Valorant is the new title from Riot Games, currently in the closed beta stage. As a potential esports game-changer, Valorant is arousing a lot of interest, due to its skillful blend of Overwatch and CS:GO gameplay features.
Overwatch vs Valorant – Gameplay
Let’s start with the gameplay. Here the main difference between Valorant and Overwatch appears clear. Valorant’s gameplay resembles CS:GO an awful lot, with one of two teams needing to place a bomb while the other team tries to stop them. By contrast, Overwatch features different mission objectives, adding an element of variety to its overall gameplay.
Another main difference between Overwatch and Valorant is Overwatch’s focus on teamplay, with kills most often being team-efforts, whereas Valorant’s gameplay is aimed squarely at solo kills. Valorant also features the Counter Strike-style buying phase where players purchase skills and weapons before the start of each round.
It’s safe to say that for Valorant it’s ultimately the weapons that add variety to the game while Overwatch relies on its assorment of heroes to bring a little spice to the game.
Agents
The availablility of different characters is one facotr shared by both these esports titles. While Overwatch refers to its characters as Heroes, Valorant calls them Agents. All have individual characteristics that make them unique and very important for the team as a whole. In Overwatch, heroes have different attributes. For example, Tanks have more health than the other characters, while Damage-class heroes cause greater devastation. And while Valorant’s agents all boast individual skills in a similar manner to Overwatch, it’s the games array of Weapons which make the biggest impact on the game as a whole.
Weapons And Shields
While we’re talking about weapons, Overwatch does boast its own arsenal of individual weapons, but these are already owned by the game’s heroes. When choosing an Overwatch hero his or her weapons and shields come ready-equipped. In Valorant, as mentioned above, guns and equipment are bought prior to each round.
The arsenal features six different categories of weapons:
- Sidearms
- SMGs
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- Snipers
- Heavy.
Currently Valorant does not yet contain a wide range of weaponry, but then again, the game is still in the beta testing phase. As the game evolves and moves closer to a final release, more weapons will undoubtedly be added to Valorant’s arsenal.
Final Verdict
Valorant is perceived as the Anti-Overwatch by many gamers and esports fanatics. However, this does not seem to have been Riot’s intent, as the game blends familiar features and gameplay styles of both CS:GO and Overwatch, to produce a unique title, worthy of its own respect.
Certainly, Valorant shares much common ground with Blizzard’s Overwatch, but it also boasts enough unique elements to produce something that’s sufficiently different from the current esports FPS titans to appeal to players. For this reason, Overwatch will continue to be successful while Valorant will continue to expand and draw gamers away from both Overwatch and CS:GO.
