Yeah, at least at first until they resolved some bigger issues over a few builds and straightened out the skills a little bit in A18. They also had to redo a lot since they hadn't kept the game updated with the latest engine for a long time. Random gen was almost completely broken at first, then it improved a bit but you would get occasional ridges carved across the map like a giant fork was run through mashed potatoes. Overall it was a big shift away from the survival aspects of the game and it attempted to bring in more looter-shooter action, but the melee and the stamina was all out of whack. Zombies didn't drop anything until they brought back some loot with the occasional bag. The weapon upgrading system was completely changed (which was probably good, but the replacement system wasn't tuned and tested to the point where it is at now). We got more vehicles which was great, but they came without the mechanics they have now, so the attempts they made at providing a challenging horde with the digging were nullified by being able to drive around for the entirety of a blood moon. Swimming was the slowest it had ever been. Wooden spikes got a huge nerf since zombies would simply avoid them in pathing. Digging zombies was reintroduced, of which I was happy with but it caused a huge stir in the community. The biggest stir was the removal of learn by doing.
It was a lot to handle.
While I don't particularly like some of the decisions made for A21, I don't think that the changes are enough to be concerned that the game is going to suffer from this point forward. I do think that the introduction of bandits soon could change things significantly to the point where it will feel like a completely different game. It might be good or it might be bad, but it will be different. It will be interesting to see the reactions.