Top 10 Scream Fortress Maps

It is the most terrifying time of the year, Halloween is just around the corner which means Team Fortress 2 is getting spooky! And to celebrate this fact I have summoned up a devilish list of my Top Ten Scream Fortress maps! Giving you a perfect list of all the best ones to play with your friends!

Top 10 Scream Fortress Maps

Greetings boils and ghouls, it’s the most monstrous time of the year! It is the Halloween season! And for fans of Team Fortress 2, it means that Scream Fortress is here! And personally, I feel this is the perfect time to list the Top Ten Scream Fortress 2 maps. I mean, I could leave this till Christmas, but where is the point of that? Nah, today we are kicking it spooky style with a list of scarily fantastic maps that have graced this formidable title over the years.

I have gone through maps old and new to bring you what I personally feel are the best ones currently in the game. Well, at the time of writing at least, clairvoyance isn’t a skill that Ol’ Chris has. Now it goes without saying that this is only my opinion and yours might well vary. So why not leave a comment down below and let me know yours?

Gorge Event

Starting at the bottom of our list we have Gorge Event. The Scream Fortress remake of the map Gorge. Spooky remakes of established maps are hardly new or unique. Goodness, there are many on this list. However, this one gets the nod over many of those for how well it is executed. It looks every bit the part without just feeling like someone has just painted a spooky filter on things. And it makes a few tweaks to the flow here and there to spice things up too.

Kicking off the Top 10 Scream Fortress Maps with one that is perfectly fine.

Kicking off the Top 10 Scream Fortress Maps with one that is perfectly fine.

It isn’t any higher because, well, it is just Gorge but with a Halloween coat of paint on it. And I don’t mean that as a mark against the level’s makers, they have done a fantastic job. The Scream Fortress flavour is well executed and it deserves a spot on this Top Ten Scream Fortress 2 maps list. But there really isn’t much else to make it stand out beyond this or beyond the other entries on this list.

Carnival Of Carnage

Next up on this list is a map that will have you shouting “BONUS DUCKS!”. It is Carnival Of Carnage, the map that rewrote the rules on the Scream Fortress post-battle final battle thing (only for said rules to go back to normal on every iteration since then), reintroduced Meramus, and breaths life into a game mode that people dropped off so quickly that, if it weren’t for this version it, would be dead as Territory Control.

Some of you are gonna be steamed to see this so low on the list.

Some of you are gonna be steamed to see this so low on the list.

Honestly, this one feels like it is one of those “Love it or hate it” kinds of deals. You either think this is a top-tier thigh slappingly good time or you find it annoying and kind of crappy. And for me, well, whilst it has its upsides (it looks great, the carnival games are fun for the most part, and it has ducks) it can be a pain to play. Part of the issue is that this is a Halloween version of Doomsday. A game mode itself that is prone to descending into a prolonged stalemate. Add in magic which can heighten that further. And then throw in the carnival games which, whilst they are fun, can make the whole thing feel rather pointless when despite spending twenty minutes trying to get the win in you then lose in the bloody bumper cart games.

Cursed Cove

Sailing into the eighth slot on this Top Ten Scream Fortress 2 maps list comes Cursed Cove. A pirate-themed level that sees players battle for the souls of their foes which they must take to a haunted realm to score points. Sporting quick-fire gameplay and a really great-looking design Cursed Cove feels like a terribly underrated map all things considered. However, I can totally understand why few people really rate it all that well. Because as much fun as Cursed Cove is it is still using a rather niche game mode.

Cursed Cove's neither world does look neat though.

Cursed Cove’s neither world does look neat though.

And it can be rather disorientating to people on first play-throughs. Plus it kind of just feels like a more involved team deathmatch. A game mode that never really became a thing in Team Fortress 2. And is something that some classes struggle with; if you are a Scout main you’ll have a great time, Engineer on the other hand, yeesh. Plus as great as the map looks in some places it doesn’t feel like it lends itself too well to a game like TF2. With tight corridors and limited open areas, it can be easy for skilled players to essentially block off some routes. Still, it makes for a great place to make Gmod comics I suppose.

Laughter

Sporting a distinct look and design that really plays into the retro amusement park on a boardwalk idea. Laughter not only does it look the part but it feels the part in ways that Carnival of Carnage frankly doesn’t. It actually looks like an amusement park whereas Carnival of Carnage just looks like a factory with some paint thrown on it (which it technically is but still). And despite being a King Of The Hill map it plays more like an Arena level given how fast-paced and bloody matches can get.

He who laughs last laugh laughs last laugh.

He who laughs last laugh laughs last laugh.

Sadly it does feel like it is the victim of the fact that Valve hasn’t made a significant update to Team Fortress 2’s Scream Fortress in a long time; it doesn’t really have a unique enough identity to make it feel truly special. But that is just sadly indicative of the fact that community maps and projects are rather limited in what they can do. And regrettably, that isn’t likely to change any time soon.

Ghost Fort

Now we reach an entry which, I’ll be honest, was far higher on this Scream Fortress Top Ten maps list until, well, I replayed it. So this is a King Of The Hill stage that has the added twist of having a boss monster thrown into the mix (much like Eyeduct). This time it is Merasmus, a fearsome wizard and Solider’s former roommate. Unlike the other bosses, he doesn’t just attack you. But can cast spells to change the game itself; lowering gravity, making people’s heads large, giving everyone Krit boosts, and more! Plus his fight has the added twist of turning into a Prop Hunt game when he gets low on health. All around this should be a slam dunk, but it doesn’t quite stick the landing.

Come out Merasmus! We've got your drugs!

Come out Merasmus! We’ve got your drugs!

The Merasmus fights can become terribly repetitive as the game continues. Made all the worse by the fact that he can appear frequently which makes making any progress difficult. At best his appearances are infrequent and a wonderful way in spicing up the match. At worst he appears seemingly every time someone so much as looks at the control point. And it is a shame too, because were it not for how broken his appearances are this would have been far higher on the list.

Helltrain

The newest map on this Top 10 Scream Fortress Maps is Helltrain. Honestly, I was kind of reluctant to include any of the new ones on this list but the moment I started playing it I knew that I just had to include it. Helltrain really evokes memories of playing Unreal Tournament back in the day. Only with a Team Fortress 2 twist. Rather than two sci-fi trains (or whatever was in UT04) you and your rivals find yourselves on one of two giant trains driving through a haunted world.

Each place the Hell Trains pass through adds new effects for players to deal with.

Each place the Hell Trains pass through adds new effects for players to deal with.

As the trains pass into new areas a variety of effects can befall the players. Similarly to the ones Merasmus does in Ghostfort. Only with a few new ones thrown into the mix to spice things up. It really is a joy to play. With no class feeling it gets an unfair advantage over the others. Well, aside from scouts but that is the case with all capture-the-flag stages. I’m not really a fan of this game mode, but this twist on it really is worth a shot.

Harvest Event

Behold! The OG Mac daddy of the Scream Fortress event. This is the one that started it all. Harvest Event is (you guessed it) the spooky twist on the map Harvest. Which incidentally launched at the same time as this. With this version sporting plenty of pumpkin bombs and a hat-wearing ghost to stun unsuspecting players. Even to this day, the map offers a drum-tight experience that is a lot of fun to play. However, it is starting to feel its age; Harvest Event hails from a very different era of Team Fortress 2 and the game has changed and evolved so much that the flow of it feels ‘off’.

Harvest Event feels like a trip back to Scream Fortresses past.

Harvest Event feels like a trip back to Scream Fortresses past.

Plus it was never really updated with any of the changes and additions that have come to the game with time; no spells, no games, no bonus areas, it is as it was more or less since release. On the one hand, it can make it rather boring. But on the other it does make it feel rather streamlined; it isn’t relying on gimmicks and unlike some other Scream Fortress maps it isn’t throwing in bosses for the sake of it. But it is still solid for what it is worth.

Eyeaduct

It’s the Halloween version of a King Of The Hill map with a boss to fight! Oh boy, how unique! Sorry, I shouldn’t be getting snarky because this is my list after all. Besides, it is a solid one that is for sure. Adding a thick layer of spookiness to Viaduct and a boss monster that was created from the Demoman’s lost eye Eyaduct adds a decent and frenetic challenge that shouldn’t be overlooked.

I still hear the screams of "Friendly no kill!" To this very day.

I still hear the screams of “Friendly no kill!” To this very day.

There is a part of me that feels that something was lost when Valve balanced how the boss monsters worked in Team Fortress 2; When first introduced they just appeared and you and the other team could kill each other whilst trying to kill the boss, now you can’t and are all forced to work together. Whilst this makes killing the boss easier it makes it a little too easy. And the chaos of it all was weirdly fun. But I understand why they did it, even if I don’t like it. Still, there is a decent back and forth here. And it rarely suffers the same issues as Ghost Fort, thank goodness.

Mann Manor

Behold! The map which proved that the whole Scream Fortress thing wasn’t going to be a one-off and ensured lists like this could be a thing. Erm, I mean, ensure that spooky times could be had by all. Mann Manor is honestly one of my favourites. As not only does it nail the seasonal spooky look it also has a great flow to it that makes it a genuinely great stage to play. Plus it featured the first boss monster in the game; The Horseless Headless Horseman!

A very big house in the country. Hmm, gives me an idea for a song...

A very big house in the country. Hmm, gives me an idea for a song…

The boss isn’t affected by the aforementioned balance. So you can continue to murder the other side to your heart’s content! And you can unlock a fantastic-looking weapon in this one, something I really wished was carried over into future Scream Fortresses. The boss is more than just an obstacle, it can also help break stalemates. Something that the main version is sorely lacking. Plus, let’s be honest, the normal version looks positively bare without the Halloween decorations!

Hell Tower

And so now we arrive at the number one spot on this Top 10 Scream Fortress Maps. This, in my humble opinion really is the best of the best when it comes to these seasonal levels. Hell Tower is a map that has grown on me with time. I wasn’t a massive fan of it when it came out, preferring some of the older ones featured on this list. However, as time has gone by it feels more like the perfect combination of Scream Fortress elements. They all feel so perfectly balanced without giving the sensation that they overpower or undermine others.

Perfectly balanced as all good things should be.

Perfectly balanced as all good things should be.

We have spells, we have sub-areas, we have a boss (well, as much as the Skeleton King can be counted as one), we have pumpkin bombs, and all these things sit rather harmoniously in a brilliant slice of the greatest hits of the Scream Fortress experience. Sure, it is just Hightower but with Halloween flare but weirdly these seasonal additions do weirdly enough to solve many of the issues I have with the nonseasonal version. The sheer number of times a match can swing between which team is winning is great. And the fact the final level is a test of player’s skill rather than a silly game is always a bonus. If I ever am looking for a map to play at this time of year Hell Tower is my number one choice.

[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”kwwg5tc4z9″ question=”What are your Top Ten Scream Fortress 2 maps?” opened=”0″]And so concludes this Top Ten Scream Fortress 2 Maps list. Do you agree with the list? Do you think I’m wrong? Let me know what your top ten are in the comments down below. For more guides, reviews, and gaming news updates follow KeenGamer on Twitter. Go on, it’s free![/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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