I know that Killing Floor 2 is in Early Access and is a moving target, but I have had some thoughts about it for a while that I wanted to write down about the way this game flows.

I'm not a fan of shooters but I put 40 hours into the first Killing Floor because it was fun and silly. It's not really a horror game despite it being billed as such, and I think the community agrees with me; the first map I ever played was Ganja Farm Reweeded, and one of the more popular maps is just a Doom level which has no atmospheric tension in it at all. I was surprised that I liked it so much and hoped that Killing Floor 2 would have just been a bigger, better version that changed some of the few flaws I felt it had.

Even though it’s still in Early Access, right now Killing Floor 2 seems to be a game entirely about engines.

Their lighting engine is supreme and maps quickly turn from well-lit safe havens to dark hallways, forcing players to move places or fight entirely in the dark. Their M.E.A.T. system is cool and silly, a gore tech that makes enemies blow up real good (especially nice when slow-mo is turned on) and allows for a lot of variety in the hundreds of enemies you end up killing each round. Adding to this is their blood splattering which is just a paint job under all the regular textures that is slowly revealed but it’s really effective as you step back and see just how much blood you’ve spilled. The game looks amazing, but does it play as good as it looks?

Honestly I think the game itself plays fine. The guns they have all shoot pretty well, you have more options in fights with a quick melee (think Left for Dead) and a sprint that lets you escape. Zeds - their term for the various enemies you fight - are much more varied in how you fight them compared to the first game. For example, the Gorefast turned from a plodding minion who happens to have a sword arm into a frighteningly fast swordsman, lunging at you and being very hard to headshot due to his erratic movement. This is all fine, it’s really fun on paper actually but there are some things I wish they would change before this game is properly released.

Many of the perk have an identity crisis. Some are too good at what they do and some others really struggle. The Firebug is a prime example of the former, as it’s so greedy and easy to play that I feel it actively takes away from other perks when used. You earn money based on your kills or assists in the game which you spend on weapons and armor between rounds, but the Firebug can actually just hoover up all the kills with the very effective flamethrower which can leave others feeling weak and poor. That greedy playstyle isn’t really a problem as long as the player helps the other classes with money woes, it’s the wide gap between that and some different perks that is worrisome.

Let’s talk about the Commando. I think that Commando is at least tied for worst perk in the game right now. In the first game Commando was the perk that dealt with trash mobs, leaving the heavy hitters to Sharpshooters and Demolitions perks. It was a run-n-gun style that worked pretty well for that game, but every class in this game is good at dealing with regular enemies now and Commando is worse. Now that enemies dodge more and are more mobile, they really struggle to find their mark compared to the likes of the Firebug. Commando’s most unique ability is that it can see invisible enemies, and (optionally) let allies see them too, but they’re not that hard to see or deal with anyway and there’s only one enemy like that in the game.

A lot of the perks in this game feel like they have an identity crisis actually, or will when new classes are released. The newly released Gunslinger is sort of a blend between KF1’s Commando and Sharpshooter, so where does that leave those perks? Sharpshooter hasn’t been released in KF2 yet, but the Commando is in a poor place right now and could really use a bit of love before the next big patch. Demolitions is no better, and it’s sad that they seem to be nerfing the good stuff rather than bumping up the stuff that could use the help. That exploding pistol is a joke.

I think that the engine updates have actually made things a bit worse still, as you don’t need lighting to set fire to everything in front of you but the lack of light sure does make it hard to see or shoot sometimes. A lot of the things I've been talking about might end up being damage tweaks or perk bonuses, although Commando feels like it needs an overhaul to let them shine.

Should all perks be viable at all points in the game? Should classes like Support and Demolitionist only be brought out in the latter half of the game, and everyone just plays firebug/gunslinger/medic before that?

The Medic has the only truly unique mechanic in the game - they can heal others. It changes up the gameplay a little bit so you're not simply focused on shooting others, which is nice when you're killing hundreds of enemies that only vary in six ways. With KF2 I feel like they are missing an opportunity to add more unique mechanics to classes.

One thing I think they could do to add a bit more variety to the game would be to have special grenades or items that would replace your grenades. They wouldn't be mandatory, but would spice up some of the more bland classes a little bit and give more options to already good classes.

Released Perks:

Berserker: Adrenaline shot that takes your armor away and gives you 0 health recovery but lets you do 4x damage for a while.

Commando: A flashbang that stuns high-value targets momentarily.

Firebug: Alt-fire on the flamethrower opens the valve more, burning your ammo at a very fast rate but also increasing the damage it does.

Demolitions: Put all your grenades and a stick of dynamite in a box and throw it at a target. Detonates on impact.

Unreleased Perks -

Sharpshooter: Gives you steady aim and no recoil when firing.

Martial Artist: Smoke bomb that lets you and anyone in the radius turn invisible momentarily.

Not only do I think this would add some variety to the game but it also might add a bit of perk synergy and more defined reasons for wanting to take a particular perk to a fight.

Even though the game looks and plays better than it ever did, something about the class diversity and class options right now just make it feel a little hollow. It's still not formally released on Steam, but to me this is Early Access done half-right. I'm glad that they listen to their community.

I know that making games is hard and Tripwire have struggled with their timetable for this game (originally slated to release holiday 2015), but right now I think it falls just a bit short of what could be a great game right now. I wish all the best for the developers and wish them good luck in releasing this game in a timely fashion.