I thought the whole issue about Los Suenos Stories release was overblown, but I'm sad to note that it's not. The game is now in the worst state it's been in the last 2 years, and it truly feels disappointing.

There's a ton of bugs that would've been noticed if the developers did at least some playtesting and this build wouldn't ever been released if they had any self respect. Just to come to my campaign progress being wiped was the first punch (fair enough, we're promised a fix for that), and visually and technically the game is a total mess. The graphics feel like they aged 5 extra years meanwhile, the shadows are PS1 level, lighting took a huge hit (and so did the atmosphere), textures took a massive downgrade, bleeding is alterned, equipment is broken...

And yeah, there's also the "censorship", or as I'd like to call it more accurately as content-alerting stuff. We've been lied to in the copium posts, it was worse than they portraied it and it should've never happened. At first I thought it was a bunch of karen-fans shouting about a few alerted textures, but after playing the game again and giving it an extra though, it's honestly a scam. The game was marketed as having disgustingly naturalistic presentation. And it did and it worked so well because it was well and full-on implemented. Until now. Now the no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ aspect is gone. The ♥♥♥♥♥♥ stories life sometimes writes and which left you feeling a little bit like ♥♥♥♥ after a session are gone. It feels like they slapped on a ticker tape to hold the storytelling together. Even the technical "build parity" is BS because the content is even more different on consoles and somehow syncs to PCs in crossplay??? And even the promised mods that would be able to put stuff back in are now censored.

The only good aspect that somehow stayed and is still unmatched in some ways is the sound and the game mechanics. Which is, duh, not enough at all. My last play session just teased me a bit and left me wanting to go back to the old version and play the game in functional state again. But with the current version, it wouldn't be enjoyable at all.

I wouldn't care to type this review if I didn't care about the game. People need to get the message across and let their voices be heard. I believe the developers will realize they threw their original premise off a cliff and betrayed their original audience. I also believe it's all fixable and will take some time. Just for christ sake don't double down on the crybaby fans narrative and make fools of yourselves for life.

A genre-defining classic. Now updated with Developer commentary, which provides an entertaining look into early 2000s game development. The storytelling and gameplay is still industry-leading. Graphics feel a bit dated with HD flatscreens, but back then on a tiny CRT it felt as close to photorealism as we were going to get. Sound design and music is also great. If you still haven't played this legendary piece, stop whatever you're doing and get to it.

Looking forward for the RTX remaster.

Timeless classic. The game that defined and continued to shape FPS genre for decades. There's an endless supply of free mods, some of which made us laugh for hours, some made us cry, some challenged what even is possible to do in gaming and almost all of them kept us glued to screens just having fun. The storytelling is a work of art which still lives today thanks to Half-Life: Alyx. The multiplayer is more alive than ever thanks to the update and it's like nothing else. Forget Counter-Strike or Call of Duty, this online FPS madness puts your reflexes and dopamine receptors to a test they never experienced.

Happy 25th anniversary.

Ignore the review bombing. The game is fun, fresh and much needed overhaul of CS:GO, which for me was the worst version of Counter-Strike. I've been playing CS on and off since 1.5 and I actually look forward to playing the game every now and then again. The only thing that is really missing for me as of October 2023 are established community server with fun maps and mods (aaaand a new case and operation – Valve pls fix). Source 2 is a well optimized engine with seriously great looking materials and lighting. The netcode feels just right and everything is smoother than CS:GO for me. Matchmaking is unfair to everyone and it's not just you, deal with it. If you face any problems, reinstall CS (and make sure that you delete the folder in steamapps meanwhile), update your drivers/windows, watch 3kliksphilip videos on optimization or upgrade your PC (we all did it for CS:S anyway). If you find anything like movement, shooting, netcode weird – it's honestly either your setup, your mind or your inability to adapt to the smallest change. The game feels like Counter-Strike 2.

Garlic approved.

Deck Nine did it again. What a ride. Staying on the Life is Strange formula yet keeping it fresh.

The grind gets really annoying after first two tiers, but still really fun game.

Fun was had, feels were felt and friends were made.
10/10

This makes you realize that Deck Nine might be better at playing DONTNOD's game than DONTNOD themselves. We'll see how this develops, but a nice experience so far.

Probably the most fun involving destroying your friendships you can get.