[EDIT 05/06/24] Sony reversed their decision on mandatory PSN access however they've still not removed ~150 countries (orig countries that cannot access PSN) from the blacklist, thus preventing a HUGE swathe of players from even downloading the game or buying it, much less playing it. I'll reverse my review once they allow them back on. Everyone dives or no one dives.

[EDIT 05/02/24] On top of all this, now they're pulling a bait and switch. Originally the game was slated to require PSN account sign-in in order to play, however they weren't REQUIRING this at the start. MANY people received pop-ups for this as a message in game UNLESS you joined someone directly to start the game (something many people did in order to jump insane queue times)

Because of this, MANY players were bait-and-switched into thinking this game was a Valve only game and did not require a secondary account. Now they're REQUIRING this if you want to keep playing the game. Many players are in countries that PSN isn't allowed or doesn't work, which means they're just out the money. VERY shady of Sony and Valve to allow this practice. I will never buy another Sony game ever.

[EDIT:04/29/24] To further illustrate this point, their most recent patch nerfed a ton of weapons that NEEDED buffs, nerfed weapons that were perfectly balanced, BUFFED enemies, NERFED solo play (now when playing solo, MORE patrols spawn), and this is just the start. This is the patch that made me give up on this game. It's obvious the developers have no business balancing this game. STAY AWAY until you hear that the developers have pulled their heads out of their asses.

The developers are outright idiots that have no clue (much less business) balancing a game. The vast majority of their buffs & nerfs don't make any sense and tend to push weapons in directions they hadn't intended.

A great example of this is the recent slugger shotgun nerfs and AMR (Anti-Material Rifle) buff.

The slugger used to have a decent stagger on it & the versatility to blow open fences and lightly armored doors. (Only weapon to be able to do this but as slug shotguns are used to breach doors, it makes sense.) It's downsides included a bad ammo economy, inability to rapid fire, and the requirements of hitting headshots which makes the weapon highly skill-based. The reasoning for the nerf, however? "The slugger was the best sniper rifle in the game."

So what do they do to it to make it a slug shotgun NOT a sniper rifle? Remove the stagger & nerf it's damage. Stagger, y'know, the only thing keeping you alive most times because a shotgun has a lot of physical force & not volume of fire. In their attempt to make this weapon not usable as a sniper rifle, they pretty much ensured it will be, due to having to use it at range. It does not have the volume of fire, alpha strike potential OR stagger to be able to hold things off at close range anymore. Idiotic move.

They should've added a damage falloff on it which would've had the intended result they were looking for: not allowing people to use it at extreme ranges.

The AMR on the other hand has a GLARING issue: It's sights are off. The bullet actually lands a little to the upper left of the crosshair. It also had enough damage pre-buff to one shot everything except EXTREMELY heavy enemies but could still kill many of them in 1-2 shots.

So what did they do to buff the AMR? Fix the glitch? Make the gun handling better as it is/was bad?

Nope! THEY BUFFED IT'S DAMAGE BY 30%. By far not a buff it needed whatsoever.

In addition, the game is unplayable nowadays due to MANY, MANY connection issues, glitches, latency issues, etc.

Stay away from this game for at least 6 months and come back to it to see if it's worth playing. I'll update my review then but despite my fervor for this game, I'm taking a break. The devs need to figure out how to balance the game before I am willing to give them any more of my money.

[EDIT 05/06/24] Sony reversed their decision on mandatory PSN access however they've still not removed ~150 countries (orig countries that cannot access PSN) from the blacklist, thus preventing a HUGE swathe of players from even downloading the game or buying it, much less playing it. I'll reverse my review once they allow them back on. Everyone dives or no one dives. [EDIT 05/02/24] On top of all this, now they're pulling a bait and switch. Originally the game was slated to require PSN account sign-in in order to play, however they weren't REQUIRING this at the start. MANY people received pop-ups for this as a message in game UNLESS you joined someone directly to start the game (something many people did in order to jump insane queue times) Because of this, MANY players were bait-and-switched into thinking this game was a Valve only game and did not require a secondary account. Now they're REQUIRING this if you want to keep playing the game. Many players are in countries that PSN isn't allowed or doesn't work, which means they're just out the money. VERY shady of Sony and Valve to allow this practice. I will never buy another Sony game ever. [EDIT:04/29/24] To further illustrate this point, their most recent patch nerfed a ton of weapons that NEEDED buffs, nerfed weapons that were perfectly balanced, BUFFED enemies, NERFED solo play (now when playing solo, MORE patrols spawn), and this is just the start. This is the patch that made me give up on this game. It's obvious the developers have no business balancing this game. STAY AWAY until you hear that the developers have pulled their heads out of their asses. The developers are outright idiots that have no clue (much less business) balancing a game. The vast majority of their buffs & nerfs don't make any sense and tend to push weapons in directions they hadn't intended. A great example of this is the recent slugger shotgun nerfs and AMR (Anti-Material Rifle) buff. The slugger used to have a decent stagger on it & the versatility to blow open fences and lightly armored doors. (Only weapon to be able to do this but as slug shotguns are used to breach doors, it makes sense.) It's downsides included a bad ammo economy, inability to rapid fire, and the requirements of hitting headshots which makes the weapon highly skill-based. The reasoning for the nerf, however? "The slugger was the best sniper rifle in the game." So what do they do to it to make it a slug shotgun NOT a sniper rifle? Remove the stagger & nerf it's damage. Stagger, y'know, the only thing keeping you alive most times because a shotgun has a lot of physical force & not volume of fire. In their attempt to make this weapon not usable as a sniper rifle, they pretty much ensured it will be, due to having to use it at range. It does not have the volume of fire, alpha strike potential OR stagger to be able to hold things off at close range anymore. Idiotic move. They should've added a damage falloff on it which would've had the intended result they were looking for: not allowing people to use it at extreme ranges. The AMR on the other hand has a GLARING issue: It's sights are off. The bullet actually lands a little to the upper left of the crosshair. It also had enough damage pre-buff to one shot everything except EXTREMELY heavy enemies but could still kill many of them in 1-2 shots. So what did they do to buff the AMR? Fix the glitch? Make the gun handling better as it is/was bad? Nope! THEY BUFFED IT'S DAMAGE BY 30%. By far not a buff it needed whatsoever. In addition, the game is unplayable nowadays due to MANY, MANY connection issues, glitches, latency issues, etc. Stay away from this game for at least 6 months and come back to it to see if it's worth playing. I'll update my review then but despite my fervor for this game, I'm taking a break. The devs need to figure out how to balance the game before I am willing to give them any more of my money.