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The Counter-Strike series is one of the longest-running multiplayer game series. Find out whether it is worth playing in 2025.
Counter-Strike has been a genre-defining title since its creation as a mod of Half-Life 2. This multiplayer tactical first-person shooter series has given us a lot of memorable moments and some once-in-a-lifetime pro-scene incidents. The first Counter-Strike came out in November 2000, and the latest release, Counter-Strike 2, began its journey in September 2023.
However, this journey of the series was not without criticisms. On top of that, many quality titles in this genre were launched during this time. You can take a look at some of the FPS games you can play here.
That being said, the question arises—Is it worth playing Counter-Strike 2 in 2025? Let’s dive right in.
Counter-Strike 2: Is This an Upgrade?
To answer the question—not much. CS2 has the same modes its predecessor, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), had. The Competitive, Casual, Wingman, and Deathmatch modes are still here. CS2 received a fresh coat of paint through Valve’s Source 2 Engine.
The liquid inside Molotov cocktails is now visible, and the overall graphics have seen improvement. The smoke screen erupting from a smoke grenade acts like a fluid in CS2, i.e., it does not diffuse into solid objects and can be dispersed with a grenade or bullets.
There is not much to the story of Counter-Strike. Players are divided into two teams—Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists. Terrorists try to plant bombs or guard hostages depending on the map the match is played on, while the Counter-Terrorists resist them.
What Does the Gaming Community Think of Counter-Strike 2?
Counter-Strike 2 has received a lukewarm reception at best. There were a lot of complaints from the fans. To name a few:
- Lags, Micro stutters, and FPS (frames per second) drops: Even with a high-end gaming rig, there is significant lag during the beginning of the game, especially during spawn and while bumping into teammates. Players also experienced significant FPS drops in detailed maps like Ancient.
- Visual and input lag: Players have also reported incidents of input lag, i.e., when an input takes slightly more time than it should be executed. Since reaction times and map awareness are important aspects of the game, a few milliseconds of lag can ruin the gamers’ experience.
- Cheating: Last, but by no means least, is the presence of cheaters. Players with scripts granting them dishonest advantages, i.e., invincibility and vision through walls, have been running rampant in the game. The automated anti-cheat system from Valve, VAC, has received some strict criticism from the fan base.
Has there been improvement since the beginning? Many community members will not agree. A Reddit user, Tango 1777, put it this way:
“Core got a little better, but it’s still far from playable online, some things got worse e.g. fps is lower than in beta, they didn’t improve much about cheaters. Overall it’s still not worth it to start playing it or back to playing it, save yourself the time.”
The In-Game Cosmetics in CS2 and Trading Shenanigans
The Counter-Strike series has seen some of the most expensive and beautiful in-game cosmetics. The most expensive one, the Karambit Case Hardened (Blue Gem), has an estimated price of around $1.5 million USD. There are many other cosmetics in the $10,000–20,000 USD range, e.g., the $6,200 Butterfly Knife Lore or the $6,000 AK-47 Fire Serpent.
There is no denying that the cosmetics in CS2 are some of the most eye-pleasing ones in the entire gaming industry. However, it does not come without woes. Read about the recent gambling scandal here.
To Play or Not To Play—That Is the Question
In spite of all the complaints, the CS2 scene is still growing. It can be well summed up by this Reddit post:
There is no denying Counter-Strike 2 is fun and still riddled with flaws. If you decide to pick the game up in 2025, we’ll advise you to make having fun your number one priority. Have a party of friends, indulge in a game or two, and then go on with the rest of the day. Do not get too attached to the game or its ever-fuming community. After all, one should always try out things in life.
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