Valorant, The Best of Both Worlds.

By: Madison Chiu | 22 April 2022

One of many Valorant banners including the original agent lineup.

RATE: 9/10
After the release of League of Legends in 2009, Riot Games has never dipped its
toes into any other styles of games. But after 11 years, Valorant is its first release
since, and a completely different genre compared to the extremely popular League
of Legends. Valorant is a first-person shooter game with players playing as
different agents with unique abilities on vibrant maps, borrowing inspiration from
both successful games Counter-Strike and Overwatch. Instead of bringing
something new to the industry, Riot improves on what other games can do better
on and brings the best of the best.

Created by Riot Games and publicly released on June 2nd, 2020, Valorant captured
the attention of the public. Even before its public release, Valorant garnered an
almost record-breaking 1.73 million views on Twitch in one day, foreshadowing
just how popular it would be. Shortly after its release, it was nominated for Best
Esports Game, Best Multiplayer and Best Community Support at The Game
Awards 2020.
Releasing in the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the game gives players a fresh
take on a 5 v 5 tactical shooting game, while also establishing a connection
between players through voice chats during an isolating time.

The Valorant lobby once the game has loaded

When you load the game, you are greeted by a minimalist lobby with multiple
game modes, all of which are standardized by 5v5 teams. The standard game
modes are Unrated and Competitive. Each game you play in those modes are best
of 25 rounds and the first team to win 13 rounds wins the match. These game
modes can be more stressful and time-consuming, so I usually can’t play too many
games back-to-back. But even when I do burn out, I always find myself drawn
back into the game because of its diversity and vibrance in maps and agents.
"Oh, my back hurts! Everyone's so heavy!" -Jett
One of my favorite voicelines from the agent Jett after she gets an ace.

Currently, players can choose from 18 agents from different backgrounds, a large
array of guns with skins, and play on several maps with different, vibrant designs
—forcing players to adapt different playing styles. Each maps have extremely
different designs with many small details that don’t matter much in game, but
really allows the map to commit to the presentation. The map I love playing on
most is Haven; It’s a monastery has three sites and each site forces players to use
different strategies and its design. Each agent has their own voice lines, with my
personal favorite being, “Oh, my back hurts…everyone’s so heavy” when you get
the most kills on the player Jett. The liveliness of each agent makes the game all
the more appealing, providing endless entertainment.

VALORANT Map Guide - Haven map call outs and locations | ESPN Esports
A video on Haven, the largest map Valorant currently has and my personal favorite.

In addition to voice-lines, Valorant has the option of using voice chat to

communicate with your teammates and text chat. This allows you to converse with
your teammates for important information as well as friendly banter. Sometimes I
find myself participating in my teammates’ jokes and it makes the experience all
the more fun!

But what makes Valorant so stressful might not be the game itself, but the
community. Much of my timidness when I sole queue in games comes from how
toxic players are. Although most players may not be that way, a large portion of
them are sexist in voice chat, which often discourages female players. In my
experience, it has been difficult to find the motivation to continue playing after
coming across those players and makes the experience much more disappointing.
Aside from those players, Riot has done a great job fixing any issues players find a
problem with, which keeps players from burning out.

Instead of the standard modes, I find myself often playing Spike Rush because I
can play multiple less stressful matches in a short span of time. This game mode is
played best of 7 rounds, but with a slight twist. There are power up orbs, such as
paranoia which causes the other team to narrow their field of vision. This game
mode is much more beginner-friendly, teaching players how to use abilities and
different guns. For me, it has been a good learning mode, and a great mode for me
to destress!
Although Valorant may sound like a lot to take in and the learning curve might be
quite steep, but it will only take you a short period of time to adapt. Playing with
different agents on different maps have gotten me much more familiar with the
game, especially if you play with a full team with friends. Once you familiarize
yourself with the maps, agents, and gun recoils, you start to understand what
agents are best together on specific maps. It’s quite fascinating seeing different
uses of the agent’s abilities, such as the different angles used for Sova’s recon bolt.

Another Valorant banner but depicted are all the current agents

Even after a year of its release, many professional players in the Esports industry
have given Valorant high remarks, as PCGamer has reported. Ninja, one of the
most prominent in the industry, exclaimed how much he loved the abilities with
the high-skill gameplay required and just how clean the graphics were. High
remarks were also given by Shroud, a former professional player for Counter-
Strike. His remarks reflect how many players feel regarding how Riot does
everything in its power to keep the game fair, fun, and fresh. And as the two year
anniversary of its release is approaching, the remark still holds true, as Valorant is
popular as ever.

Riot does an amazing job keeping their games relevant by listening to their
audience and Valorant is no exception. It’s a free and accessible game, enjoyable
without having to spend any money, that has intoxicatingly vibrant personality
seen through every aspect of the game. For me, the most appealing part of Valorant
is its ability to reproduce an idea already familiar to the community and make it
completely unique and different from its predecessors. Valorant is now almost 2
years old, one of the top games in the gaming industry, and available for download
here!
 Works Cited

“About CS:GO.” Counter Strike: Global Offensive,

https://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/about/.

“About.” Overwatch, https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/about/.

“About.” Twitch.tv, https://www.twitch.tv/p/en/about/.

“About.” The Game Awards, https://thegameawards.com/about.

League of Legends. Riot Games, https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/.

Leston, Ryan. “'Valorant' Has the Most Toxic Community in Gaming.” NME, 17 Sept. 2021,
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/valorant-has-the-most-toxic-community-in-
gaming-3047693.

“Maps.” Valorant Wiki, https://valorant.fandom.com/wiki/Maps.

“Ninja.” Esportspedia, https://www.esportspedia.com/.

“‘Oh, my back hurts! Everyone’s so heavy’ - Jett” YouTube, uploaded by Shaik Basith, 20 Jan
2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hj4akuHdfU

“Shroud.” Esportspedia, https://www.esportspedia.com/.

Stanton, Rich. “Shroud: 'Valorant Is the First TAC Shooter in a Long Time That Has a Company
behind It That Truly Gives a Damn.'.” Pcgamer, PC Gamer, 2 June 2021,
https://www.pcgamer.com/shroud-valorant-is-the-first-tac-shooter-in-a-long-time-that-has-
a-company-behind-it-that-truly-gives-a-damn/.

“VALORANT Map Guide - Haven map call outs and locations | ESPN Esports” YouTube,
uploaded by ESPN Esports, 4 April 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=hAazI2Mc_tQ.

“Who We Are.” Riot Games, https://www.riotgames.com/en/who-we-are.