still undecided, please give it a shot. As complicated as the whole thing is, a few guides open and you have a world of possibilities on how to start your adventure, almost overwhelmingly so. I wouldn't even really compare it to minecraft besides the building part, because this is a completely separate game, and I regret not playing it more until now...

It ain't blender, but it's kinda dope not gonna lie bro
This and GMod are staples, just beware of how buggy this thing is man. Good for people looking to get into animation or just learn lighting and stuff tho.

Starbound is overall a pretty good game! Not too bad, not too great either.
I've been staying with starbound since early access, so i've watched it grow and change over time! So I'm hoping this comes in handy to those considering picking up the game for the first time.
For those who enjoy great pixel art, animations, and probably one-time playthroughs, i'd reccomend it to you! However, there are still a few things that bug me about the game.
PROS:
- Great pixel art!
- Lots of variety in planet and creature designs!
- Lots of different weapons!
- Relatively smooth controls / interface.
- Pretty nice character customization.


CONS:
- Can (and will) lag out your computer, especially with the huge procedurally generated universe.
- Story is mediocre at best, especially if you're replaying the game. The quests can get irritating, especially if you've spent hours looking for one specific village to scan.
- Boss fights can get repetitive, although the pixel art is still unique.
- Some features may seem out of place in the world, especially those that have no impact.
- The game still needs more lore, but that will probably expand as time passes.

Overall, a good game for those who just want to sit back, relax, and play some video games without raging too hard.