Played the open beta today.

Personally, the deck system and character perks put me off. A lot of people think having a deck system means having the flexibility to build characters the way you see fit, sure... but on higher difficulties/coordinated teamplay, your characters need to play according to their strengths, which means one way or the other, you're kinda shoehorned into a particular role.

Game clarity is a big issue. Unlike its predecessors, you have a hard time spotting special mobs. This wasn't the case in L4D2.

Melee combat is clunky, though I later got the hang of it. Higher difficulties are needlessly punishing. The game seems to favor mobs more so than the cleaners. Disproportionate risk-to-reward ratio. Weapons systems leaves a lot more to be desired. Don't really like the attachments and perks. Can't for the life of me fathom why they input a currency system either.

Dedicated servers also ruin things quite a bit. Unlike L4D2 where you can host games locally, whether you get a smooth game or not will depend on the servers.

I guess it's hard to top off your previous record when you've created a game so timeless like Left 4 Dead 2. That game has held true to the test of time. 10-11 years on, I still see so many people play that game. Sure, it's much more simple. The graphics are ancient given its time. But allowing the game to run in G Mod, its straightforward system means beginners and veterans alike can quickly catch on or refresh their memory. Plus, with the game being so old, you can practically run it on any budget modern-day laptop/pc and not have to worry about overheating issues.

It's a shame. People who have played the game keep telling me to give it a chance. Early reviews of this game also seemed very favorable, but that's always the case these days I feel. Early reviews generate hype, but the actual reviews that come later will give you the reality of things.

I don't see myself getting the game and would prefer sticking to L4D2. Heck, even half of the players I've bumped into don't know what L4D2 is. That's how old some of us are lol.

The game is a spiritual successor, which means it won't be like L4D2. Yet I wished they kinda stuck to the core design elements of L4D2. Simple, just give the game a different name like what they're doing now. Create new mobs, new zombies, new narrative, new weapons, new everything, but implement different systems other decks or attachments. I think they could have done better. Perhaps the dev team was so focused on separating themselves from their past achievement, they ended creating a much more... bland game.

Oh, did I mention the script in this game is horribly written too? Feels like it was written your everyday modern writer. Too overly focused on realism and dark stuffs. I loved L4D2 for it's cheesy liners and lighthearted humor. Yeah, this game is a pass for me unless it goes on sale, which still is questionable to me. No amounts of early access/exclusive wep skins is gonna make the game sell better. Sorry.