Music Kits in CS2: Enhance Your Gameplay with Your Favorite Music Genre
Music kits are an underrated and undeservedly unpopular item in Counter-Strike. Considering their average cost, a well-chosen collection can make your gameplay more enjoyable and comfortable. Of course, when it comes to tryharding in ranked games, most players prefer to turn off all in-game music entirely. The only sound that remains is the 10-second timer before the bomb explodes, but a recent update has made it much easier to determine the time to explosion without special settings. On the other hand, music does not interfere with casual modes, being in the main menu, and over time can become a great accompaniment even in ranked play. In this article, we will introduce you to almost every music kit in Counter-Strike, categorize them by genre, and help you choose the one that suits your musical taste.
Electronic Music
- Knock2 — Make U SWEAT!: $1.19
- Rad Cat — Reason: $1.78
- TWERL and Ekko & Sidetrack — Under Bright Lights: $9.66
- ISOxo — inhuman: $7.03
- Knock2 — dashstar*: $11.01
- Freaky DNA — Vici: $7.15
- Mord Fustang — Diamonds: $2.38
- AWOLNATION — I Am: $3.70
Let’s start with the most popular genre represented in the game. Techno, house, trance, dubstep, trap – if these musical directions resonate with you, consider one of these kits. All fans of EDM, dance lovers, and those who enjoy moving to the beat will definitely appreciate being in the game accompanied by these compositions. The freezing anticipation of an epic drop, fat basses, and a constant sense of motion are excellently realized in these audio tracks. The victory/defeat sounds and the 10-second round or bomb timer countdowns sound particularly epic here.
Special attention should be paid to the AWOLNATION — I Am kit, which features some popular tracks used in vertical format videos (TikTok, IG-Reels, YT-Shorts). The kit also includes the track from the legendary “Run” meme, which directly tells you to run from the imminent C4 explosion. Additionally, Freaky DNA — Vici stands out with its splendid combination of 8-bit melodies and academic opera vocals.
Hard Rock Style
- Humanity’s Last Breath — Void: $0.38
- Sullivan King — Lock Me Up: $0.61
- Hundredth — FREE: $0.73
- Skog — III-Arena: $0.73
- Skog — II-Headshot: $2.22
Moving on to the selection for heavy music lovers. Admittedly, there are slightly more such kits in the game, but we chose the best and most diverse in terms of content. Any of these kits is perfect for fans of nu-metal, heavy metal, deathcore, post-hardcore, and more. Everything associated with powerful instrumental and raw vocals can be found in each representative of this list. The music in this kit is filled with vibes from bands like Slipknot, Asking Alexandria, Disturbed, and Bring Me the Horizon. So, if you like such bands and enjoy playing Counter-Strike, this pack will transport you back to the early 2000s when you were playing version 1.6/Condition Zero and listening to similar tracks on Winamp.
For those who want to get acquainted with this genre and feel the game in such musical accompaniment, it is best to start with Skog — III-Arena. This kit completely lacks vocals, making it easier to get used to the sometimes aggressive mood of the tracks.
80’s Synths
- 3kliksphilip — Heading for the Source: $0.69
- Sam Marshall — Bodacious: $1.01
- Various Artists — Hotline Miami: $3.12
- Laura Shigihara — Work Hard, Play Hard: $2.60
Let’s go back to electronic music a bit, but now let’s talk about familiar melodies with an 80s neon vibe. Suitable for all fans of synthesizer sounds with minimal vocals and the incredibly atmospheric era of those years. It seems that the developers themselves are fans of this direction, or the people responsible for in-game items are those whose youth was spent in the 80s. In CS, you can find many skins in a similar style, which are present in almost every case or collection.
The Various Artists — Hotline Miami kit stands out the most here, featuring the soundtrack from the legendary indie game Hotline Miami.
Cinematic Style
- Jesse Harlin — Astro Bellum: $1.12
- Tim Huling — Neo Noir: $0.48
- Matt Levine — Drifter: $1.31
- Tree Adams and Ben Bromfield — M.U.D.D. FORCE: $0.47
What is a movie without music? It seems the creators of these kits decided that the game should also have quality musical accompaniment. The sounds from these kits help elevate the emotional background during various moments, even in the most monotonous matches. Action, western, fantasy, drama – no matter the scenario developing on the map, a music kit can build its own emotional narrative, leaving you to focus on shooting and clear communication with your teammates.
Hip-Hop Style
- Meechy Darko — Gothic Luxury: $0.84
- bbno$ — u mad!: $2.83
- Denzel Curry — ULTIMATE: $2.33
- Scarlxrd — King, Scar: $2.26
Despite the seemingly obvious content of these genres, these examples manage to step away from the norms and make you see hip-hop from a different perspective. Here, you can hear guitar sounds combined with dynamic and highly emotional rap in the style of Lil Wayne. Additionally, we believe that this collection includes some of the most popular MVP sounds, which are often heard on servers and can even be a bit annoying. If you immerse yourself in the content of the kit, you can play on the nerves of your opponents and get energized after each earned MVP title.
Punk Rock Style
- Neck Deep — The Lowlife Pack: $3.45
- Roam — Backbone: $2.14
- Neck Deep — Life’s Not Out To Get You: $15.41
- Blitz Kids — The Good Youth: $16.69
We move from rarely encountered guitars to a genre where they are an essential part. Nostalgic riffs in the style of Blink-182, Sum 41, The Offspring are collected in these kits. It’s worth noting the high cost of a couple of representatives from this selection, but compared to the average cost of skins, it’s hard to call these items expensive.
Ethnic Music
- Sarah Schachner — KOLIBRI: $3.69
- Austin Wintory — Desert Fire: $2.90
- Austin Wintory — Mocha Petal: $1.49
- Dren — Gunman Taco Truck: $17.33
- Austin Wintory — Bachram: $1.99
- Perfect World — 花脸 Hua Lian (Painted Face): $3.59
In our opinion, this is the most original and unobvious pack, which unexpectedly fits very organically into the Counter-Strike ecosystem. Scandinavian motifs combined with robo-style music, folk dance polka mixed with rock, music from a Mexican indie game, the drive and energy of Latin culture, and much more can be found inside CS2. Surprising and intriguing? Then you need to get into the game and experience all these ambiguous mixes. We particularly recommend the Perfect World — 花脸 Hua Lian (Painted Face) kit, which was released to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Chinese version of Counter-Strike. It mainly includes rock-style compositions, of course, in Chinese.
Feat. Pro Players
- The Verkkars — EZ4ENCE: $3.94
- The Verkkars & n0thing — Flashbang Dance: $3.16
We specifically placed these two kits in a separate category and did not divide them by genre. You might not know, but pro players participated in the recording of these compositions, which VALVE gladly added to the game. In the case of The Verkkars — EZ4ENCE, we can talk about an entire Finnish organization that still performs at the top level. The track features the former ENCE captain – Aleksib. The second kit involved the famous veteran of the American scene – n0thing.