Valorant's incredible popularity, and how it has been able to attract players and professionals from different FPS genres, has given birth to a very controversial debate.
The player base can’t decide which one is better- CS: GO or Valorant.
Valorant’s gameplay similarity with CS: GO has made it quite hard for players to pick a universal favourite among the two. A lot of current and retired CS: GO professionals have voiced their choices over the last couple of months. Some even went as far as to uproot their already established careers and seek out a new one in this new shooter from RIot.
However, out of all the pro gamers and streamers, Shroud was one of the very few who was yet to voice an opinion until very recently.
Shroud’s thoughts on Valorant
According to Shroud, Valorant is a much easier game as it possesses a much lower skill ceiling. He says that ‘this game, the skill ceiling, and the potential is much lower than a game like Counter-Strike.’
He believes, ‘This game is trying to reach to people that don’t play FPS.’ So according to him, Valorant shouldn’t exactly be looked at as a ‘CS: GO killer’, which was what the player base took it to be initially.
The target audience for Valorant isn’t necessarily CS: GO players, but rather those players who haven’t played FPS games before and are looking for an accessible shooter to take up.
Getting good in CS: GO requires hours of grinding, and constant practice. Shroud believes that Valorant ‘is not as punishing’, and players can have a rather fun time picking up the game.
This is perhaps why the Valorant eSports scene might just overshadow that of CS: GO in the coming months. Its ease of access will make it a more popular game than CS: GO in the long run.
That being said, Valorant is not here to kill CS: GO. It is here to exist alongside it.