After 1.0 price went to AAA, but gameplay stayed as it was before.

Nobody will read my review so I Will Eat 1 Tablespoon of ketchup For Every Like this gets.

Lazy Developers. The best way to describe the state of 7 Days to Die now.

They have removed much of the customization that was available in lieu of "sets" of armor and clothing comparable to Diablo and similar games. Gone are the multiple levels of upgrade, and the interesting patterns to construct with, for building materials, so now you only have 1 tier of each. Want to paint your house? Good luck, you can't do that here anymore. All of this removed because they didn't want to put in the effort to streamline it, make it comfortable, and optimize it.

Gone is the Temperature system, which was flawed and odd, but something that added a touch of realism and should have been fixed/optimized rather than discarded. This is a Survival game after all.

Gone is the "Smell" system where if you were carrying raw meat or similar smelly resources, zombies would hone in on you. A really neat concept that they just didn't want to work on because it was easier to remove it instead.

Gone is the "Learn by Doing System", which is a staple in most Survival or RPG games. Gone also is the Learn by Skill Point system, another staple in many Survival and RPG games. Gone is the revamped "Learn by Skill Point" system. We now have the "Learn by Reading Magazines" system. Magazines which are purely RNG, with a little boost from investment in your skills, and can leave you hard locked if you want a specific build for team or roleplay purposes.

The only thing left in this sad shell of a game is Blood Moon night, Horde night, but that has become boring since the meta is so ridiculously strong against it. Even a semi-meta build will let you easily fight off the Blood Moon and get on with your in-game life once it's over with no danger.

The developers had a beautiful niche title in a growing genre, and have continuously cut out content, failed to produce better content to replace it, and revamped mechanics multiple times instead of fixing and balancing them. Still waiting for NPCs and the promised Bandits, something which Survival and RPG games have done quite well over the years, but apparently are too difficult to implement.

Don't be fooled by that 1.0 stamp. This is yet another bug filled, unoptimized Alpha. The 1.0 is just so they can re-release it on console, and make their customers buy it again for a horribly inflated price. They should have given it to them for free, but instead they are using some bs legal jargon to sell it to them again. Should be criminal to do this, but just another day in America I suppose.

All in all, it might read like a bitter review against some trash tier developers, and in part it is. I loved this game when I picked it up around Alpha 14. Slowly, as they have revamped mechanics that didn't need done, changed things that didn't need changed, and completely failed to balance the game in any form, my love for the game has turned to disappointment and that "meh" state of mind. If it's on sale for 15-20 USD, maybe pick it up and give it a try, otherwise, do not waste your money on this game. It is a poster child for the dangers of EA purchases and how developers will do anything to get a bit more cash out of their customers.