Counter-Strike vs Valorant: Which is a better game to venture into 2023

8 Nov

Ganesh Jadhav

In the current landscape of First Person Shooters, two games are ‘leagues’ ahead of the competitors, these two games are Counter-Strike and Valorant.

Counter-Strike and its latest edition, Counter-Strike 2 is a Tactical first person shooter developed by Valve.

Counter-Strike has been the first game of its kind and revolutionized the FPS genre.

The second competitor is Valorant. Riot’s Tactical Hero-FPS that combines Counter-Strike-esque gun play with League-esque ability based gameplay. Valorant isn’t the first Hero-FPS but it is the first to combine Hero-FPS and Tactical-FPS. This weird combination of games has made Valorant stand out from its competitors.

With both the games sharing multiple similarities, including the format of game, comparing them only seems fair. For this comparison, we’d compare the game itself, the publishers and the community.

The Games and What They Offer

Accessibility

The biggest selling point of Counter-Strike has to be the game-mechanics. Counter-Strike was a pioneer and an innovator of never seen before game mechanics it boasts. Valve has perfected the craft over the years and is one of the best games in terms of game mechanics and how they've shaped many games of the present.

Unfortunately, there's a lot to learn for starting players, you’d have to invest countless hours to get good at using the guns, whereby then comes the utilities, the economy and then the maps and angles. The margin of error is really small, making Counter-Strike a hard game to learn.

Once the basics are down, there isn’t much left in Counter-Strike but to practice.

On the other hand, Valorant is generally forgiving. Despite there being a total of 23 agents, nine different maps, the game mechanics itself are easier. You can get hold of the guns much easier than Counter-Strike. Moreover there are guns which are much ‘newcomer’ friendly.

You can learn Valorant by playing a single agent and you wouldn't have to learn others before you have the basics down, which doesn’t take long. Valorant is easier to learn compared to Counter-Strike.

The Valorant agent select screen featuring 23 agents (screenshot via REVEN Valorant
Youtube // Riot Games)

But as mentioned earlier, there are nine different maps, multiple agents making it a hard game to master. Additionally, the game gets a new agent and a new map every three-six months and a new map. You’d have to learn about the new agent every time there is one.

Game Experience

Unfortunately, the game mechanics is where the experience for Counter-Strike ends. There are weapon skins which aid you to express your individuality but they are cosmetics and don't change the player experience.

While Valorant has weapon skins perfected, there are Battlepass that reward you for playing the game regularly, skins that are more than just cosmetics and add new animations and sounds. Overall getting a kill in Valorant feels more rewarding, playing it regularly feels more rewarding.

Both games have the competitive aspect but Valorant also caters to a more casual audience making it much more relaxing and soothing than the hot blooded aggressive affair that is Counter-Strike.

Publishers and how they treat their IP

It is no secret, Counter-Strike did not get enough attention from Valve. Until recently, Counter-Strike, especially CS:GO, felt like a neglected child. The game ran on a 13 year old engine and barely received major updates, did not interact with the community and did not put in any efforts to grow the game’s community.

Valve’s hands off approach with the game was better suited for an audience with limited choices. But why should Valve’s approach dictate how the players feel about the game itself, it doesn’t for the most part, but there are times when there comes a need for a change or a suggestion and Valve did not take those easily.

The game they designed was nearly perfect and they did not change it at all. They did not cater to the community much, what you got was a case once in a blue moon, a new operation in two-three years and a new mode once every 4-5 years. Valve didn’t market CS much either.

Riot Games on the other hand, actively works on community feedback, they introduce bundles with newer concepts. In-depth trailers for the skin bundles which is completely unnecessary but that goes on to show how much Riot Games market Valorant. The game has a detailed lore and introduces the agents via the trailers. Organizes events to access the agents early and actively participates with the community.

The hands-on approach of Riot Games helps promote the game further. Also keeps the community really happy. Riot Games also follows this for their esports scene, unlike Counter-Strike tournaments which are mostly organized by a third party.

The Community

According to a study conducted by ADL.org, around 36% of new Counter-Strike players quit the game after starting because of the game's reputation.

This was especially highlighted in a recent Reddit post posted by u/DaddyK00L titled “Huge Problem - CS2 is NOT new player friendly - My friends left the game in less than a week.” The post talks about the struggles of a new player in Counter-Strike 2, the latest edition of the Counter-Strike series.

The issue that is front and center of the “rant” is the toxic community that doesn’t welcome new players. The community lacks diversity and is mostly made up of adults who have been playing the game for ages and thus there are no new players, making the new player experience truly terrifying.

Valorant offers a more casual experience, attracting new players every month. Despite the short lived life, it still matches and exceeds the player numbers of Counter-Strike.

The game itself is newcomer friendly and is much more suited for the broader spectrum of players. With Riot also actively working to create a safer space for everyone who wishes to enjoy the game, Valorant’s community is better, diverse and more wholesome compared to Counter-Strike.

The themes, the nomenclature, everything is much better suited for the current generation. Moreover, as explained earlier the experience is more rewarding and ticks more columns than Counter-Strike.

Conclusion:

In the end, playing or choosing one over the other is a personal preference, if you like a competitive setting with amazing gun mechanics you choose Counter-Strike, but if you want a game that you can play both competitively and still relax, you ought to choose Valorant. I believe one sentence sums it all; Counter-Strike might be a better game, but Valorant is a better experience.

Featured Image via: Pinnacle

How CSGO ranking works