- Publisher: Riot Games
- Release Date: Jun 2, 2020
- Also On: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jun 17, 2020Valorant is deep, complex and it always pushes you to do your best and become a better player. It has everything to offer great and intense matches, but it also requires and level of cooperation and commitment that won’t appeal all players.
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Jun 11, 2020Valorant is one of the best tactical shooters in recent memory, featuring superb precision gunplay and an expansive class system for an abundance of depth. With ruthless headshot damage, accuracy proves more important than rival online shooters which may put off casual players. But for those looking for a challenge in an ultra-competitive setting, Valorant is essential – especially since it's free to play.
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Jun 9, 2020Valorant has the best chance of replacing CS: GO as a top dog, if the ranked mode is designed to be motivating enough. The infrastructure and experience in the world of competitive gaming is already abundant at Riot Games. Maybe the world of eSports will soon be dominated by a single company. But even if that doesn't work: Valorant is just so much fun.
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Jun 8, 2020Despite a few issues, Valorant has a compelling combination of twitch shooting and ability focused combat, fueled by kinetic gunplay and the ever-alluring temptation to get better. I’m excited to see where Riot take this title in the future, and as a free-to-play package, I implore you to download it. It’s a stellar showing by the developer, and really proves that they’re paying attention to what makes these titles good and condensing it down into a focused and refined package.
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Jun 5, 2020Valorant is the most fun I've had with a multiplayer FPS since Valve's Team Fortress 2. The flexibility of its magically-infused cast paired with a deep arsenal makes for a magnificent competitive canvas, if a tricky one to initially pick up. I'm already pondering new strategies to pull off with my friends in the future, and that joyous daydreaming won't stop anytime soon. It may not be the prettiest modern FPS around, but its visual simplicity enables excellent clarity in every fight. With its teeth sunk in this deep, Valorant makes me want to keep playing until there's nothing left to master.
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Jun 4, 2020Valorant transforms the best of CS:GO with agents and abilities, resulting in an exceptional FPS that everyone should try.
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Jun 6, 2020Valorant is the almost perfect meeting point between Overwatch and CS: GO in Riot Games sauce. Competition, individual skills and co-op come together to create a title that is easy to understand but difficult to master. The definitive spark is missing, but the time to light it is there and Riot knows how to do it.
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Aug 7, 2020At first, this looks like just another Counterstrike clone. But there’s more depth and variety, despite the lack of content.
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Jun 23, 2020Valorant is arguably the least imaginative competitor that CS:GO might ever have, but it’s one that’s free and that’s built with strict gunplay and tech purposes in mind. At its core, Riot Games’ FPS is a rock solid, unquestionably good product. Is it good enough to appeal the community in the way LoL did, though? Probably too early to say, so let’s check again in a few years.
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Jun 19, 2020All in all, Valorant is definitely not for everyone, but the game is completely free to play so you have nothing to lose. It might not be the most original game, but it is expertly designed and iterates on many proven and classic video games. If you are interested in tactical shooters, Valorant is a must-try.
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Jun 11, 2020Do not be fooled by the cartoon style: VALORANT is a highly skill based, punitive, not very permissive title with a really high learning curve.
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Jun 10, 2020Valorant doesn’t reinvent aspects of core tactical shooters, but it differentiates itself in meaningful ways by giving players new ways to glean information, protect areas, and obscure enemy perception. While Valorant’s characters may be mundane and its modes limited, I had plenty of fun with its precision shooting, careful planning, and soft footsteps.
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Jun 5, 2020Valorant doesn't stand out in terms of heroes, maps, or gameplay details but perfectly melds the best part of CS: GO and other tactical shooters together.
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Jun 5, 2020Valorant is a great multiplayer proposal, that although it includes elements from many other games, its cohesion manages to give it a unique personality. Riot Games has been able to detect the genre by providing a game that reminds us of League of Legends for its soul and spirit, but which is not afraid to explore boundaries.
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Jun 5, 2020Valorant isn’t trying to appeal to everyone. It’s trying to appeal to a hyper focused slice of the hardcore shooter fanbase. If that sounds like you, you will absolutely love it.
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Jun 8, 2020You're going to play Valorant a lot in the future, because though it doesn't have the charisma of the early Overwatch, it's a solid and entertaining multiplayer fps experience: rough, high skilled and incredibly catchy.
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Sep 12, 2020Valorant has a high-quality and clean release without any problems. The game will definitely please fans of the competitive FPS genre. The eSports potential of the shooter has only become established over time, and the first tournaments are already planned. However, a high entry threshold requires serious skill training. But this only makes the game more interesting.
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Jul 29, 2020Overall, Valorant is a great game to play if you're a fan of first-person shooter strategy games. But it is also something that someone without experience with games like CS:GO can enjoy and pick up quickly. The Agents are, for the most part, balanced, and the planned addition of more should keep the game fresh. The overall style doesn't really land and the sound design needs to be fixed.
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Edge MagazineJul 16, 2020The hope is that Riot quickly puts in the work required to fix these issues, which are distracting enough to shake you out of the magical flow state that Valorant induces. If it does, we've got a feeling this one's destined for glory. [Issue#348, p.96]
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Jul 14, 2020A very solid team shooter that takes its inspiration from both Counter-Strike and Overwatch, and yet feels like its own thing. It’s a lot of fun and runs on a potato - but there’s not that much content at the moment.
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Jul 2, 2020Being a precisely “tailored foreSports" competitive tactical team action, this is more than just an alternative to Counter-Strike.
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Jun 25, 2020Valorant leans heavily on its predecessors, but makes use of established schools of thought and the unique novelties of its Agents to create a fresh take on tactical shooters, even if its launch is a little slim. For years, there hasn't been a fight for Counter-Strike's throne; but in Valorant, Riot Games has found a valiant contender.
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Jun 24, 2020Although Valorant's life has only just begun, the feeling we have is that it's here to stay in the competitive FPS scene. It's a shooter that feels very good to play, that is very accurate and that, without being exactly original, It combines elements already established to give us a formula that is extremely successful.
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Jun 19, 2020Valorant is not original. Rather, it's a successful interpretation of and expansion on its inspirations, with impeccable gameplay, well-designed maps, and a dev team eager to refine it further.
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Jun 16, 2020It offers a meaningful iteration of the formula and gives solid reasons to keep playing in spite of its early state. If this is what players can expect from Riot's other ventures into different genres, then fans will have a lot to look forward to. Valorant is a convincing argument for greater competition in the esports shooter landscape, and could very well be the company's next international success.
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Jun 15, 2020If you enjoy competitive tactical shooters, but also wish you could show some flair with spectacular abilities, then Valorant has what you're looking for. It requires precision aim to win duels but allows a lot of room to get creative with the agents' varied skills. Sloppy play gets punished harshly, but when a plan comes together it's immensely satisfying.
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Jun 10, 2020Valorant delivers as a highly competitive FPS. From a pure design standpoint, Riot’s shooter stands tall on excellent gunplay, diverse agents, and balanced maps. This alone is enough to capture the attention of hardcore fans of the genre. It’s been clear in Riot Games communication that they are committed to responding to player feedback and using that to shape their development path. Valorant is already an insanely good game, but it’s poised to become a superstar of the medium in the years to come.
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Jun 9, 2020Valorant is likely to make a big impression on anybody that enjoys competitive shooters, even if it is a little light on content at the moment. Genre newcomers will need to stay patient to push past the initial difficulty curve, but its exhilarating combination of gunplay and agent abilities is accessible enough that reaping its rewards shouldn’t take too long.
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Jun 8, 2020VALORANT is a good game. It isn't for everyone, catering to a competitive, esports-focused audience, but that doesn't mean it's off-putting or unwelcoming. Riot's attention to detail and commitment to quality shines through with VALORANT, so even if you run into a few bad apples – laugh it off and enjoy the thrill of the fight.
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Jun 8, 2020Valorant is a great mix of well-known online shooter mechanics. The developers haven't created anything unique or special, but they have nailed the most important aspect - Valorant is really, really fun to play. An additional success - almost everyone has now heard about this game thanks to the controversial marketing.
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Jun 4, 2020Near perfect execution, great art and technical mastery make Valorant the soon-to-be undisputed leader of the competitive FPS scene. But, to no one's surprise, online toxicity is still a problem in 2020, while Valorant's world struggles to find an unique and distinguishable soul.
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Jun 3, 2020All gameplay, artistic and musical elements are put at the service of a demanding and satisfying competitive experience...If the tactical shooter genre interests you from near or far, it already deserves your full attention.
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Jun 3, 2020A very well made FPS that won't fit all the players' needs.
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Jun 1, 2020Valorant offers undoubtedly a well-tailored gameplay, and Riot will certainly make the most of it on the eSport scene, but it still feels a bit like a bootleg of Counter-Strike, and that's sad.
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Jun 16, 2020Valorant doesn't stray too far from Riot Games' plethora of hero-focused titles. With the fusion of high-level gunplay and hero mechanics, Valorant is both highly competitive and unfortunately too highly skill focused for casual players to enjoy.
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Jun 17, 2020Valorant is a competitive FPS that brews the best components of it's genre. It has its disadvantages but manages to cover them in the long run, while having way more advantages.
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Jun 18, 2020Valorant is a lot of fun to try and master though a little tricky to pick up at first. The gunplay feels as precise as any shooter on the market and the cast of agents add to the erratic nature of unique gameplay situations. The game has only just come out of beta, so improvements and additions are likely to be made in the future. Valorant is very good right now, but it has the potential to be truly great.
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Jun 12, 2020Overall, Valorant has a strong foundation in its gameplay, and of course, that's the most significant part for an FPS of this style to succeed. Although it doesn't break new ground, the dynamic of sharp gunplay and Agent abilities would make Counter-Strike and Overwatch proud. Valorant easily captures the competitive highs of a good, intense match at the risk of pigeonholing you in a bad one. But outside of the standard demolition-style mode and the modified Spike Rush, it's quite barebones. It is important to note that these types of games are always evolving. Regardless, Valorant's in a good state--it's not great, but it certainly can be.
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Jun 11, 2020After League of Legends, Riot Games has seemingly succeeded in creating a competitive tactical FPS game with a real identity. The game stands on solid ground at the state of its launch, which broke a record on Twitch. The question is whether the players will keep playing the game long-term with new content, and how the success will translate in esports.
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Jun 4, 2020As a hardcore shooter fan since the '90s, Valorant feels very well designed, and provides me with a rush I haven't gotten out of so many other big genre games in the past five years. But Valorant feels like it was meticulously designed in a laboratory to fault. It's fitting given that Riot has over a decade of data and esports experience, but the sterile feel of it does impact my decision to play it more regularly.
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Jun 10, 2020Honestly, I do love the gameplay. But literally everything else tangential to and surrounding the core gameplay experience is a genuine pain. What’s worse, these pain points have been solved so easily by the games Valorant is so clearly inspired. It’s a damn shame that these existing easy solutions were simply ignored. A veteran team with the experience and containing the caliber of talent like Riot should simply know better. I cannot overstate just how much this frustrates me.
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Jul 15, 2020Valorant considers a standard match as best of thirteen rounds. Thirteen rounds! You don’t know which team is dominating in three rounds, Valorant? Because I sure do. It’s the team running rampant all over the map. Your Spike Rush mode is only slightly better at best of seven, but even that can drag. It’s all in service of the eSports focus. Anything quicker would be too fast for dramatic shows. Riot has made eSports their bread and butter, so it’s no surprise that Valorant is heavily skewed to that audience. Gone are the days of 1v1 arena fights in LAN tournaments with fullbright settings. One match. One result. One mistake and you were done. There were no upset wins or swings. You did a looping run from the railgun spawn and the keg of health and you didn’t dare deviate because it could all be over with one high-ping hit. Anyway, I’m old. Valorant has made me realize that I don’t recognize the landscape I grew up with. I’ll let the younger generation deal with Valorant’s sequel.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Jun 29, 2020Riot Games delivers a masterclass in competitive integrity, soulless precision and zealous, life-consuming obsession. [Eurogamer Recommended]
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Jun 18, 2020Valorant may still be more promise than reality in some ways, but what already exists is strong enough to bring in players and keep them there while Riot refines the experience. Valorant, as of this writing, is at a fantastic starting point, and there’s every reason to believe it’s only going to get better from here.
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Jun 3, 2020Valorant’s gunplay feels just as weighty and precise as CS:GO’s, with a structure that hits all the same highs and lows. Abilities sometimes let you outsmart people rather than simply outshoot them, and I’m excited about playing in a squad of friendly and coordinated pals. If and when they fall away, though, I expect I will too. Riot say they’re taking toxicity seriously, and this is good to see. But they acknowledge they’re fighting an uphill battle, and I’m not at all convinced they’ll be able to foster a competitive environment that doesn’t routinely make me miserable. This launch week, though? When my friends are playing, and the game isn’t dominated by people with far more experience than me? I’m going to have a blast.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 1,501 out of 3892
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Mixed: 436 out of 3892
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Negative: 1,955 out of 3892
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Jun 2, 2020Slow, boring, smooth yet somehow clunky, the guns feel janky, honestly it could have been made better in Gary's mod... I hope they fix it.
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Jun 2, 2020
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Jun 2, 2020