There are a lot of maps in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. But most of them aren’t Nuke—and if you really, really like Nuke, that could be a problem. Thankfully, one mapper has been giving some of CS:GO’s most iconic maps a Nuke-themed makeover, reimagining Cache, Office and Mirage as sterile nuclear power plants.
Designed by mapmaker Henge, the three maps (Nache, Noffice and Nirage) were shown off in depth by CS:GO YouTuber 3KliksPhilip earlier this week. This isn’t a quick asset swap, either—and while Source’s mapping tools do let you bulk replace textures, Henge has gone to great lengths to give each map the proper Nuke treatment.
For example, here’s site B on dusty old Mirage, as it normally appears in-game.
And here’s Henge’s remake, Nirage. It’s a little colder, and a lot more clinical, but you can still clearly make out the original’s boxy central structure.
It speaks to Henge’s competence that I have to remind myself that I’m not just looking at Nuke from a new angle, with each rework feeling like a fresh wing of that map’s facility. Despite completely rebuilding each map’s visuals, he’s been careful to keep layout and cover as close to the original as possible—though some props are slightly different, and ladders have been added where certain jumps couldn’t be remade.
These aren’t the only reworks the mapper has attempted either, having previously given Mirage a Dust2 paintjob and bringing Aztec’s visuals up to date. Why pick Nuke this time around? Henge simply explains: “I like the clean look of the theme and it’s fun to work with.”
I do adore that Counter-Strike’s mapping community is still thriving, and that Source mapmaking can allow this kind of total overhaul. Maybe, one day, every last map will be painted with the cool corporate steel of the Cedar Creek Nuclear Power Plant (formerly the Harz Kernkraftwerk, if you’ve been playing CS for a very long time). But until then, you can download the Nuked-up maps over on Henge’s Steam workshop page.