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Parents' Guide to

Valorant

By David Chapman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Fast-paced shooter packs fun, repetition into online play.

Game Windows 2020
Valorant Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

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Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 39 parent reviews

qweqwev
qweqwev Parent of 8 and 12-year-old
October 24, 2022
age 12+

One of the best games for your mature child

My 12 year old son plays this game and it's really good. I tried it myself and loved it. Yes, some characters have curse words in their dialogue. Examples of this would be a wind-based character who says, "Come here, you little s--t!". Another character, based on electricity says "Hey, I'm p---ed!". Other than that, it's fine. The game has a really good educational value. A team of heroes tries to stop their doppleganger counterparts who want to steal their precious materials. It sends a good message to children about how you should never give up and never give in to those who bully you. However, things that parents should note; there is a lot of blood in the game, but you can easily turn it off by turning "Mature Content" off in General. The game revolves around teamplay. Sometimes, teammates or opposers are very toxic, but you can easily block them or report them and the administrators will take care of it. You can, however, prevent your child from playing with strangers with the "Practice" and "Custom" gamemodes. The Practice gamemode brings you in a shooting range, and it has story elements which are good for your child's problem solving skills. There is a mystery next to the robot shooting arena with a man in a black and gold mask and blue eyes which your child can solve. The Practice gamemode has 4 branches; open range, where you can explore the entire shooting range, shoot targets, do an obstacle course, and practice. Shooting test, where your child can shoot bots to improve for the next Practice modes. Spike defusal, where your child has to defuse the bomb, and lastly, Spike plant, where your child has to plant the bomb. In the Custom gamemode, your child can play with people they know in real life and only them. If you do, however, allow your child to play publicly, there are many gamemodes which I shall list; Unrated: A fun and casual game, the first to 13 points wins. Competitive: Unrated but revolves around a rank Spike Rush: A mini unrated Deathmatch: Get the most kills Replication: Everyone is the same hero Escalation: Random guns
Skilliat
Skilliat Parent of 15-year-old
April 1, 2022
age 10+

At least it’s free

I think the game would be better if it was more action packed, most of the game is you just walking around. And you have to walk because you cannot aim while walking which brings me up to the aiming system, Horrible. It’s completely random you “HAVE” to be standing still or you will miss everything. The game also cost a lot of money. From 15 to 60 dollars for a skin for a couple of guns. So yea I would not recommend.
See all 39 parent reviews

What’s It About?

VALORANT is a fast-paced, action-packed battle for power and control over caches of the rare element, Radianite. This futuristic gold rush has brought together a diverse group of "Agents," guns for hire specially equipped to handle the dangers of this new frontier. Players battle it out in epic 5-on-5 team matches, using a device known as a "Spike" to attempt claim the opposition's Radianite stores as their own. Of course, that only works if the opponents don't disarm the Spike first. Then again, when all else fail, players can simply wipe out the other team, leaving the spoils of war to the last team standing.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (39 ):
Kids say (106 ):

The field of online competitive shooters is more than a little crowded these days, so to stand out, new titles need to find a balance somewhere between familiarity and innovation. Valorant, Riot Games' entry in the team-based shooter genre, manages to deftly walk that tightrope by borrowing elements from other games, yet piecing them together in new ways that feel fresh and new. The game's diverse cast of Agents, each with their own unique and distinct special abilities, all fulfill specific roles in matches. But there's enough flexibility to allow players to bring a little of their own strategy to the gameplay and keep Agents from being locked into a specific style. Abilities, Ultimates, and weapon loadouts borrow from Riot's multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game background, with players not having immediate access to most skills, but earning resources on the fly to purchase new equipment and to charge up powers. Since these resources are earned for nearly every action in the game, it adds an extra layer of strategy and balance to matches, with players forced to decide exactly when and where to spend their points.

There are currently only two game modes to play in Valorant, both involving planting or disarming a Spike device or eliminating the opposing team altogether before time runs out. The major difference between the main game mode and Spike Rush is the number of rounds teams play. Unfortunately, this means that as much fun as Valorant is to play, it can get repetitive relatively quickly. This is especially true in the main game mode, with the winner being the first team to win thirteen out of twenty-four rounds. Although rounds tend to be quick, thanks to smaller maps and a 100-second time limit, that's still a lot time spent running through the same streets, hallways, and rooms. The Spike Rush mode is a much shorter, best of seven matchup, but also gives players random loadouts, taking some of the strategic elements away. Still, Riot has put together a strong foundation for a new franchise, and it's more than fun enough to keep players coming back.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Valorant affected by the competitive nature of the online gameplay? Would the game be as engaging or entertaining if there wasn't any blood shown? How can parents help to keep the violence in an online, competitive atmosphere from carrying over outside of the game environment?

  • What are some of the ways to practice being a good sport in an online environment? What are some things kids can do when faced with toxic online behavior in a game?

Game Details

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