Ever since the release of Counter Strike 1.0, it has been popular amongst the masses, especially the competitive players. The popularity grew even further with the release of CS:GO.
CS:GO came out in 2012 and was a huge step up from its previous versions. But finally, after 11 years, Valve recently revealed the next-gen version of Counter-Strike 2. It brought in many changes including a major graphical overhaul to the outdated CS:GO visuals.
In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the improvements with the new version and how different it is from its previous version. However, it’s not all beds of roses as there are some that CS:GO did better than its latest iteration.
A Complete Graphical Overhaul
Graphics are unarguably the biggest point separating the two generations of this game apart. Counter Strike 2 has transitioned to the new generation of Valve’s proprietary game engine, called Source 2.
It enables new visual elements never seen before with Counter-Strike.
Lighting and Shadows
The graphical update was much needed. While for 2012, the visuals were okayish, they can’t stack up remotely to the newer games especially now, when there is competition from games like Valorant, Apex Legends, and more.
For starters, the Source 2 engine is a massive step up in terms of shadows and lighting. CS2 features dynamic lighting which cuts out the need for any artificial rendering, making the dark spaces and shadows much more realistic and truer to life.
The most fun part about this new dynamic system is how it reacts to the weapons. For example, throwables like grenades now react with their environment, which gives a whole lot of immersion and realism to the experience.
Detailed Character Models and Textures
The character models have also got a major upgrade along with all the maps. The floors, sky, walls, and foliage all look like a worthy successor to CS:GO.
This especially translates to maps that have a lot of visual elements like vegetation, roads, and more.
The maps have been mostly kept similar but have received some rework. The bomb sites have received upgraded visuals due to better lighting which works well towards the general feel of the gameplay. There are also other quality-of-life changes.
Refined Core Gameplay
For seasonal CS players, the general mechanics and gameplay won’t feel too different. This is for the better as it means that there is no learning curve for players transitioning from the last generation of the game.
But that isn’t to say there are no changes at all. Just like the visual upgrade, the gameplay has also been updated. The gunplay is far better than CS:GO thanks to slight changes to the recoil system, which makes the gameplay more consistent and precise.
All the basic movements like running, crouching, and strafing have been improved as well. The new engine allows much fluid gameplay.
While some movements in CS:GO felt very unnatural, CS2 seems more realistic.
How grenade work has been totally reworked too. The grenades are now dynamic, so if your bullet pierces them while they are in the air it will trigger them making for excellent diversions and tactical moves.
Improved Matchmaking and Competitive
A big problem with CS:GO was cheaters and how they affected the matchmaking. Due to certain boosting and smurfing there used to be big chances that you’d enter a lobby full of cheats, but that has been fixed with CS2.
It used an improved algorithm that can detect cheaters and eliminate them. This makes matchmaking fairer to the skillset of the player especially if you are playing competitively.
A really interesting thing that CS2 has enabled is a fresh new take at the competitive level. Due to slight changes in mechanics and the new dynamic grenade system, teams have had to create new tactics which has made the gameplay very interesting.
Due to this, CS2 seems super fresh in esports competitions especially. Because CS:GO was active for over 10 years, most tactics had become recurring, which has significantly changed with CS2 and for the better.
Updated Skins and Other Cosmetic Items
Before we discuss how the skins and cosmetic items have changed let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, all the money you’ve spent in the game won’t go to waste as all your cosmetic items from CS:GO will be carried over to CS2.
Now, that we’ve got that out of the way, cosmetic items due to the improved visuals have received a noticeable upgrade. Now, your shiny and expensive skins will look even better when the new dynamic lighting falls onto them.
Furthermore, the textures on the skins have also been enhanced just like the character models and the environment. This new change has especially sat well with the players who love to trade skins, which to be fair are most of the seasonal CS players.
The One Drawback
This is pretty obvious and expected but has been pointed out as an issue by many CS players. Due to the enhanced visuals, the game has become much more system-demanding. This directly affects the gameplay, more if you are playing competitively.
So, suppose your rig was pumping out 300-400 FPS with CS:GO, you can expect a dip of half or even more with CS2. This is worse for those who are on the low-end system because now you don’t have the smoothness and fluidity that is required for an e-sports title.
Final Thoughts
One can argue that the heavy requirements are justified because CS2 is now a new-gen game and that does make sense.
The performance problems can be easily overlooked considering how big of an upgrade the rest of the game is.
It might require some getting used to but CS2 in every sense is a worthy upgrade over its predecessor.
The visual changes, improved textures, and reworked gameplay all make it significantly better than CS:GO, albeit the performance drop that comes due to higher visual fidelity.
