Skins aren’t just pictures on guns. Artists like to flirt with the players. Sometimes they use uncommon effects and optical illusions; in other cases, the author plays around with the weapon’s shape in curious ways. But today, the CS.MONEY blog has prepared a very special set of skins for you — an Easter Egg selection.
What is an Easter Egg?
Before we start, let’s define the term itself. An Easter Egg is a hidden message left by the creators. It can be anything: a name, a picture, an inscription, an object. For instance, the skeleton in the fridge from Fallout: New Vegas is an Easter Egg referring the player to the Indiana Jones movies.
In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, too, there are some Easter Eggs. A typical example of an Easter Egg on a skin is the C4 bomb code. It has appeared on various items in the game so often that it’s not a great Easter Egg anymore. We wanted to find more unique things that can’t be found on every second skin. Let’s roll.
Nova Wild Six
Let’s start with a simple one. Hidden on the skin Nova Wild Six are two inscriptions. The first is “Great Damage,” scratched on the paint on the side of the sight. The second is “Catch a Gift,” located next to the first one, but on the “insides” of the gun this time. Both inscriptions can be seen when viewing the item.
But that’s not the end of the fun. While the texts can be seen when viewing the weapon, the next detail can only be seen by the enemy. And it’s probably the last thing they’ll see in the round too. If you look at the shotgun from the front, there’s an angry smiley face on the magazine tube, just below the barrel. Cute.
AWP Capillary
The Capillary skin series includes three guns: the AWP, the MP9, and the Five-SeveN. They all share some secrets, which are hidden deep, right in the heart. Literally. When reloading AWP Capillary and Five-SeveN Capillary, you may notice a small heart image on the side of the magazine.
AWP Capillary goes perfectly well with the CS On The Mind sticker. It’s a very popular combo: you get to have both a brain and a heart on your skin. By the way, this sticker also has a little secret. Namely, if you rub it, it will turn into two letters: CS.
AK-47 Wasteland Rebel
While the previous two examples are about hidden parts, AK-47 Wasteland Rebel is a reference to another game by Valve. For that matter, the skin contains a lot of references to CS, including the attack logo on the magazine and the C4 code above the grip.
But there’s also a reference to Portal. On the back of the fore-end are multiple lines “the pizza is a lie.” It’s an obvious reference to the memorable phrase “the cake is a lie” from the game Portal. At the same time, it’s a reference to Black Mesa, where the original phrase was reinvented for the first time. Intricate, isn’t it?
Galil AR Chatterbox
Another assault rifle. We dig Galil AR Chatterbox for two reasons. The skin cleverly plays around with the design of the weapon. On its side is a skull, whose lower jaw drops down when firing. It looks as if the gun actually eats ammo, casually spitting lead into the target in the process.
But the skull isn’t much of an Easter Egg. So what will it be? The second reason we like the gun is the inscription on its back. Galil AR Chatterbox asks you to “feed” it. With this in mind, there’s little doubt that the rifle devours bullets in every round you play.
Knife Club sticker
This selection would be incomplete without at least one sticker. So we picked the funniest one of them all — Knife Club. Let’s start with a secret message.
Rubbing the sticker will result in silhouettes of letters. Together, they form the phrase “don’t talk about knife club.” An almost identical rule was announced by the main character of Fight Club — only in the original, it was about an actual fight club instead of a knife club.
Much more interesting is the reference on the unrubbed sticker. The phrase “no guts, no glory” is thought to have been coined by the American military officer Frederick Corbin Blesse. And it’s interpreted simply: without risk, there can be no success. A very inspiring idea, given that a knife round really requires taking risks to win.
MAG-7 Seabird
The last item on our today’s list is a skin with the most complicated Easter Egg. Look at this MAG-7 Seabird and try to figure out where the author hid the message. Maybe on the magazine? Or in the high float? Or perhaps right in the barrel? No, no, and no. The reference is hidden in the most conspicuous place — in the description of the skin.
The description is very succinct: “Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.” The familiar roar of seagulls from the cartoon Finding Nemo. That’s what the description of the skin refers to. Too bad the MAG-7 doesn’t attract too many players — this shotgun is actually second to none at short ranges.
This is definitely not an exhaustive list of CS skins with Easter Eggs and references. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is literally chock-full of them. Name your favorite skin in the comments and tell us how you know about it!
