twitch How well does Valorant fare in today’s gaming industry?

How well does Valorant fare in today’s gaming industry?

Valorant is a free-to-play FPS (First-person shooter) game that was released by Riot Games. The game was under development since 2014 and was teased under the name "Project A" in October 2019. It began a closed beta period with limited access in April 2020 and then released a couple of months after in June 2020. The game runs on the unreal engine; the same engine which is used to run some other notable and popular gaming titles such as Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG). Today, we will be looking into the elements of the game and comparing it with others, to see how well it stands in today's gaming industry.

The synopsis of the game

Valorant is a team-based FPS game based on the future. The players can play as characters and agents who represent countries all around the globe. In the main game mode, there are two teams from which one is assigned the attacking task and the other has to defend from the incoming attack. Both of the teams have 5 players. All the agents have unique special skills and an ultimate ability, all of which require charging done through kills, deaths, orbs, or spike actions. Each player starts with a pistol and a signature ability or two. As the round commences, they can buy new weapons as per their liking. There are many unique weapons that the player can choose from which range from submachine guns to assault rifles, pistols to sniper rifles, shotguns to machine guns, and so on. Every gun is unique in its way and has its unique shooting pattern, a key element that is important to keep in mind to shoot accurately.

The Agents

The game currently offers 16 agents to choose from which are Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Cypher, Sova, Sage, Phoenix, Jett, Raze, Breach, Reyna, Killjoy, Skye, Yoru, Astra, and KAY/O. If a large array of playable characters is what you are looking for then Valorant is better for its large roster of playable characters. It surpasses other titles in the FPS genre by a lot as most other popular titles have very limited character choices.

Valorant Vs Counter-Strike

On the other hand Valves Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or more commonly known as CS:GO is also a first-person shooter game that revolves around realistic graphics and environment. It was released way before Valorant in August 2012. Both Valorant and CS:GO share several similar features such as the basic gameplay, which comprises of two teams battling it out in which the "Terrorists" or the "attackers" have to plant a "bomb" or "spike" at a designated location while the "Counter-Terrorists" or “defenders” have to stop them. There are other famous titles, like Rainbow Six Siege that gets compared to Valorant as well, although this game isn’t free to play and requires a Steam cd key to get started.

Weapons

Both Valorant and CS:GO have many different types of firearms to choose from and each gun has its unique recoil and range. CS:GO offers four categories of weapons on the buy menu; pistols, heavy, SMG, and rifles, all adding up to a total of 34 weapon choices. Valorant on the other hand, has six categories, namely rifles, shotguns, snipers, heavy, SMGs, and sidearm pistols. The number of weapons that the game provides in total is 17 guns amongst these categories.

Customizability

Riot Games allows players to acquire a large number of skins for weapons and other elements in Valorant easily both as free unlockable content and as paid purchases or battle passes. Several of these skins are available for a limited time only, however. This is because these skins are associated with particular events or special occasions, and only if obtained throughout their availability period, can be used later.

Free for all

Due to the free-to-play model, Valorant gets the upper hand over other games of a similar genre and gameplay style, such as Overwatch, that employ the pay-to-play model. This gives Valorant the chance to get a greater player base due to allowing access to all those who wish to play it. Valorant also makes itself more accessible by having lower spec requirements when compared to other games of the genre such as Overwatch.

Distribution on Steam

Valorant has a setback though in terms of the fact that it does not make its availability on Steam, which is how CS:GO gets the upper hand. Steam is an excellent platform, and one of the most widely used for game distribution. If Valorant makes an appearance on Steam, it can be a game-changer for its popularity.

Platform and console distribution

Moreover, Valorant is only available to play on Windows PCs. The lack of its availability on other platforms limits the player base, as it is only able to gather one pool of audience. However, this also goes to show us that despite being single-platform specific, Valorant holds a great deal of fame that goes on par with other titles that are spread across multiple platforms and consoles.

Gameplay objectives

The game in terms of gameplay takes huge inspiration from CS:GO, with basic elements such as two teams divided into terrorist and counter-terrorist factions and one side aiming to plant a bomb while another to prevent detonation being identical between the two games.

Gameplay graphics

In terms of graphics, however, Valorant, set in a futuristic timeline, has rather advanced graphics - considerably better than the rather outdated graphics on CS:GO. The weapons in-game are also modified fictitious counterparts of the real-world weapons in CS:GO.

Updates

Valorant has more frequent updates compared to CS:GO. An update every two weeks is scheduled by Riot Games to patch issues on a small scale, followed by larger updates before each new episode.

The Conclusion

Valorant is an incredible FPS game with amazing graphics and exciting, enthralling gameplay. The game fares well against its competitors in the industry, and if given the same amount of time to mature as older ongoing titles, can prove to be a far better game than the rest. If you have not played yet, now is your time to give it a shot. Moreover, if you wish to test your skills against experienced players without grinding then the Eldorado marketplace has the perfect thing for you. Feel free to check our list of well-polished and matured Valorant accounts available for use right after purchase, allowing you to dive straight into the action!