Saying that Valorant is just CSGO with abilities undercuts the phenomenon that is taking online streaming platforms to the next level. The game looks simple, but as soon as you jump into a single match, you will know what you’re up against.
Valorant puts you in a team, and you have to play 5v5 matches against opponents, and whichever team wins the first 13 rounds is declared the winner. There are layers to Valorant; from the outside, or if you watch any of your favorite streamers, it looks easy enough to get a headshot in, use your abilities with each character having a special one, and win.
Valorant PC Review
The theme flows from the visuals, the music on the loading screen, the gameplay, and the game’s core mechanics. It screams out loud that Riot Games has thought of a vast product cycle with this; one of its developers even said that they are looking forward to creating a game that would last for more than ten years.
Tagging along with League of Legends, Riot Games knows how to sell a packed arena for their Esports tournaments and generate hype.
Gameplay
In Valorant, being ruthless is like a reward; attacking gameplay is rewarded, while other competitive FPS games encourage you to shoot with gameplay tactics and carefully drawn plans that you must execute. Valorant is fun, even if you go gung ho into the battle.
But this is easier said than done in a game where movement and aiming go hand in hand. Like CSGO, you start with a limited budget, and to increase that amount, you will have to take down enemy squad members or even win the match by yourself.
Now add abilities; each character has two normal abilities, one signature, and one ultimate ability. Now, the best part of this is finding a character that suits your gameplay and not vice versa.
Characters have defined roles; you can learn more about all the characters here. Now, all of the 11 characters will give you a different perspective. Some will be great to charge into the battle, but you will have to make sure that you get the exemplary character, buy the perfect gun, and use the abilities to make sure you reign supreme.
While you’re fighting 5v5, one team will be attacking and the other the defending; the attackers must plant the spike, while the defusers must ensure the match does not end in a blast.
Getting into your first game can be a bit daunting if you have seen any streamers play online.
Half the struggle of playing Valorant is understanding which character best suits your gaming style; the other is learning when and how to use these abilities. Each character has a different one, so the learning curve can sometimes be a bit of a steep incline.
Performance
The game works flawlessly on high-end gaming PCs and even low-spec i3 laptops. It looks like Riot Games, the developers behind Valorant, had this thought in their minds that they would want to welcome many gamers onto their product, and it looks like it is working.
Surprisingly, the servers did not go down unexpectedly, and looking at how much hype this game had going into the release, there were concerns about it being unable to handle the high load pressures, but it worked perfectly.
Graphics
Valorant feels fresher, crunchier, and more immersive than other FPS games out right now, and while the game is easy to get into, you will spend hours upon hours playing this one without any complaints whatsoever.
It looks like a lot of attention has been given to the game’s design; it does not look outdated with the design but instead looks like an animated film constantly showing off its battle sequences.
Valorant’s design is the first indicator of how Riot Games perceives its project. It looks like a perfectly executed plan, and each logo, word, and a new font, especially for the game, brings out its personality.
Music
The music of Valorant is evident as soon as you get into the menu section of the game; it screams out loud what to expect. From there on, as soon as you get into the game, there are many explosions, gunshots, and everything in between.
It takes time to understand where a player is coming from when trying to determine their location based on footsteps alone, but once you get used to the game, you will soon learn how to do that.
The voice lines of the characters give it that extra bit of a touch, helping to make it more immersive; this personification of real-life interaction with some clever voice lines ensures that the game doesn’t feel repetitive and boring, with the same lines being spoken repeatedly.
Verdict
Valorant to the casual player is different from the serious gamer, and this difference is one of the best things about the game. There is no rush to unlock new characters as the ones already there seem enough, but as soon as you open them, you will enter a new world of possibilities.
Valorant is a fun little game designed so that people with basic hardware can get the most out of the game and get a similar experience. Now, all that remains is to see how big of an imprint Valorant leaves on the world.
