My thoughts on the 4.5.0 update:
I'm going to discuss the things I like & dislike about the update from over the last few matches I've played today. Feel free to do the same down in the comments if you'd like!
User Interface: Listen, I'm going to be blunt here; I think it was a stupid idea to change something that didn't need to be changed. Nobody has ever complained about the old UI to my knowledge, so I have no idea as to why they thought a new UI was needed. Is it horrible? No. But is it good? No. Now with that being said, I'll probably end up getting used to it.
The only thing I really like from it is the portraits & the hook counter (which killer should also have😑). I'm glad that they tried to think outside of the box for a more innovative & "sleek" look, but this just isn't cutting it imo.
Animations: I have mixed feelings for the new animations, because while I think the new walking, running & crawling animations are decent, the idle animation & the smoothness when moving is terrible. I dunno about you, but the idle stance makes me look a pancake (stiff & flat). Not to mention, you can barely 360/swerve side to side anymore. I've always done this as a last resort in chase since it's hard to do on console, but it really sucks that I don't have that as my backup plan anymore.
Clown buff & soundtrack: Oh my god do I love his terror radius & chase music! I completely forgot that they gave him one so when I had my first match against him, I actually felt scared for once. It definitely gives him more personality & I really applaud the devs for this one. As for the buff, it's okay although I think they should've done more for him.
Map reworks: I'm loving Disturbed Ward so far & I think they did a good job with this one in terms of pallet placement & graphical updates. As for the Gideon Meat Plant, while I think it looks great & I like that it has more Saw references, I personally think this map make can be tweaked a bit more. The amount of dead ends for survivors & the amount of pallets for killers to deal with is crazy.
My overall opinion: I think this update was a complete mess although I am glad that it did bring a few good things (map reworks, Clown buff, some decent animations, hook counter and portraits). If I were the devs, I would've definitely delayed this update in order to address & accommodate all of the complaints (specifically about the UI) instead of shoving it down peoples throats.
Everything I didn't address: Haven't played Father Campbell's Chapel yet, haven't went against or played Wraith/Trapper (though I will say that I think both will still be weak), etc.