VALORANT 's interesting cast of agents, well-designed maps, and satisfying weaponry provides more than anyone could expect from a free-to-play shooter. It has its flaws, but for those looking to get into a fresh team-based shooter – VALORANT checks a lot of the right boxes.
Riot Games rocked Twitch with its closed beta drops for the game earlier this year, drawing a massive amount of attention pre-release. Although not everyone liked VALORANT 's style, the beta played undeniably well . With a snap of the fingers, the team announced the early release of the game , and now it's available for free.
The Good
Overall, players can expect an extremely polished experience. VALORANT is a buttery-smooth game. In plenty of other FPS titles, lag and frame-rate inconsistency always seems to persist at some level. Riot's shooter performs impressively well in comparison, limiting extraneous frustrations to a minimum.
VALORANT oozes quality. Though not everyone's cup-of-tea, the art-style is both appealing and visually consistent. The look is simply clean – and that's exactly what many competitive FPS players desire. Sound design is clear and unobstructed, featuring intuitive footstep volume and directionality. The resulting combination of great visuals, clear sound, and smooth performance makes for some satisfying action. In other words, getting a couple of quick headshot kills during a match feels really, really good. For its intended market, VALORANT succeeds effortlessly.
Although the few game modes offered at launch may seem dull on the surface, the art of trying to master VALORANT is the addicting part. Memorizing weapon recoil patterns, learning and planning an economy strategy, going into custom games to find cheeky camping spots on each map – it's all part of the fun. An interesting cast of agents, four well-designed maps, and an array of satisfying weaponry provides more than anyone could expect from a free-to-play shooter. Now, if only the skins weren't so expensive...
The Bad
VALORANT Reyna Agent
There isn't a lot to hate about VALORANT , for what it is. However, as with any ambitious competitive title, there are a few kinks to iron out. At launch, Reyna was added to the game's cast of agents. Although an absolute blast to play, she already stands head-and-shoulders above the others. Her abilities allow for invisibility, self-healing, vision obstruction, reduced recoil, quicker fire/reload rates, and more. It seems quite likely that we'll be seeing some type of nerf to Reyna in the near future. Maintaining competitive balance is a tough act, and one that Riot will have to continually refine to keep VALORANT' s fights diverse and interesting. Just like with Raze, Sage, and the middle chokepoint on Split – the development team must continue to quickly identify imbalances and remedy them.
Balance aside, the biggest qualm that most will experience with the game is its obnoxious anti-cheat software, Riot Vanguard. It is quite invasive, remaining active as long as your computer is running. If you close the anti-cheat, be prepared to restart your computer before being able to play VALORANT again. Considering the anti-cheat's obscure interworkings, many players are rightfully concerned about privacy issues. If its invasiveness wasn't uncomfortable enough, it also developed a reputation for disrupting computer functionality . In a game like VALORANT , identifying cheaters is imperative, but unfortunately, it comes at a cost.
The Ugly (And Beautiful)
VALORANT HD Cover
The last element to this game that is worth mentioning is the teamwork. Like it or not, VALORANT is an extremely social game. The guts of this 5v5 shooter is designed to reward coordination and communication. In games such as Apex Legends , you can still have a good time fully-muted, getting by with a few pings here and there. In valorantpulse valorant News , your relationship with your teammates will invariably define the type of experience you get.
My first two games of VALORANT 's release build were polar opposites. Throughout the first game, I performed quite well as Sage – top of the leaderboard, even. However, I was completely flamed by not only the other team, but my own teammate who constantly demanded to be healed, resurrected, and bought weapons every round. That teammate scored at the bottom of the whole lobby, of course, and their attitude was God-awful. At the end of the game, I had a bad taste in my mouth.
The next game, I performed poorly. The other team was well-coordinated and I consistently lost my gunfights. However, each one of my random teammates were incredibly kind, skilled, and communicative. We ended up winning the match without a single negative word. I had a hell of a lot more fun in that match than the first, despite finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard. When the dust settles, teamwork and interactivity is the most important aspect in Valorant cheats. Your entire experience with the game will likely be heavily-influenced by the people you play with and against. It can be great, and it can be terrible.
At the end of the day, VALORANT is a good game. It isn't for everyone, catering to a competitive, esports-focused audience, but that doesn't mean it's off-putting or unwelcoming. Riot's attention to detail and commitment to quality shines through with VALORANT , so even if you run into a few bad apples – laugh it off and enjoy the thrill of the fight.
VALORANT is currently free-to-play on PC.
NEXT: Users Are Review-Bombing Valorant maps guide On Metacritic
