I reviewed this game back at launch, and I figured it was time to renew my review for more modern audiences after years of additions and upgrades to the core gameplay.

I have owned Killing floor 1 since it was available for disk purchase at walmart, then owned it again a few years later, with over 2000 hours of combined play.

Then, when killing floor 2 came out, I had played it since launch and am currently sitting at around 700 hours, with 434 on this account. That is by no means "A lot" for a game like killing floor, but I feel as though I'm speaking in all honesty when I say that Killing Floor 2 is THE best wave-based game ever made.

Custom maps, constant updates that always are free, constant work from tripwire to make the game better, a generally friendly community with plenty of storied players who would be happy to show new players the ropes.

The gunplay is so perfectly smooth for what it is, and that's why it's always fun to come back to. Games like L4D always have had a "stiffness" to them that make it feel antiquated (and I say that with nothing but love for L4D/L4D2. It's just how valve games are. They've never been about having super tight gunplay, but more about the player interactions.).

With all of the different classes, there's a place for everyone here and if you can't find a class, you're being picky. All of them are equally useful for different reasons and the best teams understand each other classes place and what creatures they should be targeting and leaving for others. Once you find that team, you'll have really played Killing Floor. Until then, you're missing out on part of the magic of the game.

You can obviously play solo, and I do this constantly, but a lot of that comes from being able to play every class and being a "Fill" type. I enjoy filling gaps in a team, and that helps immensely. If you're going in with the idea that you're going to pick one class and never play anything but that, you're likely going to have a harder time in difficulties above hard.

Being a team player is the only way to actually beat higher level content consistently, and the only way to stay alive is to learn when to stand your ground and when to move. I've seen new players panic and it leads to their death, adding more into that theme of a "Horror/Gorefest" theme that the game has.

You're not helpless survivors, you're the cleanup crew. Your whole job is to kill everything to get money to spend money on guns to kill things faster, and when the game is over you start all over again. It's not complicated, but it is deep.

But if you get cocky, reckless or panic, you'll be ruined quickly. The game demands respect and if you try to spit in it's face, it'll spit acid back in yours, so don't go in expecting to master the game on the highest difficulties in a few days.

The leveling system is amazing, letting you feel like you're always growing, no matter how long you play. 500 hours in, I've reset my levels twice before the official prestige systems, but now with the official systems, you can get cosmetic rewards to show off your experience, but with as many classes as there are, you'll be playing for a while even if you don't care about resets. But on top of all that you have the vault system, the loot systems for more cosmetics, custom maps, custom classes and servers with their own leveling systems, and more.

That's right. If you want to blast a zombies brains through the stained glass window of Peaches Castle from Mario 64, you can absolutely do that.

If you want to feel what it would be like to see Lavender town overrun by monsters, while retaining it's pixelated look? You can do that too.

Mods that enable "overpowered" or "unbalanced" things are disabled from earning cosmetics, but realistically that's just to keep it fair, as the market is player driven, and items can be traded with other players over steam, so friends can easily mix and match their loot as well.

Overall it's a fantastic game that's easily worth $60, but they're selling it for $30, and that's a steal.