A new case has just arrived in CS2, along with the long-awaited return of Arms Race! You… actually don’t know what this means because this is the first time we’re doing this on our blog, so… it’s SKIN REVIEW TIME! Let’s see what’s inside the Kilowatt Case.

Mil-Spec Kilowatt Case Skins

Dual Berettas | Hideout

For a Mil-Spec skin, these dualies are really cool. Featuring graffiti-style art with a blue base and yellow and red accents, they look both gritty and clean at the same time. Adding to that, the visible “Parabellum” tagline will definitely make you ready for war! Mostly on eco rounds, though.

Our rating: 7/10

MAC-10 | Light Box

Oh boy, another awesome low-cost skin. Great for a minimalist loadout, it’s subtle, modern, and sleek. Featuring a simple black coat of paint with LED-like strips running through the weapon and some carbon-fiber accents, this one may not be the flashiest, but by golly if it isn’t pretty.

Our rating: 8/10

Nova | Dark Sigil

An interesting take on the Nova, it combines a classic hunting rifle with a sort of runic-viking vibe. It’s simple, makes use of some fancy engraving and a few accents here and there. However, compared to other skins in this category, it’s a bit bland, which is why we’re going to give it the perfectly average rating it deserves.

Our rating: 5/10

SSG-08 | Dezastre

The name kind of implies how this concept turned out. This looks like an early CS:GO skin, it has some nice elements (the accents, the powder blue color, the detail), but the center of the design featuring some random blocks taken straight from a 2022 website loading screen… just doesn’t do it for us.

Our rating: 4/10

Tec-9 | Slag

Similarly to the aforementioned Dezastre, the Slag is pretty generic, however the accents and post-apocalyptic vibe make it a tiny bit better. I do have to ask, though… Did no Brits look at this name and question it? If you know, you know.

Our rating: 5/10

UMP-45 | Motorized

Now this is cool! This skin is really detailed, showing the inner workings of a weapon. The concept is reminiscent of some phone and laptop skins that do a similar thing, although in less depth. We love this, especially for a cheap Industrial Grade skin, and we hope it’ll be the start of a trend for many more skins!

Our rating: 9/10

XM1014 | Irezumi

The Irezumi is kind of similar to the Dark Sigil, but a bit more interesting as it sticks with its theme, giving a gold plating to the autoshotty along with beautiful engravings. It might not be your jam, but we have to admit it’s decent, and definitely better than the other shotgun on the list so far.

Our rating: 7/10

Restricted Kilowatt Case Skins

Glock-18 | Block-18

We don’t just love it for the pun, but for the design. It’s one of those quirky skins that may break immersion for some, but will make it fun for many others. We love the creativity on display here, using LEGO-style blocks to create a gun, and we’re all for it!

Our rating: 9/10

M4A4 | Etch Lord

This one we love mostly for the pun. It has an extremely generic snake etch, a bland colorway and nothing really going for it for a Restricted skin. It’s boring, bland, inconsistent in theme. Next, please.

Our rating: 2/10

Five-SeveN | Hybrid

Ehh… The colorway’s nice… But Restricted? Really? The purple stripes add absolutely nothing spectacular, and this skin would be better served in a map collection at a lower tier. Meh. Just meh.

Our rating: 3/10

MP7 | Just Smile

Now we’re getting somewhere! Just Smile is a graffiti-themed skin with a central smiley theme. It has a unique colorway and a consistent theme. It’s not the greatest, but if somebody wants to make a loadout of “living in a society” it will work!

Our rating: 7/10

Sawed-Off | Analog Input

Referencing the analog colorways of old, this simple skin is what we’d describe as neo-retro. A bit futuristic, a bit 80s, a lot of fun. It’s not the best of the bunch, but it’s definitely a much-needed addition to the usually bland Sawed-Off. Decent.

Our rating: 7/10

Classified Kilowatt Case Skins

M4A1-S | Black Lotus

The Black Lotus comes to the M4A1-S. This flowery skin isn’t the most vibrant, but the artwork is intricate and will definitely work for some people. However, should it really be Classified? We’re not sold on it.

Our rating: 5/10

Zeus x27 | Olympus

That’s right, it’s a Zeus skin, and fittingly enough it shows… Zeus! Or Jupiter, if you’re into that kind of thing. The skin features the Greek God in a superhero-like pose clearly inspired by Thor… but hey, he’s only getting his inspiration back! It’s great fun, thematically awesome and much needed for the taser, which is why we’ll give it a perfect score!

Our rating: 10/10

USP-S | Jawbreaker

We might be able to make a full monster-themed loadout at this rate. The Jawbreaker, like many skins in this case, is graffiti-themed, however it goes into a lot of detail displaying the titular monster. It’s fun, fits well with skins like the Hyper Beast, and works well in a variety of settings.

Our rating: 8/10

Covert Kilowatt Case Skins

AK-47 | Inheritance

This one is interesting. It has a unique colorway that we have a hard time finding a match for, but at the same time it works well with skins that have an aristocratic, or premium vibe to them. The engraving is intricate, and the skin as a whole looks interesting and quite fitting to be Covert.

Our rating: 7.5/10

AWP | Chrome Cannon

This one’s rough. It has an awesome reflective finish that really interacts with the environment, but if you’re playing at higher levels, it’s likely your graphics settings won’t be able to let you fully appreciate it. That makes it a bit gimmicky, and it doesn’t have much in the way of design that other skins with similar fancy effects like the Disco Tech or the Printstream have. That’s why… we’re going to have to give it a mediocre grade, as somehow this skin manages to be style over substance in a purely stylistic field.

Our rating: 6/10

Kukri Knife

The Kilowatt Case also introduced the brand-new Kukri knife. Valve describes it as a knife used in “traditional rituals like weddings and stabbings”. We certainly hope that they don’t happen at the same time. However, given its unique look, we believe that the Kukri knife has what it takes to become a new top-tier knife in the Counter-Strike world, especially that various finishes really transform its vibe. Compared to other new knives like the Stiletto or the Navaja, this one is really fun (and impressive!), which is why we’ll give it a high grade!

If you want to play around with the Kukri knife, you can do so by using CS2 knife commands in a Practice match or on a local server.

Our rating: 9/10

Conclusion

And that’s all for this one. Be sure to check out what else was added with the “A Call to Arms” CS2 update besides the Kilowatt Case, and take a look at our other articles. Oh… and if you want to argue about our ratings, you can take it to our socials!