Valorant and Counter Strike: Global Offensive: Two shooters that are quite similar in gunplay on the one hand, but at the same time are as different in appearance as day and night. For years, fans of both games have been arguing about which is the better game. There was a discussion recently where a reddit user asked for opinions on this player conflict. We took a closer look and found something that both player fronts have in common.
The two shooters CS:GO and Valorant are regularly compared with each other. Streamers and professional players had also compared both games in the past and publicly announced their favorite game.
If you look at reddit, there are always questions, comparisons and discussions about which game is actually the better one. Here is a small example overview:
Below you can read why the two games are constantly being compared. We looked at a current discussion from players and drew a conclusion.
Here you can see a trailer for CS:GO:
Counter Strike: Global Offensive trailer
Valorant and CS:GO – So similar and yet fundamentally different
Why are there discussions about this topic again and again? At first glance, Valorant and CS:GO could not be more different. On the one hand we have the colorful Valorant with its heroes and its playful nature. On the other hand there is the much more serious CS:GO, which goes in a completely different direction with the conflict between terrorists versus anti-terrorist units.
One big thing they have in common, however, is the shooter mechanics. In fact, Valorant and CS:GO are similar in gunplay. Both games tend to have inaccurate weapon handling, especially when players are on the move. In addition, there is the competitive focus in Valorant and CS:GO, which connects the two games.
Gunplay and competitive focus – both distinguish Valorant and CS:GO, for example, from other shooters such as CoD or Battlefield.
Basically, with Valorant and CS:GO we have two games that are totally similar in gameplay, but are simply completely different in their implementation. The target groups addressed by the two games with their concepts are correspondingly different. Friction seems pre-programmed.
“It’s just the good old rivalry”
On reddit, user TrueNiner88 opened a discussion with the headline: “Why do CS:GO players hate Valorant and vice versa, why do I see many Valorant players who dislike CS:GO?”. The thread collected almost 400 comments and led to a lively discussion between both parties.
Below that, TrueNiner88 continued, “I’ve seen a lot of people on both sides argue that the one [Spiel] is better than the other. But neither side gives reasons as to why. I would like to know everyone’s opinion on this subject.”
What did the users say? Relevant_Income_4932 said: “I came from CS:GO and switched to Valorant over a year ago and I’m just enjoying Valorant more (apart from the literally 9 year old kids in lobbies). The only thing I prefer is the gunplay in Counter Strike. It just feels better and more controllable (although Valorant Gunplay is really easy to use)”.
Furthermore, some users rate the character designs and the flair of Valorant as better.
Here you can see a direct comparison of how differently the two games are designed:
StoneyCalzoney praises CS:GO, but also sees clear differences in the gameplay focus of the two shooters:
“[…] The game [Valorant] definitely has a high teamskill cap because you have to make sure you don’t lose vital abilities by using smokes or flashes too early.
Apart from that it has [Valorant] the competitive and the depth of the map design, the economy thought and the gunplays that are in CS, not. Instead, everything is in the skills [der Charaktere] plugged[…]“.
But many users also like both games, like NIEffect. He writes:
As someone coming off CS with 6000+ hours, both games have their strengths and weaknesses.
From a CS player’s point of view, Valorant is a skill-based tactical shooter with plenty of opportunities to outplay your opponent. But at the same time, you can feel helpless because you’re being stunned, drained, shot at with a Raze missile, etc. It feels like it has a lower skill cap, even though it doesn’t.
CS might be boring from a Valorant player’s point of view. No pretty colors, cool agents, or interesting map design like Valo offers (3 bomb drop sites, zip lines, opening and closing destructible doors)
I personally love both, but Valorant has definitely been taking up more of my time lately.
NI Effects via reddit
MacaroniEast explains the conflict like this: “It’s just the good old rivalry. Sega vs Nintendo, Apple vs Samsung, PlayStation vs Xbox. Similarities create competition”.
Many think that the conflict between the two groups of players is superfluous and that in the end it makes little sense to compare the two games since they are too different.
Now we are still interested in how you feel about the two shooters. Please vote here whether you belong to “Team Valorant” or “Team CS:GO”:
What is the conclusion of the reddit discussion? Both sides do not seem to agree on individual aspects, such as the “better” map design, gunplay or movement mechanics.
In fact, many Valorant and CS:GO players claim to have played both games and switched from one shooter to the other. Several people also write that they like both games and have no preference for one game over the other. Apparently, the similarities between the players are greater than you think.
Why are you more “Team Valorant” or “Team CS:GO”? Or why are you standing between the two game fronts? Write your reasons in the comments.
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