Shroud, Polish-Canadian streamer and former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player, just added to the hype surrounding Riot's first person shooter VALORANT. Apparently, he was part of the alpha playtest that took place this weekend, and the game effectively ruined every other game for him.
"I was already kind of bored and I didn’t know what to play, but after playing VALORANT, it makes it all worse," he said in a stream, explaining that it's because he's now played "a f***ing gem, and now I've got to go back to trash." He's not the only one to think so, especially considering his CS: GO background. Back in February, the game's commentator and former player HenryG said that the game, then only known as Project A, was the best game he played since CS: GO.
And just like HenryG before him, Shroud's opinion also holds sway in the minds of his fans and admirers. He started playing CS: GO professionally back in 2013, with one of his biggest achievements being a first place finish at ESL Pro League Season 4 in 2016. Since he left professional CS: GO completely back in 2018, he has become a full-time streamer with more than 7 million followers.
The leaked gameplay video from this weekend shows a training level with an open map and shooting ranges where you can set your preferred options and hone your skills. It also teases two game modes, Spike Planting and Spike Defuse. The closed beta for the game starts this weekend, and you can try to get access to it through a series of simple steps (although it's not guaranteed that you'll manage it, since Twitch drops are randomized).
People's opinions on everyone praising VALORANT are, unsurprisingly, divided, with a part of the community getting increasingly hyped for the game, and the other believing that all of this is paid and part of Riot's marketing campaign. There's really no way to know whether Riot is willing to drop some cash to get more people excited for this title, but we definitely hope VALORANT pays off, because otherwise, we'll still be stuck with Overwatch and CS: GO.