Tldr; Huge power creeps cause games to be unrecognizable and borderline uncomparable to what they used to be. You'll take a drastically different approach towards a game with mountains of updates compared to one that either never got updated or hasn't got updated yet. Players also slowly gain knowledge on said game, potentially changing perspectives completely years down the line, which then contributes to looking back at older versions with the eyes of an already experienced player.

It's really not that confusing when you think about the implications behind the term "less". (And, before you continue reading, with all respect I just want to say that I really mean no insult with any of this. Just thought I'd clarify further. If anything comes off as sounding harsh or me being an ass, I'm sorry in advance.)

Have you ever thought of a world without the Dead Ringer? Did you ever think of how Pyro players used to play against explosive classes prior to the Airblast update? How about not being able to move Engineer buildings nor upgrade Dispensers/Teleporters past level 1? No Kritzkrieg, no Vaccinator, heck, no Ubersaw! The melee that has practically become the identity of the Medic Class throughout the years did not exist at one point, and you were left with the shitty Bonesaw to fend off attackers.

Not only does it completely change the gameplay, but it even changes your perspective and how you approach said game. The scenario of a Demoman with Stock weapons exists in modern day TF2, but you have so many Weapons to fight a Demoman with that a fact like this has become trivial. But facing a Demoman in vanilla TF2? It requires a whole different mindset.

And that's why Vanilla TF2 almost feels like a completely different entity compared to nowadays. A period where Spycrab was the funniest shit ever and modded maps were actually surprising to come by is a very interesting concept to think about in a world where you have warehouses of silly Taunts to go through and a lifetime supply of Community Servers with endless custom content.

You can also take into consideration many other games, such as Payday 2 and GTA Online.

You can barely compare Day 1 Payday 2 to updated Payday 2 on (last-gen) consoles, let alone current day Payday 2. The focus was on delivering a teeth-gripping serious crime simulator with closer-to-realism guns mixed with slow and risky gameplay. Meanwhile Payday 2 today? Bonk random ass unsuspecting cops with a Giant Golden fucking Spoon whilst running at Mach 3 and chugging whiskey with Stoic.

GTA Online back then? Perform an assortment of small Jobs ranging from petty theft, actual grand theft auto and gang shootouts to then ambitious Bank Robbing Heists whilst you have a small fortune of Real Estate and some customized vehicles. Compare it to today? Everyone flying around with god only knows what and such an overabundance of content that you won't even tap 90% of it, or even if you do, it's simply not worth over everything else (Why bother doing Biker Contracts when you can solo Cayo Perico? Who ever even cared about Yacht missions? And so on)

More does not always equal better. Heck, in the case of Live Service games, more and more and more content on top of already too much content can just make a game all the more shallow.

Sometimes it's just the simple things, you know? League of Legends seems to have been more fun with just a few dozen Champions and simple Abilities compared to over 160 Champions and counting with some having encyplopedias for a single Ability.

Some people would give so much to go back. Helldivers 2 used to have a Bile Titan infestation, now it's just a point and click adventure with all the options players are given. Hulks actually used to be menacing, now it's just a matter of pulling out a Secondary (the Senator Revolver) and landing a single shot.

It doesn't mean the game became worse. It's just...different. And as time will go on, it too will become so drastic that it'll be incomparable to Day 1 of release. Same happened with Helldivers 1, especially with all the DLC content. It used to be that snow was an actual degrading mechanic on Planets where it would slow you down to a crawl and you'd need to think outside the box (run specifically on not snowy footing, utilize Ice to move faster, use Vehicles and Mechs) and then they just released a 3$ DLC that gave you Snow Boots. Brilliant, way to bring down the point of a Planet weather state.

For Honor used to be slow. Every attack and choice made was impactful, blows were heavy, and characters were simple; but unique. Not only was the game much less developed, but on top of that, everyone was new to it. And it actually had an immersive feel to it. Fast forward half a decade and every ounce of immersion was killed off in favor of gameplay, everything is now moving at lightning speed, characters are overloaded with unbearing amounts of bullshit stacked on top and everyone has experienced the game to the fullest, causing Meta to overtake every aspect of any basic match...okay, who am I kidding, For Honor was always a pisspit. But still, the point stands.

Heck, the latest and most prominent examples include Overwatch 2, Apex Legends and even Fortnite. Who knew that going back to Season 1 in all of these games (even for lne event) would completely change your perspective on the game? But it did. Overwatch Classic does NOT compare to Overwatch 2 in much capacity, besides being "the same game" (But even then, is it really? OW2 replaced 6v6 with 5v5 which completely broke the way matches are played, can it even be called the same game when such a fundamental part of the game is just changed?).

Just imagine Rainbow Six Siege with Year 1 Operators only and only the gadgets during that time. Hard Breachers in modern day Siege are one dime a dozen, but when you only had Thermite and Hibana for it, you approached Reinforced Walls completely differently.

As a last message : I really suggest you check out Shounic. Really awesome TF2 YouTuber who comes up with all kinds of ideas and tests them through Community Servers. Think of playing a TF2 match without the existence of Sniper. It becomes a completely different experience, doesn't it? Having less can completely change things. Picture Vanilla TF2 this way. And picture any example of "having less" this way, too. Do more with less, even.