The already heated debate was truly intensified as the VALORANT player base argued about whether the older agent portraits were better or the newer ones. The entire kerfuffle began when ValorantUpdated posted side-by-side comparisons of old versus new character portraits of agents such as Fade, Gekko, Harbor, and so on. And, well, people have opinions.
Starting off positive: the old icon for Fade seems to have some cult following. Some people outright demanded her return, such comments included, “BRING BACK FADE!! FADE AINT FADENG LIKE BEFORE 💔💔💔” and “Old fade icon we still talk about you 💔💔💔,” while some others went as far as saying she was “way too much woman for VALORANT.” Others commented the older one was more “badass”; one even joked that she looked “more intimidating” in the new one; the only other remarks were pointing out that in the old one she had inverted eye color, which was either a hilarious oversight or an intentional stylistic choice-no one really knows.
Gekko’s changes are kind of messy. Some say they want the newer one to appear cleaner and more polished. An example of a joke about it is: “Old Gekko looked like he was about to show his mewing!” That’s… a take. Then the others would say the original had personality: it was charismatic.”
The new icon for Harbor has gotten very few comments about it, with the prevailing sentiment either being indifferent or favoring the new. One user even opined perfectly: “New Gekko, the rest old.”
However, it just can’t all be about nostalgia; a few players genuinely like the newer designs, who declared, “WAIT I LOVE THE NEW ONES.” The next person to speak up for the updated art commented, “clearer, more refined, but eh, lost some charm from the older ones.”
Then there was that one guy. One Mr. Josh aka Draconic_Savant went into a tirade about how the characters “look more likely to protest guns than use them,” and he expressed his discontent at the algorithm for putting VALORANT content on his timeline with almost glee. Classic.
What Riot probably would enjoy the most listening to, in all honesty, is that cry of bringing back the old Fade. Most probably not, and yet there’s something still hopeful among the players. Someone even demanded in all caps, “DEVUELVAN EL DE FADE HDP”–basically meaning “BRING BACK FADE, DAMMIT.”
At the end of the day, you see just how strongly emotions can be stirred up by VALORANT character design itself. Old Fade or new Gekko, whichever way you lean, this debate is here to stay.
