Controversial Valorant map Pearl was added into the hit FPS game‘s rotation back in June 2022. Lisbon, Portugal, provided a beautiful locale for visual design, rocking an overall blue tone, and players instantly loved the creativity the map brought to Valorant.
However, fans of Riot’s tactical shooter were split over the functionality of the map. Pearl is a two-site, three-lane map that is a throwback to a more traditional map layout after Riot devs did some experimenting with design choices on Icebox and Fracture.
Despite the return to design basics, the two-site map has caused friction amongst players as its middle hallways can get incredibly hazy and the long sites can be quite awkward to navigate for both the defender and attacker sides. User AlphaDart1337 reignited the Pearl debate when they praised the map, “My favorite map so far. I always get excited playing it. Fun on both attack and defend. Good job, Riot!”
Other users in the comment section voiced their dislike of Pearl’s layout. One replied with how Riot could fix the map: “If they rework B main then I won’t mind the map.”
Another explained how feelings on Pearl will change with time, “Pearl will grow on people, they’ll probably rework it a bit as well. Eventually when Riot releases another map people will hate that next map as well and then Pearl won’t be in the crosshairs.”
One final respondent called out not just Pearl but many Valorant maps, “I’m gonna be honest, I think most of the maps in Valorant are dogs**t. There’s nothing that plays as well as a mirage or dust 2 in CS:GO. I like the game, but the maps just aren’t enjoyable to me.”
Although players were divided on the Portuguese map, nobody shared a dislike of the artistic design or the lovely music that plays pre-round. If you are looking to dive into Pearl, or any Valorant map, check out our Valorant tier list.