rain leaves a Steam review for CS2: “Very good”

Norwegian CS veteran Håvard “rain” Nygaard has posted a positive user review for Counter-Strike 2 on Steam, summing up the game as “Very good.” According to his Steam profile, rain has logged more than 17,500 hours in the CS client over his career (AppID 730 carries over playtime from CS:GO). The short review recommends the game and appears on his Steam account history for Counter-Strike’s store page, which notes that reviews written before September 27, 2023 counted toward CS:GO. 

The timing comes just weeks after FaZe Clan benched rain on September 29, 2025, ending nearly a decade of him as a day-to-day starter. HLTV’s report framed the move alongside Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken’s return to FaZe. 

Meanwhile, Counter-Strike 2’s broader Steam user sentiment has stabilized at “Very Positive” both recently and overall, per the live store statistics (Valve also clarifies that older CS:GO reviews are merged under AppID 730 with labeling). 

Related developments & what pros are saying about CS2

Community reaction to rain’s benching. HLTV aggregated responses from across the scene when rain was moved to the bench, noting he made it clear his playing career wasn’t over. Analyst Jacob “Pimp” Winneche added on October 15 that “with rain in the lineup, FaZe would have had a better chance to do well at the Major.” 

Transfer hints. On October 17, BC.Game Esports posted a rainy-day tease on X that many read as a nod toward rain’s next move, though no transfer has been announced as of October 21. 

FaZe perspective. In a September 4 interview, Finn “karrigan” Andersen discussed adapting team roles and specifically mentioned needing strong input from rain and frozen: “They have to be very strong in the way they think and how they feel about the game.” 

How CS2 plays at the top level.
Robin “ropz” Kool said soon after CS2’s launch that the game “seems to favor a more aggressive style of play, peeker’s advantage being one of the many factors weighted more heavily.” 
Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev remarked during his break in 2023 that “maybe [I’ll] rifle since AWP [is] a bit not impactful in [the] new game,” reflecting early-CS2 weapon-meta doubts. 
Valve’s developers told PC Gamer (via HLTV’s write-up) that launching when they did was the fastest path to improve CS2, addressing subtick and other foundational changes—context for why player sentiment shifted over time. 

Why this matters

rain’s simple thumbs-up lands during a turbulent but improving period for CS2: the overall Steam verdict is firmly positive, while pros continue to debate—and adapt to—its nuances (subtick feel, peeker’s advantage, weapon impact). His endorsement adds a small but notable data point from one of CS’s longest-serving champions as he weighs his own next competitive chapter.