Come slide with me through loopy shooter maps in this homage to Counter-Strike’s beloved Source engine surfing

Counter-Strike surfing is a modded game mode for Valve’s bomb defusal FPS in which players skate through obstacle courses by means of a Source engine physics glitch. It has a proud history dating back to 2004, when modder Charles “Mariowned” Joyce discovered that it was far more enjoyable to slide off roofs than shoot people in his custom map Killbox. So he made a new map dedicated to sliding, The Gap. Thus the greasy chute that led to Alice0 (RPS in peace) hailing CS surfing as “the esport we deserve” in 2020.

People have crafted their own versions of the mode in games like Roblox, and Proper Game Developers such as Blizzard have seemingly taken inspiration – Overwatch’s Lucio is surely a love letter to the mode. Now here comes SurfsUp, a free-to-play surfing game in the Godot Engine. Released this month, it’s been favourably compared to surf maps in Valve’s Counter-Strike 2, and is worth a pop even if you have no prior experience of counters or striking. Also, to clarify, it has nothing to do with that licensed penguin game for Xbox 360. Stand down, Cody Maverick groupies.

SurfsUp can be played solo or with friends. The free version provides access to a daily random map rotation – there are around 30 in all, including versions of classic community maps such as Utopia, Boreas, Summit, and Mesa. The free version also features voice chat and leaderboards, and you can earn different player models and animations in-game. The paid supporter bundle, meanwhile, gives you full control over map selection, together with premium cosmetics and the satisfaction of having actually contributed to the game’s development, you filthy chancer.

It’ll all run happily on a PC with graphicsability equivalent to a very small bowl of custard. And not the good custard, you understand. None of that lip-smacking Ambrosia stuff. I’m talking Hubbard’s Foodstore, a brand of custard you would not feed to a starving dog. Learn more and play the game via Steam.