Valorant
The hype season for Valorant Episode 6 Act 3 is finally here. We saw multiple leaks of the various cosmetics in the lead-up to the battle pass release. With opinions on the available skins flooding in, the new update has brought some confusion, mainly due to the launch of the new Valorant Radiant Entertainment (aka Arcade) skinline launching in this act.
The confusion isn’t surrounding the amazing quality of the new skin but instead on the value. Since the game’s public beta, the Arcade bundle will be the most expensive bundle launched by Riot. Costing a whooping 11,900 Valorant Points for the entire bundle. So let’s take a deep dive into the Arcade Bundle and see if it is worth the money. (Even before its launch, it already ranks as one of the best skin lines in the game.)
What is the Arcade Skin Bundle?
The Valorant Radiant Entertainment, or Arcade bundle for short, is an old-school-themed skin line. Taking inspiration from various titles that many games have played from back in the early 1990s. These skins have been given a retro treatment and vibe akin to that of the Nintendo 64. Back in those days, video games weren’t available on discs or digitally but instead on huge cartridges that had to be inserted into the gaming consoles themselves.
Inspired by classic games such as Street Fighter and Just Dance, the new skinline includes various easter eggs, which we will get to in just a moment. First, let’s look at one of the most unique aspects of this skinline; it has 3 different color variants.
Now you might be wondering how this is unique if most skins have color variants. The difference here is that each color variant has its own unique theme, bullet sounds, reload, and finisher — providing the feel of three different skins in one skin offering. Right now, the Arcade bundle consists of the following weapons.
- Phantom
- Operator
- Bulldog
- Ghost
- Melee - Power Fist Melee
Each gun has its own unique inspection animation, as well as reloading animation.
On to those easter eggs, a major one fans might have noticed in the trailer is the Operator's skin. Instead of the presence of a mag, there’s a cartridge fitted into the gun to start it. The character is also spotted blowing into the cartridge and then instead it back into the weapon. A throwback to the days when gamers would have to blow into their cartridges to remove the dust before slotting them into the console.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the skin variants in the game
The Street Fighter Variant (Red/ Orange Skin line Variant)
The most anticipated variant of the Arcade skin is the Street Fighter skin line. Immediately after equipping the weapon it’s animations galore. As soon as you equip the gun you’ll see a “KO” 8bit animation and the gun taking shape. During inspection, a classic, full-throttle fighting game style score plays, reminiscent of the soundtracks from which the variant skin takes its namesake.
Some additional animation titbits include a character you can see bouncing around while close to the ADS. While shooting, you’ll see him throw some punches too.
The skin also features a pixelated fire art design, with pixel fire shown while bullets are shot. (No doubt, this will become one of the most common variants of this skin seen during matches.) And then there’s the finisher — quite the treat to watch. Following the last kill, the character in the gun will come out and attack the last character with a combo consisting of punches and end it with one of those massive uppercuts iconic to the Street Fighter series.
The Bazooka Badger Variant (Blue with Neon Green Skin line Variant)
On first inspection, the Bazooka Badger Variant feels an alright skin line. Looking at the skin during the inspection, you can see pixels lighting up in a random sequence while a cartoon honey badger character is jumping near the ADS. Plus, the variant has its own unique inspection, shooting music and gun sound too.
But one of the main perks of this skin is its unique finisher. The finisher animation has the honey badger character shoot the opponent three times, converting them to pixels. Then he spins his rocket launcher and vanishes.
The operator gun looks especially cool with this variant. When the gun is pulled out, you can see a loading bar filling up at the scope featuring a minor glitch animation too. The inspection and cartridge removal feels clean. While having a somewhat minimalist vibe overall, the variant still packs quite the punch.
The Dance Fever Variant (Purple With Dark Blue Skin line Variant)
Finally, we have our favorite color variant, Dance Fever. (Any skin with purple accents tends to look amazing in Valorant.) Taking inspiration from arcade games like Dance Dance Revolution and Just Dance, this variant features the immediately recognizable up, down, left, and right arrow marks on the gun. And like the rest of the variants, it features its own gun sound, inspection and pull-out animation.
This variant suits the bulldog weapon exceptionally well. We’ve already seen three new bulldog skins in the game this year. But there’s a high chance this variant is set to be the best bulldog skin in the game. The animation is smooth and crisp when drawing the bulldog, and while the sounds are quite arcade-ish, they sound better than the phantom.
There’s also another easter egg with this skin in the finisher, with the opponent doing some dance moves and ending with “awesome” in retro text above them. If a player gets an ace, the finisher also includes a “combo x5” banner as well
While a cost of 11,900 for the entire bundle is quite a lot in the eyes of many. The skins are individually priced, similar to the likes of other exclusive skins in the game. The expense of the bundle is mostly due to there being 3 sprays, 3 player cards, and 3 gun buddies included.
So, realistically there’s quite a lot present in this bundle including the 4 weapons and the fist melee.
Each variant feels like its own skin with its own unique style. Plus, with the bundle, you can mix around with the choice of variants based on your mood too.
In our opinion, the Arcade Skin bundle is worth the money.