Forgotten Journeys: Team Fortress 2

I suspect that recurring readers of this series may recall that I typically don’t cover games under the “Forgotten Journeys” banner unless they meet at least one of three primary criteria. This series most often serves as a vehicle through which I attempt to draw attention to titles that I consider to be underrated, under-represented, or overshadowed by newer and/or more prominent games that may or may not be parts of certain franchises.

In contrast to every title I’ve covered within this series thus far, the game I want to cover today ticks precisely none of those particular boxes. However, I’m making an exception for this one because of the profound positive effect it has had on my life since I was first introduced to it many years ago. For once, I’m not talking about World of Warcraft in this context. Instead, I’m referring to Valve’s legendary class-based first-person shooter, 2007’s Team Fortress 2.

I’m well aware that Team Fortress 2 has by no means been abandoned or forgotten by the majority of its player base. Neither, I would argue, has it been overshadowed by newer, flashier games in the genre. I think I can make these claims with some degree of confidence because according to SteamCharts.com, the game has peaked at over 130,000 concurrent players in the last thirty days. Furthermore, I quite firmly believe that there’s no game capable of overshadowing the legendary Team Fortress 2 because of everything this title has to offer that makes it unique.

Admittedly, the aforementioned player count statistic may well be inflated and rendered inaccurate due to a crisis of bots and cheaters which Eurogamer reports has been plaguing the game for some time. Even so, TF2 is exactly thirteen years old (give or take a couple of days based on when this article is published). I, for one, would say that attaining 130,548 concurrent players in a month isn’t too shabby for a game of that age, whether that’s with or without a blight of bots and ne’er-do-wells.

So, if TF2 hasn’t been forgotten or under-represented thus far, why have I elected to write about it in a series that typically draws attention to games that actually are affected by such factors? That’s primarily because I wanted to return to my roots as a near-lifelong PC gamer. Team Fortress 2 was the first PC game to which I was exposed in my early adolescence, even before I became immersed in the aforementioned World of Warcraft.

From the moment I sat down at my closest friend’s custom-built gaming computer and played through Team Fortress 2’s tutorial all those years ago, I felt as though my destiny had been laid out before me. I felt compelled to forsake the gaming consoles of my childhood and build a capable PC so that I could experience video games as it seemed they were intended to be played. Ultimately, if nothing else, I wanted to revisit the game for the purposes of this article so that I would have an excuse to essentially embark upon a massive nostalgia-fueled journey.

I’m willing to bet that you folks know as well as I do that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of class-based first-person shooters just on Steam. That’s completely ignoring those that are exclusive to the console market or other digital storefronts. Despite such overwhelming odds, I still remain unshakably convinced that Team Fortress 2 has quite a lot going for it that helps it stand out from the crowd and, in many respects, remain “king of the hill” (if you’ll pardon the pun).

On the opposite side of that coin, though, everything TF2 has that sets it apart from its competitors isn’t always a benefit. From what I’ve heard since I last seriously played this title, many detractors of 2017’s “Jungle Inferno” update will argue that point for me. Team Fortress 2 is definitely not the same game it was when I was first introduced to it in approximately 2009. However, aside from a few nitpicks I have with the game that resulted from certain updates long past, I think that’s largely a good thing.

I know there are tons of jokes cracked at the game’s expense for its emphasis on cosmetics (especially hats above all else). I’m painfully aware that the easiest way to instantly identify a stereotypical new player is by whether they’re wearing a Ghastly Gibus and/or Pyrovision Goggles. Despite that, with a few exceptions, I also think such additions have served to grant TF2 a more approachable “personality,” for severe lack of a better word. Personally, I don’t want TF2 to be the same game it was back in 2009.

I say that primarily because without the major updates that have forged Team Fortress 2 into what it is today, the game would consequently lack many features that have served to change the meta-game and make it more enjoyable, such as all the various unlockable weapons for each class. I doubt the game would have the same charm if every class had the exact same weapon loadouts they had in 2007 after all. I don’t want to live in a world in which no TF2 player knows what a “Demo-knight” is.

At the end of the day, Team Fortress 2 could be written off by detractors as a bog-standard FPS that also happens to contain a playable Australian man who greatly enjoys throwing jars of what is strongly implied to be his own urine at both his enemies and teammates alike. What I hope to achieve by writing this article is to instill within you the knowledge that the game is so much more than that. The game has been completely free-to-play for more than nine years now. The way I see it, there’s no excuse for anyone who still hasn’t tried TF2 to continue avoiding doing so.