A list of the biggest issues with STW (in my opinion)

1: The lack of new enemy types. You start out the game getting introduced to all these types of husks and mistmonsters, then, after stonewood, there's nothing more. They tease you with the introduction of lobbers and smashers, then enemy types in general are forgotten about and never expanded on.

2: chest loot is worthless. Epic, you made a looter shooter where the weapons you actually LOOT are completely worthless. Anything that isn't crafted is garbage. Destiny 2 is a perfect example of a looter shooter game done right. You get the prestige of chasing the perfect weapon while also implementing weapon crafting without it taking over. Not to mention, nothing new drops from chests. Its the same loot pool, regardless of the location or game type.

3: the inclusion of an inventory that is completely separate from the game itself. Why explore if you will only find downgrades? Why farm if you already have a stack of traps and building materials? Imagine dropping into an elden ring run with everything you need. Boring right?

4: The game is generally ugly. It was great initially, the dark and grim asthetic with the cloudy sky and ravaged towns. And now we have a bright and colorful world with low-quality assets and zombies that the game doesn't even try to take seriously.

5: the story. Despite the presence of survivors, you see like a total of 2 cutscenes. Everything else is

-collect item
-7 seconds of filler diologue
-collect item
-interesting diologue that is hardly expanded on

6: Map generation is out of date. Br has vehicles and we still have boxy cliffs and ramp hills? Give me a break.