"The best third person shooter I've ever played": Shroud praises Deadlock days after official announcement by Valve

Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional and Twitch streamer Michael "Shroud" commended Valve's upcoming MOBA shooter title, Deadlock, after trying it out in a recent broadcast on the platform. For those unaware, Valve announced Deadlock on August 24, 2024, with the game being made public on Steam for the first time.

Even though the title is still in "early development," it has already wooed Shroud so much so that he called it the best third-person shooter he has ever tried. He stated:

"Honestly, from my 10 hours that I've played yesterday, this is probably the best third-person shooter I've ever played. Because it's not just simply shoot and use abilities, but there's so much more nuance to it."

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"First arena shooter MOBA that actually is good": Shroud talks about Valve's new game titled Deadlock

Deadlock has undergone playtesting since August 2023, but has remained largely out of the public view. However, its recent announcement saw a sharp uptick in both community interest as well as concurrent players. Within just a few days of Valve announcing it, the game reached approximately 90,000 players despite the game being accessible on an invite-only basis.

Shroud also talked about the various mechanics featured in Deadlock, including the slide, double jumping, dash, and combination moves. Noting the wide variety of these Stamina bar-based moves, he stated:

"It has probably the most mechanics I've ever seen in a third-person shooter... It's f**king crazy. The only thing it's missing is wall-riding, but I wouldn't be surprised if a character can eventually do that, and then it's a MOBA on top of that... I don't even think a thousand hours will be enough to learn the game... The game's gonna absolutely be addicting."

An influential voice within the shooter community, Shroud also said that the MOBA title may "take over" the gaming scene after its release:

"This game is going to easily, and I mean easily, take over in two years when it comes out. For sure. It's the first, like, arena shooter MOBA that actually is good. All the other ones kind of stink."

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Not everyone has been as impressed with Deadlock, however, as evidenced by Jaryd "summit1g's" reaction after trying it out for the first time. The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional expressed his displeasure with the game to his audience in a broadcast on August 25, 2025, stating that he "hated" it and was only trying it out to play alongside Shroud.