5 Best Games to Play on the Side as a CS2 Player

Grinding Counter-Strike 2 every day gets exhausting after a while. Even if you love grinding Premier ELO, sometimes you need a different game to let off the steam after four lost Anubis games in the row.

The best side games for Counter-Strike 2 players are usually the ones that still reward mechanics, communication, patience, or focus. Here are five games every CS player should try:

1. Subnautica 2

If you enjoy teamwork and communication in CS2, Subnautica 2 is honestly a great pick.

The new multiplayer mode lets you explore underwater areas with friends, and the game quickly becomes all about coordination. One player scouts, another manages resources, another tries not to get eaten by giant sea creatures. It sounds nothing like CS, but the teamwork feels weirdly similar.

The game also creates real tension. One bad decision can ruin an entire expedition, especially deeper underwater.

If you are a completionist, there is also a huge amount of items and upgrades to collect. We actually completed the game ourselves using a 100% Progress Tracker for Subnautica 2, which helped us keep track of everything without missing any scans, upgrades or locations.

2. Escape from Tarkov

If your favorite part of CS2 is the pressure, Tarkov is an easy recommendation.

The game rewards patience, sound awareness, and smart positioning much more than raw aim. Every raid feels stressful because dying means losing your gear.

A lot of the skills transfer directly from Counter-Strike. Good players use sound properly, gather information, aim and control recoil and stay calm during tense situations.

Tarkov is slower than CS2, but the tension feels very familiar.

3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Expedition 33 is perfect if you want to use your CS reflexes somewhere else.

The game became huge partly because of its perfect parry system. Timing and split-second decisions are the blood of this game’s unusual combat system. Landing multiple parries in a row honestly feels as satisfying as hitting clean one taps through the whole mid.

The combat also rewards patience. You cannot just spam attacks and hope for the best. Reading enemy patterns matters the same way reading opponents matters in CS2.

The game is massive if you go for full completion too, getting all items in Expedition 33 is only for true achievement hunters and completionists.

4. Rocket League - Dropshot Mode

Rocket League scratches the same mechanics grind that CS players love.

Both games are built around repetition and consistency. In CS you practice movement and aim. In Rocket League you practice aerials and recoveries. The improvement process feels almost identical.

Positioning matters a lot too. Bad rotations get punished instantly, just like bad positioning in Counter-Strike.

It is also a good mental reset game because you still get the ranked adrenaline without playing another shooter.

5. Hollow Knight: Silksong

If you are a high elo player who likes difficult games, Silksong is probably the best choice here. The difficulty is actually brutal. Even if you’ve platinumed all Souls games, you might not be fully prepared.

The combat is fast, punishing, and incredibly satisfying once you improve. But the real challenge is Steel Soul Mode, where death is permanent.

One of the achievements requires 100% completion, which becomes brutal in permadeath mode. It is the kind of challenge competitive players get addicted to.

Final Thoughts

The best side games for CS2 players are usually the ones that reward similar skills in different ways. Whether it is teamwork in Subnautica 2, reactions in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, or pure difficulty in Hollow Knight: Silksong, all of these games still scratch that competitive itch without feeling like another FACEIT queue.