Valorant celebrated its fourth birthday on June 2 and, for the occasion, the phenomenon game is being adapted for home consoles. This announcement inevitably raises a burning question: can you really play it on a controller?
This question is completely legitimate, especially when we remember that its direct competitor, Counter-Strike, never managed to deliver a satisfactory console version, neither in 2003 on Xbox, nor in 2012 on Xbox 360.
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Development
We've been analyzing Valorant gameplay for over 30 hours now on Xbox Series X. It is clear that, yes, Valorant is a successful adaptation on console, but everything is not perfect.
First of all, let's remember that Valorant remains a niche game well known to the PC community.
As mentioned, the game is largely inspired by the famous Counter-Strike, while adding hero shooter mechanics with skills specific to each character. This brings a new dynamic to the genre and offers an interesting strategic dimension depending on the characters we face.
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Originally, only one game mode was available: search and destroy, which will be familiar to Call of Duty players. Subsequently, two other modes were added, serving as warm-up and practice before starting real games. These are deathmatch modes, solo or team, which are ideal for getting your hands on.
Finally, the PC and console versions are completely separate, so it is not possible to mix the in-game communities and find yourself facing keyboard/mouse players. On the other hand, the Riot Games account and its progress are multi-platform. No matter where you play, stats and all purchases are linked to the account. It is therefore completely normal to fall against level 200 players with many attractive skins if a PC player has linked his account to a console.
It's all about sensitivity
The presentations having been made, what about the playability of the controller and the sensitivity? Because yes, sensitivity (and aiming assistance) in Valorant is a key point and it is this element which will determine whether this adaptation on console is a success or not.
There is a simple test to carry out to find out if the sensitivity and, above all, the aiming aid on the console are well calibrated. All you have to do is start a training game with bots, walk in circles with your character and observe how the viewfinder behaves when passing in front of enemies. Unfortunately, on this side, it's a failure: the viewfinder automatically slows down as soon as it approaches an enemy…
The second test consists of checking if there is acceleration in aiming when the camera is suddenly turned. The best way to test this is to play with the sniper scope (be careful of sudden movements which can cause nausea). Here again, Valorant on console happily abuses aim acceleration…
To understand the importance of these two tests, it is very simple: when we play any game, we become familiar with the speed of sensitivity. In shooting games, we have precision phases where we move the joystick slowly and other faster ones when moving or when following a player with the viewfinder. This sensitivity becomes part of muscle memory through playing. Aim assist that slows down when the sight approaches an enemy or speeds up pollutes the precision and muscle memory that one has developed.
But, as we stated at the start of the test, Valorant nevertheless succeeded in entering the console. We regret not being able to adjust the aiming acceleration and the degree of assistance (AIM Assist), but there are other parameters which make it possible to limit these absurdities.
Fortunately, Riot Games had the intelligence to include numerous parameters (except the two most important ones mentioned above) to finely adjust the sensitivity characteristics of movements. We can thus change the sensitivity of movement, aiming, sniper scope and aiming movement curves in each category, systematically according to the vertical and horizontal axis.
One last element means that aiming assistance is not so prohibitive in our case. Valorant is a slow and sedate game, unlike the dynamic aiming found in a game like Call of Duty. Valorant is based on a system where precision and skill are the key words. Since aim assist and its acceleration only trigger during strong camera movements, if we adjust these few settings and play precisely, aim assist does not disrupt our gaming sessions too much.
This is why we can clearly say that, yes, Riot game succeeds where Counter Strike failed on console.
For those who are also wondering how the game runs on console, it seems to reach 60 FPS with some framerate drops on rare occasions. As for the graphics quality, there is a slight difference in sharpness and overall finish compared to the PC version.
The New Players Guide
Far from considering ourselves professional players, we can affirm that several basics are essential to know to play Valorant, some of which are explained in the tutorial phase of the game.
It is important to understand that movement, positioning and the crosshair are key elements of Valorant.
When you open fire, you must stop moving otherwise the dispersion of the bullets will be too strong. So, avoid shooting while moving forward, it's useless. Likewise, when moving, you must look at head height and not at the ground. If you have to move to engage, you should never go forward, but always move from left to right.
Then come the last important elements: you should not constantly stick to the walls, but open the viewing angles and cover every shooting angle. The closer we are to the wall, the more our viewing angle is reduced. Likewise, making small shifts is of no use if we are in fixed sight, because the enemy will see us coming from kilometers away with our shoulder sticking out.
Finally, there are a lot of tutorials that explain the angle, movement and viewfinder system very well. To avoid being used as bait and cannon fodder, understanding these fundamentals can only help you progress and appreciate Valorant more.
With its release on console, a wave of beginners and uninitiated people will arrive. This is the best time to enter the arena and understand the rather unusual mechanics unique to Valorant.
Tested on Xbox Series