[h1]"There is no other game quite like 7 Days to Die. I think anyone who enjoys survival, crafting, building should give it a try."[/h1]
I put off reviewing this game for a really long time because i find the attitude of the dev team duo to be extremely problematic. However, its high time I give credit where its due despite my qualms about their choices. More on that later.
There is no other game quite like 7 Days to Die. I think anyone who enjoys survival, crafting, building should give it a try.
[h3]For me personally, its biggest selling points are:[/h3]
1. [b]Every player type has a meaninful job to do.[/b] Base builders, logistics officers, and trading specialists are just as important as looter-shooters. Many games attempt this balance but it ends up feeling more like a sidequest than an important integral part of the team dynamic; in this game its a huge boon, while remaining doable without.
2. [b]Mods make this game an even more customizable experience than vanilla, which is already highly customizable.[/b] I cannot stress this enough: mods are super important to this game. Sure, its playable without mods and you will probably enjoy it, but you will enjoy it much more after you mod the game to your preference. There are only 3 mods I recommend to new players: any of the craft from storage mods, bdubs vehicles, and most importantly the massive POI overhaul Stallionsdens Compo Pack. The compo pack adds so much more content to the game - countless buildings to raid, built by the modding community over many years. Without compo pack, I personally would not play 7 Days to Die anymore. Still a great game, but it just wouldn't be replayable.
[h3]In my personal opinion the biggest detractor is:[/h3]
1. [b]TFP dev team tends to make small updates that fundamentally change the entire balance of the game, and those updates are few and far between.[/b] What that does is create a love it or hate it feeling for a long time until the dev team finally gets around to changing it again. I also feel that while player feedback is listened to and even responded to, its not valued in any way and is treated more like an annoyance for the devs to deal with. This has always been the case from when I first played the game yonks ago. So if there is a change in the game you dont like, mod it. Do not hesitate. Do not wait for the devs to flip flop (chances are they wont - not fully). Go and download the mods you need and be happy.
Just so I am not merely talking nonsense, a semi-recent change to the progression system was made. It used to be a learn by doing system and players found an exploit to basically AFK level a skill. Devs changed from learn by doing to learn by reading: skill progression is now entirely locked behind looting skill magazines and reading them. This makes skill progression incredibly frustrating for non shooter-looter type players. The devs responded to player feedback, confirming that they made the change so that players would not be able to use the exploit. These sorts of knee-jerk "thats not how we want you to play" reactions are exactly why I put off reviewing this game for over five years. IMO its better to just let the exploiters ruin the game for themselves. But its easy for me to say that as a PVE only player. I just wish the devs would come up with smarter fixes than ruining progression for a decent chunk of the player base. For the record, I enjoy shoot and loot as well as base building. I can't stand the learn by reading system and downloaded a mod called Learn by Doing Returns (there are ports to current version, dont worry).
