Platform: PC
Genre: 2D fighting, 2v2, spin-off

If someone were to tell me that Riot Games were to make a fighting game based on its multiplayer online battle arena juggernaut League of Legends this year, I would have replied “why so late to the party?” Truth be told, the fighting game scene can be quite volatile, given how it came back like a phoenix with Street Fighter 4 ten-or-so years ago, only to oversaturate itself and go back to semi-obscurity, leaving only Capcom, Arc System Works, and Bandai Namco to keep the flame going. There would be no room for new contenders for fear of flopping and burning out, so I can understand any game company’s hesitance to jump in.

Fast forward to this generation of gaming, and Riot Games decide to take a chance in taking its long-incubating Project L to the public, in 2025 no less. Now retitled 2XKO, this League of Legends-spin-off fighting game has been in alpha and beta for quite some time, now in Early Access phase for all to play. Based on the 20-or-so hours we’ve spent so far, 2XKO is definitely a heavyweight contender.

Samurai VS Lesbian Boxer VS Werewolf Daddy VS…

Rather than being a 1-versus-1 fighting game, 2XKO opts for a tag-team 2-versus-2 formula. You pick two characters from the game’s 11-person roster full of League of Legends heroes and freaks, and fight each other in best two of three rounds. You have two characters to knock out per fight, and only one of them can be in the field (usually the point character first). This being a title to charge alongside the new wave of fighting game controls that don’t require multiple major motion inputs, pulling off special attacks only requires a push of a button (either of your trigger buttons on your controller). Some require a trigger button and a single directional input. Pulling off attacks and combos are easy due to the streamlined controls and leniency of the inputs; tag fighters tend to do this and 2XKO is fitting in just fine with this control scheme and feel.

Speaking of which, you can tag in your partner when you’re on the offensive, either to swap places or do an assist attack that usually covers your point character’s weaknesses and recovery spots. Say you do a pretty unsafe move that can be punished; just press the tag button in anticipation so you can have your partner do an attack. Be warned; they are vulnerable to attacks too, once they’re in their recovery state. If you’re not careful, both your characters can be attacked by the opponent and combo’ed to death, resulting in the titular 2XKO victory.

The Fuse mechanic makes the team-up system all the more interesting. After picking your heroes, you can choose one of the many powerups that help complement your tag-team fighting style. Double Down Fuse lets you follow up a Super Move with another one from your partner, switching your point character out automatically. FreeStyle Fuse lets you handshake tag multiple times, confusing opponents and lettign you do tag-team combos not possible. Or you can turn the fight to a 1-versus-2 ordeal and pick the Juggernaut Fuse; you only have your point character to play as but you get major buffs and Fury access early.

All this combines into one sublime-feeling and playing fighting title experience. The roster quality also gives you a good amount of characters to experiment with, be it the rushdown tenacity of samurai Yasuo and feral werewolf Warwick, to the bob-and-weaving boxer gameplay of Arcane star Vi, to the zoning and keepaway game of LoL annoyance Teemo. If you aren’t sure who to pick and main as, just play through a character’s combo trials to see how their attacks and chains feel.

My personal favourites are Warwick and big robot Blitzcrank; one covers rushdown and aggressive play, while the other can turtle and deals bigger damage with correct command grab guesses. I do feel the current meta in Early Access leans towards way more aggressive and touch-of-deaths experts like Yasuo and Ekko, but standard play in casual lobbies brings in a decent amount of combinations from its limited roster (more on this later).

And that’s just me focusing on a single player going through the motions. Duo Mode is where things get interesting. You can have a team of two individual players controlling a character each. Your partner can tag in at any time you’re on the offensive, not you. If you want to save your friend and handshake tag, you have to do the inputs, not them. This becomes a test of true teamwork as both of you have to communicate how to fight and how to get in. As such, 2XKO is more fun and more driven with this co-op mode that does show up in some fighting games (like Street Fighter X Tekken) but not used to the fullest like Riot Games’ efforts.

Online play is pretty smooth, with little to no hiccups and matches easily available. The longest I had to wait for a fight is about 2 minutes at this point in time (few weeks after launch). I do like the fact that you can spectate matches at the lobby without resorting to going through more menus and screens; just show up near a cabinet where people are fighting and a mid-sized screen of the current match will pop up. I do wish you can train while waiting for your fights to load up, so hopefully Riot Games adds in that option along the way. As of now, the current lobby setup and network stability is ace.

This being a free-to-play fighting game, getting into the title costs you nothing. However, if you want to get the game’s lovely-looking skins, you may need to fork out quite a bit of money; about RM100 or so give or take. You can earn in-game fight points through playing matches, going through the tutorials, and playing through every character’s combo trials.

We have to bring up the Tam Ketch-sized catfish in the room: the game’s initial roster is pretty small for a fighting game, moreso for a tag fighter. You will be seeing too many of the same matchups over and over in the next few months or so, to the point where variety in tag teams will become nonexistent.

Some players too may miss using classic inputs (quarter circle motions, dragon punch motion, the works), but that’s just the sign of the times. The fact that 2XKO was made by fighting game veterans like the Cannon Brothers (who made the famous EVO fighting game tournaments) and Peter “Combofiend” Rosas (of Marvel vs Capcom 3 Bionic Arm fame) means that this is the ideal evolution to go for fighting game controls, for the sake of getting new blood.

I can argue that the game can get complicating for a supposedly accommodating fighting title; you will need to get into the concept of off-the-ground attacks, parrying, wall bounces and ground bounces, and multiple handshake taggings if you want to go beyond Platinum rankings in serious online play. Protip: Casual Play doesn’t mean “beginner-friendly” area – it means everyone from low level to very high level players are in this proverbial swimming pool.

Plus, I have also head rumblings and saw Reddit threads of certain joysticks (most likely ones from two to three years ago) not being compatible with the game, so you may want to keep that in mind if you’re a big joystick or hitbox player. So far my Xbox controller and Victrix BFG pad work fine in 2XKO

Clash of Champions

It remains to be seen if the launch version (or 1.0 version) of this fighter will buff up the roster to an acceptable number; 5 champions per year is ambitious though it won’t get it beyond 20+ or so just to make the roster varied.

As it stands, the limited roster is the only thing keeping this ambitious fighting game away from pure 2v2 greatness. 2XKO has great netcode, flexible and easy-to-learn controls that come with hard-to-master gameplay mechanics that may overwhelm you mid-journey, a decent crew to play with and permanently play in your team, and lovely aesthetics that run well on most PCs made last year.

Plus, given the user interface, bonuses, and design that’s available for free from the get-go, the price tag for the cosmetics and currency is more than acceptable and in-line with this generation’s F2P antics & threshold of tolerance.

I haven’t seen this much polish and accommodating features in a fighting game since 2013’s Killer Instinct. Props to Riot Games for still having its finger on the pulse when it comes to feedback and community queries; they’ve been on a roll since early this year. 2XKO is a few steps away from greatness, but that’s still a heckuva achievement given the studio’s first foray in a free-to-play fighting game with big ongoing amounts of polish and flair.

Pros

• Lovely graphics & sound.
• Fun 2v2 fighting game mechanics with lovely bonuses and additions.
• Great controls that accommodate both newbies and pros.

Cons

• Small roster for a 2v2 tag fighting game.
• Some joystick issues so far.

Final Score (For Now): 80/100