Games Like CS2 – 8 Alternatives
The latest entry to the iconic and timeless Counter-Strike series is already making headlines. Counter-Strike 2 is on the brink of being released, with Valve already making it available to a select number of players.
Now, while you and countless other gamers are waiting to get your hands on the new Counter-Strike, we have brought you a list of games like CS2 that you can enjoy.
Even if you haven’t got your hands on Counter-Strike 2 yet, these games will surely impress you if you’ve played Counter-Strike: GO or even 1.6.
8. Warface
Free to Play | Download Warface on the official website
Intense, grueling, and brimming with competitive thrill. Warface offers ten PVP game modes, and while they all offer a unique gameplay experience, the Plant The Bomb mode is where you need to be if you’re a fan of Counter-Strike’s gameplay.
There is a diverse arsenal available to you, with dozens of weapons that you can customize with sights, grips, camo, and more. You can choose from five classes including Medic, Sniper, Rifleman, SED, and Engineer. Each has its own set of skills, so choose the one that suits your playstyle.
Warface is a must-try for fans of tactical, fast-paced shooters.
7. Squad
$44.99 | Purchase Squad on Steam
Squad places you in a simulation of actual military warfare. It presents an intensely realistic combat experience set on authentic looking and feeling battlefields.
There are a total of twelve playable factions. You are placed in a squad of up to nine soldiers, with each member having a particular role, such as a combat medic or machine gunner. Teams can also set up bases by collaborating among the squad leaders. Squad strongly emphasizes communication as your team’s survival and eventual victory depend on it, just like in a real war.
If you want to experience warfare almost like it occurs in the real world, Squad offers you a virtual alternative.
6. PayDay 2 / 3
$9.99 | Purchase PAYDAY 2 on Steam
PAYDAY 3 has come out recently, but there have been some issues with the launch of that game. If you want to check it out, you can purchase PAYDAY 3 for $39.99 on Steam.
Committing a crime may be scary in the real world, as it should be, but in PAYDAY 2 it becomes heaps of fun. Hide behind funky masks and take up dozens of available contracts on the game’s CRIMENET network as you blast your way through tons of interesting gameplay scenarios.
Make a crew of up to 4 partners in crime and loot banks, armored cars, casinos, and more. As your successful heists go up, you can invest in several specialist skills to make your gang more lethal.
Since the game’s release, a decade’s worth of updates have tuned the game to a near-perfect virtual heist experience, so if you’re looking for a polished, time-proven heist game, PAYDAY 2 is the way to go. If you want the newest version, go for PAYDAY 3.
5. Rogue Company
Free to Play | Download Rogue Company on the Epic Games Store
Rogue Company is a competitive team-based third-person shooter game. The playable characters, called Rogues, are this bunch of outrageous, destruction-loving fanatics. Each has their own set of skills, weapons, and high-tech gadgets to bring chaos to the arena.
The more you play and win, the more cash you earn. This cash can be spent on a number of upgrades. You can go for a katana to get up close and personal with the enemy, or you can opt for a sniper rifle to blow them up from afar.
What’s more, Rogue Company has cross-platform play so no friend is left out.
With 4v4 and 6v6 game modes, Rogue Company offers that small-team type of shooter gameplay that may scratch your CS2 itch.
4. Escape from Tarkov
$52.00 | Purchase Escape From Tarkov on the official website
Escape from Tarkov has been in closed beta since 2017. However, it is fully playable and we may get an official release date soon.
Escape from Tarkov is the epitome of realistic, hardcore FPS gameplay. It requires players to survive in a brutal environment. The game features an AI system named HECS – Hazardous Environment Combat Simulator. You need to monitor your character’s levels of hydration, energy, blood loss, exhaustion, and other vitals. Even the guns act like in real life. They can jam, overheat, and wear down with use. The environment is also available for you to use to your advantage.
In order to succeed in this game, you need to loot weapons and bring them back to your home base, all while fighting off AI and real player enemies.
Escape from Tarkov is a severe survival game. It is for the ones who are up for the challenge it offers. But the experience and eventual reward are definitely worth it.
3. Paladins
Free to Play | Download Paladins on the official website
Paladins is a competitive 5v5 game set in a colorful fantasy world featuring laser-shooting foxes, magic-casting elves, and even dragons. What’s good is you can play all of them as available Champions.
But where Paladins brings a twist to the genre is the card deck system. You can create specialized decks using cards that boost certain abilities. This allows you to tailor any Champion to your style.
With a large number of skins and customizations, with new ones being constantly added, Paladins is likely to stick with you for a while, and if you like team-based gameplay focused on objectives, Paladins is a good choice.
2. Rainbow Six: Siege
$19.99 | Purchase Rainbow Six: Siege on Steam
This game takes tactical gameplay to a whole other level. If you haven’t planned and set up your equipment at the beginning of the round, you are pretty much done for. The environment offers destructible objects which can be used to your advantage, and knowing that enemies can pop up from the roof above you makes this game all the more intense. Close-quarters combat in cramped locations adds to the skill level required for the game: keep your head on a swivel, otherwise you’re toast.
The players are divided into Defenders and Attackers. The defenders have to protect the objective by setting up traps, barricading doors and windows, installing cameras, and more. The attackers’ task is to infiltrate the location and capture the objective. They can do this by sending in little drones, destroying barricades or even blowing a hole through the wall.
Effective communication and recon is key to winning matches in R6: Siege. So gather your friends and get to it.
1. VALORANT
Free to Play | Download VALORANT on the official website
You probably expected this one to be at the top, and for good reason. After all, VALORANT takes a lot of inspiration from Counter-Strike, and the developers make no secret of this. This is the closest game to CS2 that you can play right now.
VALORANT mixes standard gunplay with powers and abilities to further add diversity to its roster of Agents. It has a buy menu just like CS and the same weapons are available for all players. You earn money based on round performance that you use to buy stuff.
The standard game mode is 5v5 with attackers aiming to plant the bomb and defenders seeking to either prevent it or defuse the bomb to win.
There is a huge choice of skins so you’re free to express yourself any way you want, and you may find a good deal at the Night Market (What is VALORANT Night Market?) updated with every Act.
Games like CS2 – Conclusion
These were the games that you can give a shot in case you want to take a little break from CS2. Whatever’s your cup of tea, you will find it on this list. Whether you prefer realism or want to go the supernatural way, you are sure to have tons of fun.
