What We Know So Far About the Lore of VALORANT
Riot Games’ FPS VALORANT will weave a rich tapestry of history and lore, sure to excite and fascinate fans of story-based games, in the realm of a tactical shooter.
THE LORE
VALORANT is set in a near-future version of Earth, and the game environment succeeds the First Light event. It isn’t clear yet whether this event was connected to alien phenomena, a natural disaster, or the product of human engineering gone wrong.
This event spans the entire globe, transforming everyday life, technology, and government operations. The aftermath of the event causes certain people worldwide to gain abilities, and become gifted individuals known as Radiants.
A shadow organisation named the VALORANT Protocol is formed in response to First Light, pulling together Agents, including Radiants, and other individuals equipped with Radiant technology.
Each Agent or character on the VALORANT team has a different background, from crime to the military. This varied backdrop will surely produce some interesting dynamics in-game, and in the lore itself, as we are given more of the narrative to sink our teeth into. Not only are the characters widely diverse, in some cases their paths have crossed in the past, allowing for new webs to be woven.
Riot wants VALORANT players to express themselves through their gameplay, and, ultimately, the characters they choose and having a diverse cast is key to this.
Click to enlargeTHE STORYTELLING
In recent VALORANT news, Riot Games’ Creative Director, David Nottingham, revealed details on how the storytelling will go down in the world of VALORANT. Like Overwatch, the Agent lore will be unveiled through player-character interaction, showing their story rather than outright telling or using short films or trailers to provide more insight.
Nottingham went on to say;
"There is a story, there is a world, we've put a lot of thought into that and fleshing out a wider world. We have a backstory, we have a foundation, that we're pretty confident talking about leading up before launch."
Interactions in-game, with short voice quips, will tell the player a little more about their characters lives, whether that be lines between characters, perhaps revealing a connection between them or responses to eliminations and wins.
THE TRIVIA
We can’t discuss VALORANT without including Riot Games’ famous title League of Legends, which lends some of its history to the VALORANT universe.
The name "Valorant" closely resembles the name of the fictional continent of Valoran from the Runeterra Prime universe and the location known as Valoran City from the Star Guardian universe of League of Legends.
Even the names of some characters in VALORANT appear to be connected to the LoL lore, such as Omen, which was likely borrowed from the cancelled League champion of the same name.
The fashion of the Agents in VALORANT appears to draw inspiration from some symbols in the League universe, such as Sage’s clothing featuring a symbol that resembles the crest of Shurima, and Cypher likewise with the crest of Blessed Isles.
THE FUTURE
It’s almost guaranteed that Riot Games will expand upon the lore over time, adding small entries along the way to build a complex and intriguing universe. Riot could take a leaf out of Apex Legends’ book and produce video content and animations to introduce certain characters to the audience, along with their relationships with other Agents.
We can’t wait to see what Riot Games come up with regards to extending the lore of VALORANT, but GGRecon is sure to update you as and when more details are released.