Valve is renowned for its commitment to high-quality game releases, typically receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from players. However, Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) has fallen short of this standard, with a notably mixed reception.
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As of October 1, CS2 has garnered a recent player review count on Steam, with 68 percent positive reviews out of a total of 164,203 reviews in the past 30 days, a rating classified as “Mixed.” It’s worth noting that this figure still includes reviews from the final two weeks of CS:GO, as the transition took place during this period. The actual CS2 player review percentage is even lower, standing at 59.1 percent positive reviews since the game’s launch on September 27.
While CS2’s reception falls below Valve’s typical performance, it’s important to remember that there is another Valve game with an even worse rating. Artifact, Valve’s trading card game based on Dota 2, has an all-time positive review score of just 46 percent, making it the lowest-rated Valve game on Steam.
It’s fair to say that Artifact faced a challenging start. Valve teased a new game in 2017, building up high expectations for the official reveal during that year’s Dota 2 International event. However, when the trailer announced “Artifact: The Dota Card Game,” it was met with a collective groan of disappointment from the audience.
Artifact faced issues including its $20 price point, a monetization model that many found to be overly greedy, and various other problems. Consequently, the player base dwindled significantly within a few months. While Valve initially attempted to revamp the game with a 2.0 overhaul, development ceased due to waning player interest. Ultimately, both the original game and the 2.0 beta, known as Artifact Foundry, were made available to play for free.
The launch of CS2 encountered its own share of challenges, including launch issues and player resistance, which were somewhat expected given the substantial changes made to an iconic game that had been around for a decade. As a result, player reviews for CS2 have been notably less positive compared to some of Valve’s other flagship titles like Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, as well as games from the Half-Life and Portal series.
There has been a mix of positive and negative reviews for CS2, and as the game continues to receive updates and fixes, it is likely that the recent review score for CS2 will gradually improve in the coming months.
