Killing Floor 2 is basically just an update of the original game with a fixed leveling system and a handful of other changes.

The biggest issue with the original Killing Floor was that it had a leveling system where leveling up perks often involved doing tedious tasks instead of just playing the game. Commandos had to go out of their way to hunt stealthed enemies and farm them, Support class players had to sit around welding doors, and a medics optimal leveling was to do nothing but heal. Oftentimes this just meant farming this experience on an empty server under specific conditions as leveling through normal play took too long. In Killing Floor 2 one levels a perk using those perks weapons and abilities - just playing the game properly. The game has also been better balanced so that lower leveled players can do reasonably well on higher difficulties and that leveling itself is a significantly faster experience. Only the Hell on Earth difficulty demands a high or maxxed level perk to play through.

Alot of the new stuff is a mixed bag. The new weapons are a good addition to the game, and the medic perk gets quite a few of them. Weapons now share perks so other classes can viably support medics as healers without impacting their role. The SWAT perk does not really scale well for the higher difficulties as it does not fill any role because of its lack of firepower and meaningful abilities and the Survivalist just outright tries not to fill any role. The new enemies and bosses make the game a lot more interesting and challenging, but some of the bosses are comically easy, while others are extremely difficult. Some new enemies like the E.D.A.R feel out of place with their abilities and aesthetic, but most of the new adds make the game more interesting while fitting in with the old cast.

There is not much reason to play the first game over this new one. Pretty much every change is for the better and the changes that are not that good are not that big of a deal.

I am a 45 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing this game. I am a single farther to my Son, who is 14 now. My son got this game for Christmas in 2021 from his uncle, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So I decided to make a Steam account and get this game to see if I could maybe play alongside him. I loaded into the game, picked my character and started playing but I was stuck on what you where supposed to do. I asked my Son for help and he hosted a game for me to join. I loved it as it was the best time I had spent with my Son since my wife had died. This game has ever since brought me and my son closer again and now we actually spend time together outside the house together as well. This game reminded me that there's fun to be had in everything, and it has brought both me and my Son many happy memories.

Better than sport shooting