Recent reviews by Phrantix

I have 500 hours in KF1 and 400 in KF2 so I'm not new to the franchise. Yes the game is very different, but I still had a lot of fun playing with 5 of my friends. I can see why people are upset with the game being a departure from the first two in the franchise, but as a group we had a lot of fun killing zeds.

The weapon attachment system, crafting component system, and perk upgrade skill trees are a nice addition to refresh the franchise after 10 years of only having variance (more if you include KF1) in perk play being given by what weapons you use each round/game. In the previous two franchises, if you didn't use meta weapons and meta perks and traits on HoE (which I feel is the difficulty the game is meant to be played at), you were either in for a bad time or just not allowed to play, depending on individual server settings (looking at precision perk only servers). The prosepect of combining the use of perk trait selection and loadouts with complimentary attachments to bolster the viability of multiple builds is exciting and refreshing and I look forward to testing different options out. Does this mean that this for sure is the silver bullet to refresh the franchise? Not necessarily, but I thank the devs for trying something new instead of making the UE5 copypasta of KF2.

Are my feelings solely based on my honeymoon phase feelings because of a new release? Only time will tell. All I can say is that, if you let yourself look past the desire to have a title that is a continuation of the spirit of the previous 2 titles, there is a lot of promise and things to enjoy about the new addition to the franchise.

Contrary to what is being parroted by a lot of people, there is more gameplay variety than when KF2 launched in early access; and, additionally, there was the same amount of vehement hatred for the devs trying something new at launch. Now, 10 years later, I see many people clamoring for answers as to why the devs didn't just make a KF2 2.0. This juxtaposition is simply a testament to the fact that, despite TWI launching their game on rocky terms with their community, they have proven they can filter through the desires of their community and can hone their vision for the new title over time to produce a title that many, if not all, can enjoy, regardless of the differences from the previous title(s).

Are there glaring issues with bugs and a need for community-lead troubleshooting? Absolutely. Releasing a game in a state where people that are paying a good chunk of change for a game are forced to figure out on their own how to debug and adjust their system settings so that the game can run on their pc, which was well within the stated hardware requirements, is frustrating and inexcusable. I have a friend in my group that randomly will not be able to join in on our party and gets stuck in pergatory. No crash, only being able to see a room full of glowing containers or a pov of his character being stuck in the ceiling in the stronghold. It was a very frustrating footnote to an otherwise enjoyable launch day.

Are there minor issues with enemy AI and a longing for the bosses of the previous titles that wielded infamy and interesting mechanics to keep the most seasoned of players on their toes? Do the weapons feel less punchy and impactful (most remedied by the attachement system)? Sure. But I am willing to give it time and see how, with perk builds and weapon loadouts being refined over the course of time, the new systems even the playing field and make the game once again feel challenging yet rewarding with proper gameplay.

With all of the stated issues and more, I have faith that TWI, who has proven to be able to fix the issues plaguing the community, will be able to remedy these problems shortly. Does it excuse them for releasing the game in this state? No, but, being an adult that has other things to do with his time, I can wait patiently for the fixes the game needs.

All in all, I look forward to see where this game goes (and for the clown emoji awards). There is a lot to love if you decide to look at the game holistically instead of parroting the hate that has been so massively smeared all over social media. It is a new game in the franchise, and it definitely feels new and different. I applaud TWI for not giving in to the trend in the industry of releasing a new game in the franchise and making something that is nearly indistiguishable from its predecessor. Is it perfect or complete? Far from the case, but I look forward to seeing where TWI takes this game. Hats off to the devs for an enjoyable launch day with my friends.