Spotting shadows might be the new CS2 meta as players easily spot silhouettes lurking around corners. The newly lit radio area on Nuke has new bright lighting which is set to ruin all ramp-room aggression.

A CS2 player in Nuke’s lobby noticed a large shadow emerging from the radio room, exposing a sneaky CT waiting for an easy kill. While players think Nuke’s new look is exciting, the shadows clearly “give away” too much information.

The shadow moved wildly as the CT moved only slightly, hammering in the final nail of the coffin. Players called for shadow changes via a June 4 Reddit post, but if left unchanged, lighting could put a damper on any CT aggression in CS2.

A collection of players concluded that a prominent player model shadow makes certain positions “unplayable”, all in the name of realism. This led several players to claim “shadow advantage should be kept to a minimum.”

Others seem to believe that as long as it’s “viable” for all types of players and their setups, then it has a place in Counter-Strike.

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While this feature could change the meta dramatically, it will likely only impact certain positions. Players have been able to determine positions based on lighting and shadows for years.

Mirage window smoke light trick

For instance, players can spot an opponent boosting into Mirage window via the light bulb above underpass. Once a player passes through, the light disappears, meaning there’s someone in the window smoke.

If this isn’t changed, a deeper shadow meta will likely become the norm for positions inside. Players can report the issue to CS2, as shown by a June 30, 2023 tweet. But this could be a feature the Valve devs plan to keep in Counter-Strike for the foreseeable future.