Recent reviews by sleuth

Helldivers 2 plays well from the very beginning. The introductory firing range is surprisingly engaging, and even the training segment feels energetic and polished. The visual style is striking and often reminiscent of Star Wars—the cloaks, the armor, the whole aesthetic. The game receives frequent small updates, performance is solid, and technically everything works smoothly.

But after spending around ten hours in the game, the experience starts to lose its initial spark. Every planet and landing zone feels limited in scale, almost flat. You can cross the map—whether on foot or by vehicle—far too quickly, and while the world is filled with points of interest, they end up feeling repetitive. The missions rely heavily on the same corridor-style rushes and identical objectives under time pressure. It’s not that the gameplay is bad; it’s just that it never grows into anything larger or more ambitious.

What I miss the most is a sense of scale. I want battles involving 10–15 or even 20 players holding out against massive waves, or a true story-driven co-op campaign you can complete with a friend. The game has potential for something grand, but instead, it feels like you’re hitting the same wall of “go there, upload this, collect that” over and over again.

The grind is friendly and doesn’t feel punishing, but the overall amount of content feels noticeably thin. I’ve unlocked only a handful of weapons and already wish there were far more. The core gameplay loop is fun, but the variety and depth simply aren’t there yet.

Helldivers 2 is enjoyable, polished, and atmospheric — but it constantly feels like it’s missing the scale, content depth, and diversity that could make it truly exceptional.

Since the release of Battlefield 2042, I played its beta version — and it was terrible. I tossed it into my “abandoned games” drawer and never looked back. But today, in 2025, I decided to give it another try — not for myself, but for YouTube content — and to my surprise, I was genuinely impressed. Not only did I get immersed within the first ten minutes of recording gameplay, but I also didn’t even feel like quitting. It’s clearly a step above modern CS2, at least when it comes to shooting mechanics. It feels like a breath of fresh air, and now I honestly want to start playing it again.

8/10

1

no words to describe

Magic?

👍🫶

And I gotta tell you, it was perfect. Perfect. Everything. Down to the last minute details

2023: trash
2024: trash
2025: trash
2026: trash
2027: -

Counter-Strike 2 was supposed to be the evolution of a legendary franchise — yet for me, it became the point where all passion for the series simply vanished. I’ve played Counter-Strike since the classic 1.6 days, spent countless hours in CS:GO, and it used to be my absolute favorite shooter. But since the release of CS2, everything that made the game feel authentic and precise seems to have been stripped away.

For example, one of the subtle but essential gameplay details — spectator information. When I die and start spectating a teammate, the game now shows their money, and even after they die, I still see that amount at the bottom left corner. In CS:GO, it worked the opposite way, which allowed me to constantly orient myself during rounds. Now it completely throws me off — every time I respawn, I instinctively think I have someone else’s money. It’s a small change, but one that ruins the flow for veteran players.

Then comes the shooting — the very essence of Counter-Strike. No matter how many times Valve insists that their new sub-tick system outperforms the old 128-tick model, in practice it just doesn’t feel that way. Every shot, every spray, every peek — they all feel slightly off, inconsistent, detached. Even at its worst, CS:GO’s tickrate and netcode felt more reliable, more tangible. They say CS2 eliminated over 50% of old legacy code — but it feels like they cut out the soul in the process.

Ironically, at times the shooting and hit registration in CS 1.6 still feels smoother and more responsive than in CS2. How is that even possible? I can only laugh as I type these words at sixty per minute — a mix of nostalgia, disappointment, and disbelief at how something so precise became so inconsistent.

Counter-Strike 2, in its current state, feels like a downgrade wearing a new engine’s skin — beautiful lighting, yes, but hollow mechanics underneath. It’s not evolution; it’s regression dressed in modern graphics.

The game I once considered the lowest point in the shooter genre has completely transformed — Battlefield 2042 now feels surprisingly solid, fluid, and genuinely enjoyable to play. In my opinion, it has reached a level where it easily surpasses CS2 in almost every meaningful aspect. The shooting feels impactful, the pacing is dynamic, and the overall experience actually pulls you in instead of frustrating you with inconsistency.

After spending some time revisiting Battlefield 2042, I realized how much more rewarding and balanced it feels compared to the so-called “next generation” of Counter-Strike. The contrast is almost painful: one game that managed to evolve and redeem itself through updates, and another that lost its identity in the process of modernization.

At this point, I honestly want to forget CS2 entirely and move on — to immerse myself in the chaos, atmosphere, and energy of Battlefield 2042. It feels like rediscovering what I loved about shooters in the first place: intensity, immersion, and the sense of freedom that CS2 somehow managed to erase.

FALLOUT