A song about Dota 2 has made its way – cheekily and breekily – into the Russian Spotify charts and risen all the way to the top spot. In fact, it’s become so popular that’s held that top spot for 14 consecutive weeks, racking up nearly one million streams. This seems to coincide with the release of the song via YouTube in late October.
The song dubbed ‘astral step’ is a reference to Dota 2 character Void Spirit’s ultimate ability of the same name, which allows him to teleport to a location by tearing a rift in the astral plane, attacking enemies along the way. The artist’s name – Shadowraze – is also a Dota 2 allusion, with ‘Shadowraze’ being Shadow Fiend’s main method of attack.
The lyrics of the song, which have been translated by a Redditor and their accuracy confirmed by one of The Loadout’s Russian-speaking sources, capture the in-game experience of playing Void Spirit with meme-y adroitness. “They have just some simple preset in their heads, I’m gonna show them the light in the end of the tunnel,” reads one set of lyrics – a reference to the basic setups that newer Dota players will readily adopt unknowingly.
“I’m hidden in Dissimilate. I won’t leave a single trace. Out of nowhere I’ll come to the late game,” the song continues. These are obvious references to Void Spirit’s Dissimilate ability to create a host of portals that he can teleport to, emerging from them and doing damage to enemies around him.
Conveniently, you don’t need to be a Russian speaker nor a Dota 2 fan to appreciate the song, either. “I don’t understand Russian but the songs seem jammers,” Reddit user ‘jKuboXX’ says. “Wow it’s really good lmao,” says ‘meepppssss,’ another Redditor. It is also now firmly on repeat in The Loadout Towers.
Shadowraze has also released a number of other Dota 2 ditties on his YouTube channel. These include songs about Shadowfiend, Juggernaut, and Templar Assassin. These titles are also in the Spotify charts at 18th, 21st, and 29th respectively.
This song might just be the light-heartedness the Dota world needs at the moment, as it was recently announced that Dota 2’s first major of the year has been cancelled. If the song has given you an itch to get back into Dota, you’re probably best served checking out one of best Dota 2 heroes for ranked play guide, before you just wander back in there and get pummelled.