10 Games You'll Love If You Like Playing Valorant
Love Valorant? If you’re looking for a new game to explore between sessions, Powder has ten games like Valorant we think you’ll like.
Valorant is hot right now — like, really hot. The game has been on the rise since it came out a few years ago, and it’s quickly earned its spot as one of the most popular MOBAs on the market.
If you’ve recently discovered the game and are interested in knowing more about this type of gameplay, we’ve got a few games like Valorant for you to check out.
While not every game on this list is a first-person hero shooter, they all have a similar vibe or style that we think you’ll appreciate as a fan of Valorant.
What Is Valorant?
Even if you’ve heard everyone talking about Valorant, you may not know what it actually is and how it's played. Understanding a little more about the game can help you see why we chose the games we did for this list.
If you haven’t played Valorant before, knowing more about it may help you decide if it’s the right game for you — if it’s your preferred play style and vibe (and vibe is everything in gaming. If you don’t love it and vibe with it, you won’t want to play it).
Valorant comes from the renowned Riot Games — which is also responsible for massive hits like League of Legends. Riot Games is excellent at creating in-depth games that feature many characters without losing any personality or details.
Valorant is a 5v5 (five versus five) first-person hero shooter game. You’ll play as an “agent” — there are five that are available once you first start playing (Brimstone, Jett, Phoenix, Sage, and Sova) and numerous others that you can unlock as you progress through their “contracts” and finish Tier 5.
Like most character-driven games, each agent has unique advantages, disadvantages, and skills you can discover and develop. You’ll likely enjoy one of the agents more than the rest and stick with that character for most of your Valorant gaming career.
The world of Valorant is based on our world, only in the “near future” after an event called the First Light changed everything. Each side is randomly assigned a position each round as the Attacker or the Defender.
After 12 rounds, the squads switch sides. The goal is to be the first to win 13 rounds first; whoever does that wins the entire game.
10 Games Similar to Valorant
Whether Valorant is your current fixation or you’re just looking for a fast-paced PvP open world game, read on for our top picks.
1. The Outer Worlds
While Valorant is set in near-future Earth, The Outer Worlds is set in, well, “outer” worlds. The Outer Worlds is an RPG (role-playing game). Still, it is single-player instead of multi-player, so you don’t have other people to contend with as you enjoy the story.
The game is played from the first-person perspective, so everything that happens in it feels like you’re driving it. You’ll start by creating your character and unlocking your ship, which is the transportation you need to help you visit all of the “outer worlds” you’ll need to explore.
During the game, you’ll visit different parts of space like Halcyon, interact with (and even recruit) NPCs, and use multiple weapons to enter into conflicts.
One of the things gamers like best about The Outer Worlds is how much the interactions you have and the decisions you make influence how your game plays out. While the actual gameplay of The Outer Worlds is much different than Valorant, you may still enjoy it if you enjoyed the futuristic design of the latter.
2. League of Legends
When discussing Valorant, how could we fail to mention League of Legends? As mentioned, League of Legends is from the same gaming studio — Riot Games. However, just because Valorant and League of Legends come from the same studio doesn’t mean they’re the same game with different clothes.
Although there are similarities, the games have different enough vibes and styles to be thoroughly enjoyed as separate but equally fun experiences.
If you’re a big fan of the 5v5 MOBA gameplay style of Valorant, you’ll find much of the same style in League of Legends. Both games ask you to choose a character to play as, although League of Legends has many more to choose from (to the order of around 140 “heroes”).
There is plenty to discover and many ways to level up, expand your gameplay, and clutch insane dubs, making for an excellent side quest if you’re looking for games like Valorant to play to mix things up.
Related article: Battle Arena Games Like League of Legends
3. Quake Champions
Quake Champions comes from the world of the Quake franchise — the 2022 version is its fifth entry — but it still finds a way to bring that world to life in a new and exciting way (even though the first entry came out way back in 1996).
Quake Champions makes use of the familiar first-person arena shooter gameplay style. You’ll be able to rally with your squad and rack up sick kills, explore the familiar world that the Quake franchise has developed, and just have fun trying out a game that is a little different from what you’re used to while still offering a similar style.
4. Borderlands 3
Although not everyone loves the Borderlands franchise, the people who are into it are really into it. It may be a weird game with some out-of-the-ordinary gameplay and wacky characters, but that’s all part of its charm.
While other games on this list tackle some of the same themes that the Borderlands series addresses — the end of the world, the dissolution of society as we know it — Borderlands 3 just really puts it all out there.
It’s total chaos, but that chaos makes for some exciting first-person shooter gameplay. You can choose one of the Vault Hunters to play as, each with different abilities, skills, and backstories.
If you love Valorant, you’ll love the multiplayer functions in Borderlands. While the gameplay has a few key differences, you can still team up with your party to hunt down enemies in a visually-pleasing sci-fi setting.
5. Battleborn
Battleborn wasn't genre-changing or mind-blowing, but it offered a different enough take on the same MOBA-style gameplay you love from Valorant to make this list. With Battleborn, you chose your hero and fought hard to accomplish the mission.
There were super creative weapons, a stark backdrop, and an ever-changing arsenal to learn about and develop your skill. It may not have offered a complex backstory or 200 characters to choose from, but it gave you a great break from Valorant without having to invest too much into it. (Can you tell that we still miss it?)
Battleborn also allowed you to participate in different gameplay styles — you could play as a single-player, play in cooperative mode, or compete against other players as you see fit.
Note: Battleborn servers were shut down by Gearbox in January 2021, and while there are internet rumors that it may come back into action one day, it is currently not available for play.
6. Apex Legends
Another game with the same vibe as Valorant is Apex Legends, a first-person hero-shooter that allows you to team up with other characters and take on your enemies. And, in terms of characters, Apex Legends gives you a lot to choose from — there was even a study that showed that it had the most diverse cast of characters out of all of the 100+ games they looked at.
Apex Legends is a battle royale-style game where you are dropped into a vast map with whoever else is online.
You’ll enjoy learning a new fighting style, exploring the character options, and the devs regularly bump out “seasonal” updates to keep everything as enjoyable as possible. Plus, the more you play these games, the better you get at them — even if it’s the game you’re not the most invested in.
Related article: If You Like Apex Legends, Try These Games, Too
7. Overwatch 2
Another game in the same vein as Apex Legends and Valorant is Overwatch 2, the sequel/replacement to the famous 2016 Blizzard debut.
Again, Overwatch 2 falls into the category of incredibly character-driven games, and they are constantly updating and releasing new characters to keep you interested. You’ll battle in a five-stack in a classic 5v5 style, attempting to wipe out your enemies before they take you out.
The gameplay is quick, the teamwork is crucial, and the maps are stunning (and constantly being updated and added to).
8. Escape From Tarkov
Although the story behind Escape From Tarkov is fictional, the idea mimics a lot of real-life conflicts. Set in the fictional area of Nork, the game focuses on two private paramilitary organizations trying to — as the name of the game states — escape from Tarkov.
Unlike many other games based on fantasy, Escape from Tarkov was designed to be hyperrealistic. That means that you fight to the death and lose every item you’ve acquired when you do die.
This game is similar to Valorant in that, as you try to escape, you’ll also be battling enemies and other players who get in your way. You can also play in Scavenger raids, in which 14 players are dropped into already-running raids with randomized inventory, but this game option does have a cooldown time before you can play it again.
While the game didn’t get a huge release and is currently in a closed beta, it has developed a significant following of gamers who love the unique take it brings to the field.
9. Fortnite
Millions of people play Fortnite, but even those who don’t have heard of this enormous battle royale game before. Fortnite has made its mark on pop culture thanks to its catchy dances (think “Orange Justice” and the time-tested “Griddy”) and public concerts featuring stars like Ariana Grande and Lil Nas X.
Fortnite is a vast battle royale-style game featuring 100 players dropped onto a map to fight it out until only one person is left standing.
It’s fun and chaotic, with many ways to play — building, crafting, and looting. Plus, you’ll experience why so many people have joined the Fortnite community firsthand. There’s something to be said about experiencing pop culture phenomena, even if it’s not your usual style.
Players of Valorant will instantly feel at home in thai battle royale setting. While slightly different from the team format of Valorant, Fortnite still features the thrill of PvP gameplay with even higher stakes.
10. Paladins
Paladins and Valorant have much in common, so those who love games like Valorant are in luck. Paladins is set in another world like Valo, where people have superpowers and fantastic things happen regularly.
As hero shooters go, Paladins offers a super out-there cast of characters that keep things entertaining. The characters are as unique as their weapons, and the game is big and flashy, so you’ll likely not get bored.
Plus, unlike other games with a more mature subject matter, Paladins is much more fit for a younger audience — it may be a shooter, but it’s not nearly as violent as some of the other titles we’ve featured.
How Can You Capture Your Gameplay?
Gaming is fun on its own, but streaming your gameplay can be even more fun if you know how to do it well.
Most games like Valorant (including Valorant) are compatible with our AI-powered software, meaning you can enjoy playing your games — and clutching out epic dubs — without stopping and taking screen grabs. You just have to make sure you record your gaming session so you have a VOD to import into Powder PC after your match is done. It’s a time saver and means that you can actually enjoy playing.
When you import a recording of your gaming session, or a stream VOD, our AI looks at your gameplay and automatically recognizes and clips your greatest hits. Powder will curate highlights for you from that long video and even stitch together a montage for you to share the best moments easily.
The result is short clips that are absolutely perfect for creating a Short on YouTube, uploading to Twitter, Discord, or TikTok. If you've been looking for a way to grow your Twitch channel, repurposing your long stream content with Powder can help.
The Powder app automatically sifts through hours of footage to extract the best highlights. Our editing tech even allows you to easily toggle back and forth between horizontal and vertical formatting.
Don’t let your dreams be dreams — use Powder PC to help you reach for the stars and give it a shot! You never know where it can go, and we want to help you get there easier.
Bottom Line
Valorant is an incredible game with interesting characters, gripping gameplay, and many different things to discover. However, no matter how much you love a game, it’s good to take a break from it and discover something else occasionally.
If you’re looking for other games like Valorant to try on for size, we’d love to help you discover something new that may become the next great game you’re obsessed with.
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