A plant, a retake, and twenty seconds that settle everything.

On gut feeling alone, the community puts CS:GO ahead of 90% of all games. On fun it is even sharper: ahead of 99% of the catalogue, nothing eats hours like it. Attachment follows, ahead of more than 90% of titles. Then come the dips, and they make sense. Art direction sits at the very bottom, ahead of almost nothing. The desert island stays below average, which says plenty: you do not take it alone, it only exists through other people. Controller feel and soundtrack settle for the middle, on few votes. There is the real tension: a beloved game that can keep you up until dawn, and that marks neither the eye nor the ear.

Among competitive shooters that is nearly the definition of the genre: beauty is functional, the satisfaction comes from aim and from reading a round, not from the scenery.

So, who is it for? For you if you like improving over years, feeling your crosshair sharpen, playing round economy like a chess game. Much less so if you want a story, a visual punch, or something to savour on your own.