Valorant

Valorant is a free-to-play, 5v5 tactical hero shooter developed by Riot Games that blends precise gunplay with supernatural powers. Set on a near-future Earth, the game features a diverse cast of characters known as "Agents," each bringing unique cultural backgrounds and specific tactical abilities to the battlefield. The primary game mode focuses on a classic attack-and-defend scenario where one team attempts to plant a "Spike" (bomb) while the other defends the site. Unlike other hero shooters, abilities in Valorant are designed to create tactical opportunities—such as blocking vision or gathering intel—rather than securing easy kills, keeping the focus on mechanical aim and strategy.

Since its launch, Valorant has become a juggernaut in the competitive gaming space, boasting a massive daily player base and a thriving esports ecosystem centered around the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT). Its popularity stems from its high skill ceiling, satisfying "one-tap" mechanics, and Riot's commitment to frequent content updates and strict anti-cheat measures. The game creates an intense competitive environment where communication, economy management, and map knowledge are just as vital as reaction time, appealing heavily to fans of traditional tactical shooters like Counter-Strike.

From a hardware benchmarking perspective, Valorant is exceptionally well-optimized and famously lightweight, designed to run on a vast range of PC specifications. The engine is heavily CPU-bound, meaning that high frame rates rely more on processor single-core performance than raw GPU power. While the game can run at 30+ FPS on integrated graphics, competitive players aiming to maximize the potential of 144Hz or 240Hz monitors will benefit significantly from a modern CPU with high clock speeds. To achieve the lowest latency and highest framerates, most players run the game on Low or Medium settings, which the engine handles gracefully without sacrificing crucial visual clarity.