Coming out on the 2nd of June, Valorant is a battle royale style video game that’s quickly generating hype, with many people eagerly awaiting its release. With all the excitement, it’s not hard to see why this is one of the hottest new games on the list for this year.
With everyone already waiting for the next season of Fortnite which is currently one of the best free mmorpg since it’s was released in 2017 and also the most played game since then, countless gamers decided to have a bash at the beta for Valorant, giving the game a leg up in terms of popularity (this is now shut down, ready for the game to be officially released in just a few days). With all this in mind, many gamers have been speculating – could this be the new first-person shooter to take Fortnite’s throne at the top?
What is Valorant?
Created by Riot (the developers of League of legends), Valorant was first introduced during the LoL 10-year anniversary stream, which took place in October of 2019. At the time, it was described as a character-based tactical shooter, and if you’ve been following everything about the game you’ll probably already know that it was only referred to as Project A. Today, we know much, much more about it; including its actual name.
This FPS is a free-to-play, team-based tactical game, so if you’re looking for new cheap games to play, Valorant should certainly be on your list. Each match has 25 rounds, with a 5-on-5 setup for the battles – and the aim of the game is to win as many of these rounds as possible, with the winners ultimately being the first team to reach 13.
A good way to describe this game would be a fusion of CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege; which most of those who have tried the beta will agree is an excellent combination that simply can’t be passed up on. It’s also similar to Fortnite in a number of ways too, which of course, has been one of the main reasons why the game has gained so much attention.
Valorant’s Agents
At the start of each match, you’ll get to choose from one of the many characters, which are called Agents. There are currently 10 to choose from – with more likely to be added in the near future. Each one will be equipped with their own unique abilities to help you during battle. At first, there will only be 5 open to you, but as you play, you’ll get the opportunity to unlock more.
The Agents in Valorant are:
- Breach
- Brimstone
- Cypher
- Jett
- Omen
- Phoenix
- Raze
- Sage
- Sova
- Viper
Since every character has their own play style, there’s bound to be at least one that’s just perfect for your unique playing needs.
The setting of the game
Set in the near-future of our world, battles take place after a catastrophic event reshapes the Earth and how things are run. Certain individuals are also gifted with powers – and these are the Agents that you’ll be using in-game.
Is there a story to follow?
While not an FPS that particularly follows a storyline, there will be elements of this to keep players invested in the alternate future it’s set in. This will generally be through events and animated shorts in the game (as well as on social media). You’re likely to notice that certain events will have differences to the main game, such as dialogue, visual changes to the characters (to suit specific needs), and even adjustments to the environment.
Will it overtake Fortnite?
Epic Games have been at the top for quite some time now thanks to Fortnite Battle Royale, but many people are betting that this is going to change with the release of Valorant. Nobody knows for sure what will happen until the game is officially given to us to play, but with so much hype we do know one thing for sure; this game isn’t going to be forgotten about any time soon.
As you may have expected, the game will be available on PC – after all, League of Legends was only released on macOS and Microsoft Windows. Unlike LoL, Valorant will also be available on PS4, the Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One (as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X), allowing any gamer to get stuck in with the fun.