Is Strinova Better Than Valorant?

Key Takeaways

• Strinova offers vibrant characters with unique abilities, a new stringification mechanic, and colorful visuals.
• The game features more diverse and customizable gameplay modes compared to Valorant.
• Strinova allows for extensive character customization and outfits, offering a more personalized gaming experience.

There has been no shortage of tactical shooters in recent times, but every once in a while, there comes a title like Strinova that may not seem like much of an innovation on a surface level. Once you get into it, you realize that the genre needs a breath of fresh air from time to time. On the other hand, Valorant is a name that almost always comes up whenever the conversation around tactical shooters is initiated.

If you’re wondering which of the two titles is more worthy of your time and effort, you should know that there are some key differences that set both games apart, for better or for worse.

Characters

Strinova

Although it is not exactly surprising that Valorant comes with a bigger Agent roster than Strinova, considering that it had a four-year head start over the iDreamSky title, the characters in the latter are much more vibrant, with distinctive personalities that make each of them stand out. At such an early stage, Strinova’s roster is just a few characters short of Valorant’s, so it is not even that far behind in regard to the character variety and quantity.

At face value, the character designs in Strinova may look like you have seen them countless times in the plethora of gacha games, but once you get to know them better, they start to grow on you with a level of wholesomeness not really found in other tactical shooters.

Gameplay

Strinova

You can pick up any first-person tactical shooter, and you will not observe much of a difference in the gameplay elements between it and Valorant, as it is a formula that has proven to be effective for years at this point. However, Strinova stands out from its own third-person shooter competition because it comes with a unique selling point: the stringification mechanic.

The ability to seamlessly transform between the standard three-dimensional character and their two-dimensional paper form adds a nice new strategic layer to each Strinova match, saving the game from getting repetitive and pushing the genre forward in the process.

Visuals

Strinova

While Valorant goes for a more realistic feel when it comes to its visuals, Strinova goes all out and embraces its highly stylized nature, adding a sense of colorful life to its world and characters. That makes Riot Games’ title a bit bland visually, whereas iDreamSky sticking to its anime roots does wonders for its overall visual appeal.

There are not many elements that make Valorant’s art style differentiate itself from the rest of the games in the genre, giving Strinova a clear edge over the longer-running title.

Maps

Valorant

If there is one area in which Strinova definitely needs to be improved, it is the variety of maps that it has on offer because currently, it just feels like iDreamSky studied games like Overwatch and even Valorant and simply tried to recreate many of their map ideas. That is not to say that it lacks in its map quantity, which is still impressive because it has not been long since it was properly launched, but this is an aspect that propels Riot Games’ title much higher in comparison.

Each map in Valorant takes inspiration from real-life cities all across the world, which provides the maps with a sense of individuality and prevents them from feeling like copied versions of one another.

Weapons

Valorant

A major limiting factor that accompanies Strinova is that each character has a dedicated primary weapon that they can use in battle, so if you want to use a sniper rifle with an SMG character like Yvette, you will be left disappointed. In contrast, although Valorant Agents do come with their own set of default weapons, you can pair up any gun you want with any character, and you will be good to go.

The kind of weapon freedom that Riot Games offers remains uncontested by iDreamSky, which could prove to be quite annoying once you start a match in Strinova and realize that you are stuck with the wrong weapon until it comes to an end.

Modes

Strinova

Even after four years of genre domination, Valorant only really offers two major game mode types: Plant/Diffuse and Deathmatch, if you do not consider the temporary modes that Riot Games has introduced and removed throughout its run. Strinova features both of those modes, but it also comes with an Overwatch-esque Escort mode to put another option on the table.

Combine those with the 7v7 Team Arena mode, and Strinova already has more ways in which the game can be played in comparison to Valorant’s basic 5v5 battles.

Customization

Strinova

What good is spending your hard-earned money or grinding for hours to acquire outfits or skins and not being able to see them in action while playing the game? This is an area where Valorant’s first-person perspective becomes a weakness, while Strinova’s third-person gameplay ensures that your character customization is actually worth the hassle that you went through to get it.

There are plenty of outfits for each character in iDreamSky’s title, so you can rest assured that you can take down your enemies in complete style, and even when two of the same characters face each other in opposing teams, there is something specially personalized that stands out about yours.

Winner

Strinova

Valorant has cemented its place as one of the best games in the tactical shooter genre, but the matches can turn into tense sweat-fests very quickly, taking out a lot of the enjoyment that used to come from playing it years ago. Fortunately, Strinova is a title that can be enjoyed by both casual and competitive players, and with so much content already on offer, there is a lot of potential that it carries for the future.

It is exciting, fast-paced, and beautiful to look at; puts more focus on its narrative elements; has a character roster that is instantly likable and extensively customizable; and has a great variety of game modes, all of which makes Strinova a highly entertaining tactical shooter that is here to stay.