Much steeper learning curve without the gun, but still very enjoyable.

I play the game for a little more than a week and I have to say I am glad that there is no starter pistol now. In my opinion, it feels more realistic this way. I mean, you cannot spawn and immediately run through the zombies killing the ones you do not manage to get rid of with your gun.

It is more difficult which the game needs. At least for me, its quality is to certain extent related to the difficulty. The game being a real challenge is what drives me to continue :).

I also think that it is not difficult to find an axe, so that you can defend yourself when you pull a zombie. In fact, I find it pretty easy to just run in the town, enter open houses, loot the items and then just go LoS around a building, start crowling and the zombies stop chasing you.