Valorant

Valorant combines precise tactical shooting inspired by Counter-Strike with agent abilities reminiscent of hero shooters like Overwatch. Two teams of five players alternate between the roles of attackers and defenders, with the attackers trying to plant and detonate the Spike explosive while the defenders try to defuse it or prevent it from being planted. A key element is the agents with unique abilities - from smoke screens and grenades to healing and information about the enemy's movement - which combine with purely aim-based shooting, where every bullet counts.

The game runs on its own engine built on Unreal Engine 4, optimized to run smoothly even on weaker hardware and to minimize network latency, which is crucial for a competitive shooter. Riot Games placed a strong emphasis on fairness in matches from the start, including its own anti-cheat system, Vanguard, which runs at the system kernel level. The sound design is precise and allows players to estimate enemy positions from footsteps and equipment sounds, making listening just as important a skill as aiming.

Valorant became one of the fastest-growing esports titles since its release, with its own franchised league, the VCT (Valorant Champions Tour), supported by Riot Games similarly to League of Legends. For spectators, the game is easy to follow thanks to clear rounds, clearly visible agent abilities, and an economic system for buying equipment that creates tension round by round. The game is free to download and is funded by cosmetic weapon and agent skins.

Since release, Riot Games has regularly expanded the roster of agents and maps, while trying to maintain a delicate balance between purely aim-based shooting and abilities that can add an element of unpredictability to fights. This very combination of the tactical discipline known from Counter-Strike with hero abilities created its own subgenre, which attracted both fans of classic shooters and players coming from other competitive titles. Within a few years of release, Valorant thus became one of the most-watched esports games of today.

Why play it: For fans of Counter-Strike and hero shooters alike, it offers a combination of tactical discipline and character abilities that created its own subgenre and quickly became one of the most-watched esports games.