In October 2019, Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, announced 6 new games, including Project A, a shooter. This has now been tested by the first players and immediately impresses Counter-Strike professionals.
What is Project A? Project A is a new shooter that will be more like Counter Strike than like Overwatch. So far, there have not been many details about it, aside from core features like:
- Diverse heroes with unique abilities
- Precise gunplay
- A setting in the near future of Earth
However, the players who have already tested Project A are now officially allowed to report on their first experiences, including Counter-Strike shoutcaster and former professional player HenryG.
He is excited about the new shooter, as is Ronald “Rambo” Kim, also a CS player, who already revealed in October that he was able to test Project A.
Update March 3: In the meantime, we know that Project A will be called Valorant and what exactly the gameplay of the shooter looks like.
Tactical shooter with some hero elements
What did HenryG reveal? In a thread on Twitter, the shoutcaster shared some general information about Project A:
- It will be a round-based 5v5 shooter with many tactical aspects. It is said to be very similar to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
- Additionally, there is a class/hero system, similar to the shooters Overwatch or Apex Legends.
- Most skills will be purchased at the start of a round for the same currency as weapons. Furthermore, they are not overly strong, but rather a tactical aspect of the game.
Especially the last point is interesting. In hero shooters, there are often skills that can make the character very strong and lead to many kills in a row. This does not seem to be the case with Project A.
The skills appear more as additions to existing weapons like flashbangs. According to HenryG, you should be able to have fun with the game even if you do not focus on the skills. Moreover, most weapons with a precise headshot lead directly to the opponent’s death.
You can read the details in this Twitter thread:
Hello! Strap yourself in. I had the chance to spend a day playing #ProjectA at Riot EU. Today, I’m allowed to share some of my initial thoughts and impressions. Please bear with me, I can’t go into too much detail about the specifics of a lot of the gameplay until a later date.
— HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) February 11, 2020
How was the test played? The testers played on a map with two bomb sites, A and B, and competed against each other in 12 rounds until one team claimed victory.
After half the time, there was a switch between attackers and defenders. The system sounds very similar to CS:GO again.
HenryG describes the map as “reminiscent of Counter-Strike”. He refers not to the optics but to the layout and gameplay elements.
Will Project A be Free2Play? In a tweet, Ivo “Linepro” Kolev, a well-known Overwatch player, commented. He himself did not participate in the test but gathered some information, including a Discord conversation that apparently refers to a Russian report on Project A.
This conversation mentions many things that we also learned from HenryG. It is mentioned, however, that Project A will be Free2Play and will have a shop with purely cosmetic content.
Whether this is really the case is still unknown. There is no official confirmation from Riot Games. The Russian source also reports that more information is to be published in March.
The best game since CS:GO?
What does HenryG think about the shooter? HenryG refers to Project A as the best game he has played since CS:GO. He emphasizes that this is his own opinion and was not influenced by Riot.
What particularly impressed him:
- The gameplay and gun mechanics
- The economy system, which is said to be very similar to CS:GO
- For him, there was nothing more satisfying than isolating the opponent with a good combo of mobility skills and then delivering the fatal shot
- The shoutcaster was very satisfied with the balance in the test
In recent months, CS:GO has seen a steady increase in player numbers. The game has more users than ever before. However, it is quite possible that Project A could become serious competition for the shooter.
