It seems the famous League of Legends creator and publisher decided to enter the online first-person shooter genre this year. Their newest game called Valorant is a free-to-play multiplayer tactical first-person shooter game currently available for the PC. It seems their developers were taking notes with its developments as it seems to resemble elements from other FPS games. If you’ve been playing first-person shooter games for a while, you’d notice that Riot’s newest title is like a fusion of Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Blizzard’s Overwatch. Now I’m not implying it’s a bad thing, in fact, the supposed inspiration may have worked well to Riot’s advantage.
Similarities with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Let’s start off by introducing the granddaddy of competitive multiplayer first-person shooter games, Counter-Strike. The game was first introduced as a mod under Valve’s Half-Life series, where players can enjoy a competitive private match. Time passed, and Valve decided to make it a standalone online multiplayer competitive shooter game titled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Staying true to its roots, you can play either as a terrorist, or counter-terrorist operative in the game. As a terrorist, you’ll win the match by planting a bomb in specific areas, and as a counter-terrorist, you can win by stopping them. You can also win your respective matches by eliminating every single member of the opposing team.
Comparing Riot’s Newest with Blizzard’s Overwatch
Next, we’ll talk about Blizzard’s Overwatch, as they entered the FPS genre, with new, groundbreaking ideas for competitive shooting games. Unlike CS:GO where your avatar only differs in aesthetics, Overwatch made you choose avatars with unique skills and talents. Each character has their own weapons and respective skills that can give them advantages in the battlefield. The game also offers a wide variety of match modes, ranging from a deathmatch to escorting cargo to specific points. Like many ground-breaking shooter games, it quickly rose to popularity so much it earned its place in the Esports world.
Despite its limitation towards character customizations, the game allows team composition to gain an advantage against the opposing team. Each player fulfills different roles either as a DPS, a tank, or an assassin, bringing RPG party elements to shooter games. It is a competitive title that relies heavily on teamwork, and strategy rather than the individual skills of players.
The Untapped Potential of Valorant
Now you might be asking how this adds up to the newest shooter title, so let’s break it down here. Valorant’s matches involve a five-versus-five demolition deathmatch where one team aims to plant bombs, while the opposition tries to stop them. Each set is composed of 25 rounds, and each player in the team is limited to one life per round. It’s the same with CS:GO’s core gameplay of counter-terrorists, versus terrorist matches. In addition, Valorant players also enter a buying phase, where they have the option to buy weapons, and skill points.
So by now, you’ve noticed that the game also has skills unique to each character similar to the Overwatch title. The only difference being is unlike Overwatch, where they are cooldown based, the skills in this game require skill points. You have to spend currency to buy skill points, and have limited uses each round, on top of buying equipment. Furthermore, you can customize your character’s weapon to compliment your skills and tactics, something absent in the famous Blizzard title.
The Fusion of Two Concepts Done Right
Now you might get turned off by the idea that it only fused two concepts together, but make no mistake. If anything, Valorant is the by-product of fusing two different elements together done right. Despite taking inspiration from older titles, it’s still a game that has a huge potential of making it big. It’s a game that balances competitive straight fights, with strategic thinking as it forces you to be mindful of your resources.
It’s minimalistic graphics, and focus to detail makes every fight visually clear, but intense. Every gun in this game has its own distinct recoil which forces you to adjust accordingly. Combine this with the unique skill of every character, then you have yourself the freedom to control the battlefield to your advantage. Ultimately, it’s a new game, and we can expect its developers to add more to it. However, for something that came out last month to have a sizable player base means it’s a game to be reckoned with.
