VALORANT - First Impressions and Review

(written by Sankalp Sagar, graphics by Dhruv Salvadi)

Coming to Valorant from CS:GO, I was pretty skeptical. After all this was a game that was marketed as a CS:GO killer. For someone whose college gaming life has consisted mostly of shouting and raging in CS:GO competitive matches late at night keeping my roommate and after some time my flatmates amused (for the lack of better word), this was an attack I took personally. So when it finally released worldwide, I decided to test it myself.

Spoilers, while it isn’t gonna kill CS:GO it is still a fun game that stands well on it’s own.

Now, for people who want to read an in depth impression, let me introduce the game to you. It’s pretty much a 5v5 tactical shooter however there are multiple characters with different abilities that can be ‘purchased’ much like the utility in CS:GO. These abilities range from simple smokes and flashes to stuff like a sonic arrow that reveals enemies’ positions and a burning wall of fire. And no, it’s not broken. Each ability can be countered and used against the enemy in a variety of ways. The maps also keep in mind these abilities and are suitably designed to make sure every ability isn’t OP. It’s however easy to imagine that Riot may break balance soon, so I wouldn't keep my fingers crossed about that.

What’s better in Valorant than CS:GO?

1. 128 tick servers. These are a boon. I can’t stress enough how much CS:GO needs this.

2. Better netcode. I was playing with 80 ping but it never felt like it.

3. QOL features like selling a weapon if you misbought it. No more meme buys (unless of course, you meant to).

So, will I be shifting to Valorant from CS:GO? Definitely not. While it is a fun game, I cannot imagine it to be very competitive. The sprays can be random and kills do not feel as satisfying as they do in CS:GO. I was out-aiming most people while having no clues about my ability, which made me feel slightly weird. I can’t imagine spectators taking to this game because honestly it looks kind of boring. I miss the movement from CS:GO, the movement in Valorant feels clumsy and slow. Most of all, there are no community servers in Valorant and nor are there plans to be. We all love our Surf, KZ and bhop servers in CS:GO.

So, is it gonna kill CS:GO? Not at all, It feels like a very different product that won’t be competing with valve’s shooter. Is it a bad game? Definitely not, it is a fun concept and a wonderful stress buster and I can’t wait to finally understand how the damn abilities work.

(This turned out to be more of CS:GO vs VALORANT post, but hopefully it was insightful for everyone. Download the game from Riot’s website, it’s free to play, And yes, it’ll run on your potato PC.)