exams are in 2 days, i haven't studied, but 'neeth the pouring rain with a sweltering fever and splayed out on my bed i wanna write about counter strike

i wrote about counter strike a couple years ago, twice it was. once as a standalone and another as a comparison piece analyzing how it measures up to valorant

having re-read that prior to pre-doing this i stand by all my points, and yes i do still prefer counter strike

valorant is defined by smoothness, it is a smooth experience. smooth gunplay, smooth artstyle, smooth world, not to say that it's weightless, more just that it takes on a more lighthearted, say, extravagant or whimsical tone. it's bright, it's colourful, but what it trades in grit it more than makes up for in just being plain fun

counterstrike is on the contrary defined by friction. guns are loud and clumsy, the artstyle is bleakly realistic, so much of counter strike's identity just screams hostile. often, you'll hear people say that the shift from cs to valorant is way smooth compared to valorant to cs, and jesus h christ these fellas are not exaggerating

to get into it would be to repeat myself, and given the new guidelines i've given myself in my current streak of writing i'd rather just refer you to my old reviews, shitty as they are. but if you're caught up; movement innacuracy, stopping before you shoot, counter-strafing, utility usage, spray control, yada yada

cs is a rich tapestry, even moreso than valorant probably for its movement alone. but beyond how maniacally fast combat is with the zippy strafing compounding with the loud clumsy gunplay, fuck the maps here are so much better too.

valorant maps tend to suffer from... lack of verticality? they're canvases left blank for the players with their special agents to paint the map their own shades with special uniques and abilities and i respect the artistry, but paired with the more "solid" movement WASD gunplay is just really not that thrilling in Valorant, at least not for the gunplay itself. 

counterstrike is hard to get people into. looking at how utterly hostile cs is to new players it makes sense, and i get why some beginners might prefer valorant. but looking past the veil there is something deeply captivating at the core of counterstrike, and whatever it is, its kept me returning over and over ever since i fell back into this addiction

at the heart of cs lies the potential for mastery. the fantasy of controlling another spray, or tapping a head, or landing a perfect util. its escaping the bottom of the leaderboard and soaring into being a topfragger. clutching a defuse against an outnumbering threat through sheer skill and timing. fast peeking mid with an awp and getting an instant pick which blasts a hole in an enemys defense. 

it's a mastery you'll never truly achieve, not when skill ceilings are this endless. but for how brutal and punishing cs can be, and for how just fucking angry it can make you, it's constructed in a way that means you're always improving, always discovering something new, and always eager to continue just for the sheer dopamine spike of even a single kill

ahem

counterstrike's been pretty abusive lately. more often than not i'm losing, and even if i'm not, more often i'm botfragging, but i don't really mind. i'm hardstuck silver and proud of it, and given i'm having fun, it's no rush. whether it's sprays, utils, learning how to hold my mouse, movement, or studying a new map, it always feels like there's something to return to.