Competitive first-person shooter fans are stoked about the upcoming Valorant from Riot Games. Not only is it free-to-play, but it already seems like one of the more competent shooters in this space. A closed beta is set to release April 7, so as you might imagine, select gamers are excited to get their hands on the game for the first time.
Before this beta kicks off, though, we already have extended gameplay footage to break down. It shows what Valorant has in store when it releases later this year. The gameplay comes from a virtual preview event and includes narration to break down the various elements.
Based on these initial impressions, it seems like Valorant is centered around gun-play the most. Riot did give each character hero abilities, but they don’t seem to be geared around offense. Rather, they’re intended to supplement offense in unique ways. Still, they definitely give Valorant a unique feel that sets it apart from others in this space.
The visuals look great and even the sound effects are on point. Going back to the various characters, it looks like they’ll each have their own special smoke effects. They can be used to hinder opponent visibility as to allow for safe passage to a different area. It’s interesting to see the smoke variety from each character featured in this footage. There are different effects and colors.
Then you have each character’s ultimate ability. It will surely come in handy when facing heavy firepower or surrounded by a lot of enemies. You can bet that as we get closer to Valorant’s release, we’ll see more trailers of these unique abilities. They definitely look fun to use in battle.
The five on five action looks to be pretty fast-paced and centered around strategy. Whether you’re attacking or defending sides, you’ll have to work together with your team and come up with sound tactical strategies. Valorant definitely looks skill-based, which is always what you want in a competitive shooter.
Overall, this recent gameplay is showing a well-rounded and fun first-person shooter. It will be interesting to hear what gamers think after having some time in the closed beta. There are a lot of great competitive shooters already on the market, but it’s always exciting when a game can come in and shake things up. If Riot plays their cards right and continues to make improvements, it could be a FPS that sticks around for a while much like Counter-Strike and Overwatch.
