The SHATTERED cinematic was released on June 20th, 2022, just before the start of Episode 5 and the launch of Pearl. It was made by Blur Studio.
Synopsis[]
SHATTERED shows the VALORANT PROTOCOL's first major mission to Omega Earth, with Killjoy, Neon, and Reyna investigating around the mysterious teleportal terminal that Fade had detected earlier, in an attempt to gain intel on the locations of the Radianite stores in the city.
The stealth mission goes haywire when they are caught almost immediately, resulting in the team frantically trying to get their info and get out before things get out of hand.
Plot[]
The Arrival[]
In the very first scene of the cinematic, we see a red logo painted on the ground that represents Kingdom Industries. Below the sign, ‘‘Centro de Dados’’ [Data Center in Portugese] is written[1]. This suggests that the cinematic takes place in the Kingdom-owned Data Center located in Pearl on Omega Earth.
Killjoy scanning the Data Center with her bracelet
After this short sequence, we see a triangular portal come to life— and before long, three familiar silhouettes appear in the midst of the blue haze: Neon, Killjoy, and Reyna. After confirming the success of Killjoy’s Pathway Algorithm, the team is given instructions by Brimstone, stating that their objective is to confirm the location of Alpha’s stolen Radianite and to get out without causing a scene. After a lighthearted joke made by Neon, Brimstone reminds them of the possible threat by Omega, which theorizes to be an advanced Radianite weapon. During this edifying talk, we see Killjoy scanning the area they’ve arrived at with her bracelet, showing the audience the trails of radianite that are stored in the data center[2]. Right as Killjoy finds what she’s looking for, Brimstone’s voice breaks up, and Killjoy’s scan screen fades away, leaving the trio alone without supervision.
As Killjoy is distracted trying to figure out the problem with her bracelet, the camera pans to Reyna, who is observing the area beside Killjoy. Before long, a flare of light gets reflected in her eyes, and a distant boom is heard. Reyna recognizes it as an attack immediately and is able to protect a distracted Killjoy by moving her out of the way.
The trio dodging a disc-shaped explosive
Per Reyna’s quick reflexes, a disc-shaped bomb barely misses Killjoy and blows up the portal that the trio came from. On high alert, the Agents start looking around for the opponents. Soon after, we see a single FORCE ATLAS captain occupying the frame[3], who states the identification of Alpha Agents to fellow soldiers and gives the order to ‘move to suppress’ them.
Reyna using her Leer ability against FORCE ATLAS Soldiers
Immediately, the trio gets out of harm’s way, shielding themselves from the onslaught of bullets by hiding behind boxes. After another lighthearted quip from Neon, Killjoy states that she needs to get to the Terminal (unfortunately positioned on the opposite side of the attack) to get the information they came for. Reyna then uses her Leer ability[4] to nearsight their enemies, successfully buying Killjoy time to get to the Terminal unscathed.
The Terminal[]
Killjoy working to retrieve information from the Data Center's computers
Right after arriving at the Terminal, Killjoy gets to work— summoning three bots from her bracelet[5] that help her hack the system for information (some concept art of the cinematic made by One Pixel Brush name these three to be 'Breaker Bot', 'Power Bot', and 'Data Bot'[6]).
The Power Bot she summons types in Rúben Pontes’s credentials[7] to access the Data System while the others spread out across the computer. As Killjoy is working to figure out the system herself alongside her bots, red ‘WARNING’ lights suddenly start to flash in the wide displays, and we see that three Omega Agents have been alerted by the system of the invasion of the data center: Sova, Yoru, and Phoenix, of which the latter two are stated to be ‘incoming’ while Sova is only stated to be ‘alerted’[8].
VALORANT PROTOCOL vs. FORCE ATLAS[]
As Killjoy continues her endeavors of a successful hack, we see Neon and Reyna fighting multiple FORCE ATLAS soldiers scattered around and about in the tight corridors of the Data Center. After killing two soldiers with a Frenzy, Neon communicates with Reyna through her earpieces, inquiring Reyna about who they could possibly be fighting against. After killing a soldier at close range and using her Devour ability[9]; Reyna, albeit jokingly, suggests asking them who they are— if there are any left alive, that is. Right after she Devours the soul of the soldier, another two try to attack her, but end up hitting one another when Reyna uses her Dismiss ability[10].
Still in a lighthearted and reckless mood, Neon complains about how bad Ω-Earth is, then uses her High Gear ability[11] to achieve increased speed, effectively sliding past two FORCE ATLAS soldiers, which she kills with two bullets right after.
Right as she exhales in relief, gunshots are heard in the distance. Neon quickly turns around to see that the gunshots came from Reyna, who took down another FORCE ATLAS soldier. Letting their guards down briefly after reuniting with one another, Neon communicates with Killjoy through her earpiece, complaining about FORCE ATLAS soldiers being everywhere and for her to hurry up with the information-gathering process. As she’s let her guard down, Neon fails to notice captain, who snuck up right behind her. Reyna shouts to get Neon’s attention and attacks the captain herself, but to no avail. The soldier, right as they’re shot by Reyna, fires their gun at Neon, effectively destroying the Surge Protector on her back[12].
Ω-Viper cooperating with FORCE ATLAS soldiers
Neon’s face wincing in pain, the electrical currents created by her are all we see before she and Reyna get separated by Viper’s signature ability, Toxic Screen. Ω-Viper herself appears soon after from inside the green smoke, shooting at Reyna to drive her away. As Reyna flees from Ω-Viper’s sudden attack, Ω-Viper calls a FORCE ATLAS soldier to her back, ordering them to find Neon while she takes care of Reyna, who she refers to as ‘the parasite’[13].
Getting Serious[]
We then see a wounded Neon, haphazard and on high alert while random electric currents emit from her body, her powers visibly rendered unstable by the destruction of her Surge Protector. She quickly takes refuge against one of the boxes, briefly hiding from the FORCE ATLAS soldiers that have successfully followed her trail.
Through the earpieces, Neon informs the group that she’s now taking the situation very seriously, telling Killjoy that it’s time they leave the scene as she’s received critical damage and her powers are rendered unstable without a functioning Surge Protector.
A Life Support System[]
The cinematic then focuses on Killjoy while she continues to work on gathering the necessary information where she informs the group to "[not] die for just another minute." After successfully dismissing a ‘WARNING’ sign from one of the displays, Killjoy is finally able to hack into the system to download the coordinates to her Data Bot[6]. After making sure the data is downloading just fine, she turns to the huge displays once again, to figure out just what the Ω-Earth is planning to do with all the stolen radianite. As she reads through the contents: ‘Reality Stabilizer’, ‘Hydroponics’, and ‘Desalination’, Killjoy’s face visibly gets painted with surprise as she comes to the conclusion that, contradictory to their previous theories, what Ω-Earth had been working on all this time wasn’t a weapon— it was a life support system, built to ensure the safety and livability of Pearl[14].
Reyna vs. Ω-Viper[]
Then the cinematic focuses on Reyna, who is visibly cornered by the toxic smoke that have been emitted from Viper’s Ultimate Ability, ‘Viper’s Pit’[15]. A FORCE ATLAS soldier hits Reyna with a bullet, grazing her in the arm before they’re taken down by Reyna. As the soldier falls down, a grenade shell falls right next to Reyna’s feet. Meanwhile Ω-Viper, as she circles Reyna, tempts her with her smokes and words— telling her that she’s always been so ‘predictable’. Challenged by this, Reyna kicks the bomb-like equipment discarded at her feet, shooting it from a distance to reveal Ω-Viper’s location inside the smoke. Surprised by Reyna’s attack, Ω-Viper moves to change her position, with Reyna following suit.
Big Mistake[]
Neon fighting FORCE ATLAS soldiers
We then see Neon trying to fend off an onslaught of bullets by killing multiple FORCE ATLAS soldiers, but she shortly runs out of ammunition and is forced to momentarily hide from their incoming fire. From the earpieces, Killjoy orders Reyna and Neon to get back to the Terminal, and that she’s found them ‘a ride home’. Meanwhile Neon, as she’s left without ammunition to protect herself, is forced to ‘surrender’ to the FORCE ATLAS soldiers— or so it seems. Instead, after throwing her weapon to the feet of FORCE ATLAS soldiers, she effectively feigns surrender, before using her Overdrive ability[16], made even more powerful without a functioning Surge Protector, to defeat them. After defeating all the soldiers in sight, four more appear immediately. In frustration and anger, Neon then releases a significant amount of electricity from her body that effectively short-circuits the entire Data Center[17].
This happens while Killjoy is working to retrieve more information from the system; luckily, all the information needed for the mission had been stored by her Data Bot[6] before Neon cuts off the electricity from the entire place. Soon after, Killjoy exits the Terminal, having gathered all the necessary information, and is met with a FORCE ATLAS soldier holding her at gunpoint. Fortunately, her Breaker Bot[6] comes to the rescue, electrocuting the soldier. As the soldier is out of the way, we see that Neon has arrived at the scene— but no trace of Reyna can be seen. Realizing her absence, Killjoy makes quick work of telling Reyna to meet up with them again.
Neon's Hands appearing from inside the wall of smoke to retrieve Reyna
Meanwhile, Reyna is busy seeking out Ω-Viper’s trail and ignores Killjoy’s comms. Seeing a streak of green liquid on the ground (dripping from Viper's broken Snakebite vial), Reyna is able to locate where Ω-Viper is. Wanting to kill Ω-Viper, Reyna aims her weapon at her back, saying “Un alma por un alma” [“A life for a life” in Spanish]. Right as she’s about to pull the trigger, Neon’s hands come up from the haze of green smoke, enveloping Reyna in order to quickly flee the scene together[18].
The duo arrives just as Killjoy dismisses the three robots she’d been using and summons her Turret[19] instead. As Reyna gets angry at Neon for not letting her kill the enemy Ω-Viper, the trio spot even more FORCE ATLAS soldiers arriving at the scene, followed by Killjoy reminding them that they either leave now, or they don’t leave at all.
Right after Killjoy deploys her ultimate ability, Lockdown[20], Ω-Viper and the other soldiers arrive at the scene— but are unable to go further. Guarded by the Lockdown ability, the trio flees the scene from a door, having successfully guarded against the attacks of Ω-Earth hostiles.
The Comic Shop[]
The Comic Shop
Still high on alert, the trio then find themselves in a dark room. As they’re checking the area to make sure they’re safe, Reyna is suddenly startled by a voice coming from an intercom announcement in Portuguese and a cardboard cutout of Ω-Viper facing her[21]. As Killjoy turns on the lights, the room they’re in comes into full view— a full-on decorated comic shop that features everything about the VALORANT Agents, from plushies to comic books. Reyna picks up a nearby comic book from a shelf, inquiring to her companions if the people depicted on the covers are really them. Neon replies with uncertainty, pointing out a nearby poster to Reyna on which ‘ALPHA THREAT’[22] is written in big, bold letters, effectively painting the Alpha Agents as the enemy to the audience.
Then, Brimstone’s voice is finally heard through the earpieces, telling Killjoy to get to Tango Site and that the rest of the team is on the way to recover them. The cinematic ends with the trio gathering together to observe the outside through the comic shop windows. While all are visibly surprised at the sight of the Garden of Heroes[23], Neon poses an important question, on which the audience too comes to wonder: are the VALORANT PROTOCOL still the good guys?
Lore[]
Killjoy's Scan[]
At the very beginning of the cinematic, right after the trio arrives at the Data Center, Killjoy scans the area for traces of radianite. In this scene, German words like “Scannen” and “Missionsziele” (translating to “Scanning” and “Mission Objective”) can be seen on the screen. From this, we can assume that the language settings of Killjoy’s bracelet are in German, a nice touch that represents her country.
While scanning the area for traces of radianite, Killjoy’s bracelet detects Neon’s Bioelectricity, her figure visibly illuminated like the canals on the ground, especially around the Surge Protector she wears on her back, which is known to be absorbing Neon’s Bioelectricity to assure the stability of her powers.
LRC Stability Monitor[]
In various places around the Data Center, multiple “LRC Stability” Monitors[24] are shown. This acronym is likely the confirmation of a working Large Radian Collider on Omega, as opposed to the destroyed LRC at Fracture.
Data Terminal[]
Rúben Pontes[]
The Power Bot[6] typing in Ruben Pontes's Credentials
Rúben Pontes is a former Ω-Earth Kingdom Employee that had been working at the Everett-Linde Facility prior to its destruction. Before the events of the SHATTERED cinematic, the VALORANT PROTOCOL had recovered various pieces of information about Rúben Pontes, which Killjoy later on utilizes to hack into Ω-Earth’s servers successfully.
The Hologram[]
The Hologram, featuring various measurements of the "Life Support System"
After Killjoy successfully hacks the Data Center, we see multiple pieces of information on the main display and a yellow hologram that appears behind Killjoy. In the display, “Hydrostatic Pressure” and “Temperature modulation” is read, along with the “Reality Stabilizer”, “Hydroponics”, and “Desalination” that Killjoy reads out loud. On the hologram that appears behind Killjoy, various measurements can be read around an image of the map Pearl: “Reality Stabilization”, “Desalination”, “Atmosphere // WNL” (WNL meaning Within Normal Limits), “Shield Integrity”, “Temperature”, “Hydrostatic Pressure”, and “O2// N Balance”. These measurements are a part of the “Life Support System” that was likely built to ensure the safety and livability of Pearl. This “Life Support System” is also the reason why the VALORANT LEGION is actively trying to steal Alpha Earth’s radianite.
The Comic Shop[]
As the trio enters a comic shop near the end of the cinematic, Reyna is startled by an intercom announcement narrated in Portuguese. This intercom announcement is the same one that we hear in Dia do Santuário (Pearl's Map Reveal)[25]", which tells the audience about the legacy of Pearl; mentioning its history, the process of building the Dome city, and the details of its various locations.
"Alpha Threat" Poster
As the Comic shop comes into full view, we see VALORANT LEGION merch scattered around the room. On the right side of the frame, a cardboard figure from the Gravitational Uranium Neuroblaster player card, as well as promotional material for the BlastX and Protocol 781-A skin collections can be seen. Above these two, various posters from the Poster Series made by Brandon Meier (VALORANT's Principal Visual Designer), can be seen.
Towards the center of the frame, a banner of the poster titled “VALORANT LEGION” is seen, next to the name “Jim Lee”, a reference to the real-life comic artist who designed the poster himself. As the trio explore the room further, Neon points out a poster— titled “Alpha Threat”— that visibly depicts the Alpha Agents in a wicked way. At the bottom of the poster, “Ameaça no espelho” is written in Portuguese, which translates to “Menace in the mirror”, clearly summarizing how Omega Earth portrays the VALORANT PROTOCOL.
FORCE ATLAS soldier
FORCE ATLAS[]
FORCE ATLAS is a division of the Ω-Earth Organization ATLAS. The soldiers belonging to this division feature as a quintessential part of the cinematic, teaming up with VALORANT LEGION’s Viper to defeat the VALORANT PROTOCOL Agents.
Garden of Heroes[]
Garden of Heroes
At the very last scene of the cinematic, we see the Garden of Heroes— a garden consisting of four statues of VALORANT LEGION Heroes made to honor their legacy. From left to right, the statues of Phoenix, Omen, Sage, and Jett can be seen in the garden. From the Player Cards titled “Garden of Heroes” in the game, and the Pearl Map Announcements, we know how these four Agents have acquired their legacies. According to these two sources, while Sage and Jett held back the tides with their powers, Omen helped save the citizens from the flooding, and Phoenix became a prominent figure that symbolized hope and rebirth for a Lisbon that had suffered a tragedy.
The Garden of Heroes Jett card shows Ω-Jett's legacy & the role she played in order to save a flooding Lisbon from tragedy.
The Garden of Heroes Phoenix card shows Ω-Phoenix's legacy & the role he played in order to save a flooding Lisbon from tragedy.
The Garden of Heroes Omen card shows Ω-Omen's legacy & the role he played in order to save a flooding Lisbon from tragedy.
The Garden of Heroes Sage card shows Ω-Sage's legacy & the role she played in order to save a flooding Lisbon from tragedy.
"A Soul for A soul"[]
During the sequence in which Reyna follows Viper through the green, poisonous smoke emitted by the latter, she utters the following phrase in Spanish: “Un alma por un alma”[26]. This translates to “A soul for a soul” in English, and is likely meant to be a reference to the main reason why Reyna steals souls in the first place: to keep her sister, Lucia, alive. This also implies that Reyna possibly harbors some resentment towards Viper.
Notes[]
- Before its release, the cinematic was teased with a promotional poster on twitter[27].
- Translating to “Data Center” in Portuguese, the Centro de Dados’s logo can be seen in various scenes throughout the cinematic, including the various boxes scattered around the building and the monitors in the Data Terminal.
- The 'Lorem Ipsum' placeholder text appears in various positions throughout the cinematic, such as in the hologram in the data terminal, and in the text under the mission objectives in Killjoy's scan, and does not have any higher relevance.
- When launching the explosive at Neon, the FORCE ATLAS captain got hit in the chest by Reyna's bullets before firing. However, he still somehow managed to keep his aim steady enough to strike his target.
- In front of the huge monitors in the hacking Terminal, Dan the Penguin, a TactiFriend, can be seen[28].
- At the beginning of the cinematic, as Killjoy makes her way to the Data Terminal, a box with the Vanguard Logo[29] can be seen.
- While a wounded Neon is running away from Force Atlas soldiers, we see the Omega (Ω) symbol[30] that represents Ω-Earth, where the cinematic takes place.
- As the cinematic takes place in Ω-Earth, Ω-Earth’s Kingdom Industries’ logo can be seen in various places throughout the cinematic, including the displays of the hacking Terminal[31] and the ground in front of the triangular portal[32].
- While Killjoy is using the computer of the Data Center, two keyboards can be seen: one with the Latin alphabet, and one with the Greek alphabet. This is strange because the Greek Alphabet isn’t known to have appeared in any prior instance in the game or the cinematics.
- Towards the end of the cinematic, right before the trio enters the comic shop, we see a sign written in Portuguese on the door: “não seja um vizinho intrometido”[33]. This literally translates to “don’t be a nosy neighbor” in English.
- Dia do Santuário, Pearl's reveal trailer, likely takes place immediately after this cinematic ends.
Sources[]
- SHATTERED // Episode 5: DIMENSION Cinematic - VALORANT Go
- SeLFlo's Shattered Cinematic Breakdown Video Go
- VALORANT Poster Series made by Brandon Meier Go
- VALORANT Posters Go
References[]
- ↑ Centro de Dados Logo in the SHATTERED cinematic Go
- ↑ Killjoy's Bracelet Scanning The Data Center Go
- ↑ FORCE ATLAS Soldier Initiating the Attack Go
- ↑ Reyna using her Leer Ability Go
- ↑ Killjoy's Hacking Bots Go
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 One Pixel Brush's concept art for the cinematic, giving names for Killjoy's new bots 1. Go, 2. Go, 3. Go
- ↑ Killjoy's Power Bot typing in Rúben Pontes's Credentials Go
- ↑ "VALORANT LEGION Activated" Warning on the Data Center's Displays Go
- ↑ Reyna using her Devour Ability Go
- ↑ Reyna using her Dismiss Ability Go
- ↑ Neon using her High Gear ability Go
- ↑ Neon's Surge Protector getting destroyed Go
- ↑ Ω-Viper Cooperating with FORCE ATLAS Soldiers Go
- ↑ Killjoy finding out the truth about Pearl Go
- ↑ Ω-Viper using her Ultimate Ability Viper's Pit against Reyna Go
- ↑ Neon using her Overdrive ability Go
- ↑ Neon short-circuitting the Data Center Go
- ↑ Neon's Hands appearing from inside Viper's smoke to retrieve Reyna Go
- ↑ Killjoy summoning her Turret Go
- ↑ Killjoy using her Lockdown Ability Go
- ↑ Reyna being startled by the Intercom Announcement Go
- ↑ "Alpha Threat" Poster in the Comic Shop Go
- ↑ The Garden of Heroes outside of the Comic Shop Go
- ↑ Appearances of LRC Stability Monitors: 1. Go, 2. Go, 3. Go, 4. Go, 5. Go
- ↑ Dia do Santuário // Pearl Official Map Reveal Video Go
- ↑ Reyna saying "Un alma por un alma" Go
- ↑ The SHATTERED Promotional Poster Go
- ↑ Appearances of Dan The Penguin: 1. Go, 2. Go
- ↑ Vanguard Logo on a box in the Data Center Go
- ↑ Omega Symbol as seen in SHATTERED Cinematic Go
- ↑ Kingdom Industries’ Logo on the displays of the Data Center Terminal Go
- ↑ Kingdom Industries’ Logo in front of the Triangular Portal Go
- ↑ “Não seja um vizinho intrometido” Sign Go