Gaming
This past weekend, streamers and content creators participated in a private playtest for riot's new competitive first-person shooter. Though the full scope of purchasable items isn't confirmed, players can expect to customize their character through player cards, sprays (logos or symbols that can be sprayed onto the environment), and a 'gunbuddy' which is a cute little cosmetic that hangs from your gun. Riot engineer david strailey tells eurogamer that a $120 laptop with a i3-370m processor can handle valorant at 30 fps.
In valorant, though, utilities are replaced with abilities, which are based on the hero you choose to play at the beginning of the match. When I first saw valorant, I echoed what almost everyone thought: it's counter-strike meets overwatch. With its stylised visuals and varied hero” characters, valorant would seem to be targeting activision's overwatch title, but players start each round by buying skills for their characters using a limited in-game currency - a feature similar to genre leader counter-strike.
Since valorant is a free-to-play game, I'm fine with the monetization, but I'll also say that riot seems to have almost purposefully steered clear from making anyone particularly likable in this game, and Gaming my drive to buy skins for them is markedly lower than what I went through with overwatch. Valorant looks to be a hardcore blend of counter-strike's structure and gunplay with the coordinated chaos of overwatch's abilities and hero pool.
Riot games has pledged to seek out long-term solutions” in opposition to in-game sexual harassment. Everything from the character designs to the maps to the ui suggests this is a game that riot intends to take well into the future, much the same way it has with league of legends. Valorant is the first major release from the company since league of legends premiered in 2009.
Some of valorant's characters were leaked at the start of march, including a few names like brimstone, sage, and viper. Though the abilties seem inspired by overwatch, valorant has some key distinctions that make it a lot more like counter-strike. The gunplay in valorant looks to be precise like its forerunner counter-strike, with a short time to kill.
It looks like it'll be a while before valorant comes to consoles, so pc players will enjoy an exclusive for the time being. Back when riot games first teased its upcoming tactical first person shooter in october, its influences were pretty clear. Today, riot announced a closed beta for valorant, which is expected to begin on april 7 in europe and north america.