TEAM FORTRESS 2

The more things change…

- Phil Savage

The received wisdom is that Team Fortress 2 has changed, and not for the better. The argument, often made by former players, is that everything Valve has added to the game over the last 13 years – the hats, the achievements, the jars of human piss – has diluted the spirit of what TF2 once was. I’ve fallen into the same trap myself over the years, bemoaning that the game I once loved no longer exists.

It would be absurd to suggest that Team Fortress 2 hasn’t changed; it was arguably the poster child for games-as-a-service design. It’s evident in everything from the menus to the way you start a match. Nevertheless, returning after years away, I’m struck by how much of the core appeal remains. There is more now: more maps, more weapons, more customisation options, more effects. Sometimes there are lasers. Sometimes you’ll be drenched in milk. In a handful of ways, though, this is still the TF2 that became one of the most influential online shooters of the 21st century so far.

Load into a match and you’ll still get teammates in your home spawn accusing every player of being a Spy. You’ll still get intractable 2Fort stalemates, as players abandon the objective in favour of an endless deathmatch. You’ll still get sniper wars and W+M1 Pyros. Most importantly, you’ll still get the clarity of purpose and personality of its nine classes, who retain their role and at-a-glance design, even as their arsenals and accoutrements have grown over so many updates.