
Valorant’s immersive universe has mind-bending lore that can be sort of confusing to follow. Luckily it can be understood through striking cinematics. How many cinematics are in Valorant, and what do they mean?
When Valorant was released, no one paid any mind to the same agents being on both teams. It’s how character-based games often work, right? However, Riot added a hot new twist to the genre by explaining why these agents look alike in mirror-verse lore.
Valorant’s story is still unfurling, but Riot has laid out the base through engaging cinematics.
There are a total of four Valorant cinematics that revolve around the lore: Duelists, Duality, Retake, Warmup.
Duelists was Valorant’s first cinematic that introduced entry-fraggers, firepower, and aimers of the game. It also provided a backstory of Ascent’s origin and flying huts.
In this cinematic, Jett was chased down by a Phoenix who had orders to capture the dangerous package. The two duelists showcase their powers in an epic duel of fire and breeze.
Duality first made clear that Valorant agents weren’t aware that they have mirror characters in another universe. However, the “hostile” agents were exploiting this information to steal the Radianite.
In Duality, Phoenix had his first encounter with the Earth-2 character. It was also evident that Viper and other original members of the protocol had kept the mirror-verse intel from younger team members. Duality was the cinematic that truly captured the attention of all Valorant players.
Retake introduced Yoru to help Phoenix retain a site from a hostile Earth 2 attack. The two managed to save the day, but it reaffirmed Radianite’s importance in Valorant and the heights mirror agents would go to retrieve it. It was more a Yoru introduction since it wasn’t lore-heavy, but Retake sure was visually pleasing.
Valorant agents aren’t all about weapons and bazookas, Warmup showed.
The hilarious cinematic gave a peek inside Valorant protocol headquarters, where agents bet on who manages to beat an overpowered creation of Killjoy, Max Bot. The betting and competition happen while Sage guides Neon through the headquarters. The Sentinel then appears in the practice room to remind the agents of a new mission. This cinematic further proves that Sage and Brimstone are indeed the leaders of the pack.
Players now desperately wait for mirror-verse lore as it’s confusing, engaging, and exciting. It’s still unknown why there are clones of these agents and how they’ll find their peace. But a future cinematic might give us the insight we are waiting for.
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