After all this time, and after playing many other games, many of which probably had a budget and a team
behind it 10 times bigger than Valve had when they made this, I can still say this is still my all-time favorite
game. It's just... really good.

It can feel unfair at times, annoying even, but just the *feel* of the game,
the atmosphere, the shooting mechanics, the AI director, the sound design, the gore, the pop-culture references, the vocal interactions between the characters, and their comments on elements in the game world (Example: The character Ellis picks up a firemen's axe and says: "Yeaaah, I've always wanted to be an axe murderer", it's one of those things that will make you chuckle every time),
There's and absolutely enormous amount of voice lines that were recorded for each character (most of which were unused in the final game, however, a lot of them made their way back into the game along with a community made patch, introducing a whole new chapter. It was made by passionate L4D2 players, and officially backed by Valve)
That must say something about the game and the people who play it, if after 8 years, new content is still being added. Albeit not by the developer per se, but what does it matter?

All the little things more than make up for the flaws and you forgive the game for not being perfect.

This is the kind of game you have a picture of on your nightstand. The kind of game you take out on a
sunny Sunday afternoon for a picnic in the park. The kind of game you introduce to your parents, hoping
they approve. The kind of game you hope will someday bare your children. Ok that went a little far, but you get the point.

The online community is still very much alive, with new players ruining your survival games daily at least 6 out of 5 times. Guaranteed.
Kidding aside, this game isn't going anywhere soon, I bet there will still be an
active L4D2 community 10 years from now.

The only problem is the servers. There are some really good ones still up and running, but are, more often than not, full; all spots taken. So being able to find a decent server where every player has a decent ping isn't something you can expect on a daily basis.

The community can be a bit toxic at times, though, especially in Versus mode. People just get really competitive.
Other corners of the community are great. I made some good online friends through this game over the years. Most of them really good players, both humble and kind. People who made me feel welcome,
and made this game more than just a computer program that renders a 3D world where people kill zombies.
They made it a place where you can relax and chat. A place to go after a long day of work, and then blow some f***ing zombies to pieces.

If you're new to this game, you're going to going to have a pretty tough time the first 50 times or
so if you try playing online right away. I'd recommend playing through at least 3 or 4 chapters in single
player mode, with bots. Get a feel for the game, all the weapons, the behaviour of the enemies. When to use your medkit, and when not, what weapons to use, making good use of throwables, how to deal with special infected, etc.

Trust me, it'll spare both you yourself and other players a lot of frustration if you don't just jump into an online game without knowing Jack S**t about the game's mechanics.

If you can get past that initial phase of frustration and helplessness trying to figure this game out, you will understand why the community is still so alive.

This game is just fun on a bun. I bought it for 10 bucks or something at a summer sale. I'd say money well spent. 1500 hours of fun for 10 bucks. You are going to have a really hard time finding a hooker who will
be willing to spend 1500 hours with you for just 10 bucks. If anyone's mom is interested in a somewhat similar, but more balanced transaction, let me know, It's for a friend...

All in all, I don't regret spending hundreds upon hundreds of hours playing this game (1510 hours at time of writing) over the past few years, this game just never fails to put a smile on my face.

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