Riot reveals Project L gameplay, warns fans release date is years away

When Riot Games announced its first foray into fighting games led by the Cannon brothers, Tom and Tony, the minds behind the revolutionary GGPO rollback netcode, fans erupted with excitement.

Finally, over two years since its unveiling at Evo 2019, fighting games enthusiasts have gotten their first in-depth look at Project L gameplay, confirming the title to be a 2D tag-team based one.

On top of a video reveal, a developer update penned by Tom Cannon, the Senior Director and Executive Producer for Project L, was also shared, in which the veteran FGC pillar explains that the development team is targetting 2023 as a potential release year.

"Our vertical slice might give you the sense that the game is ready, but we actually still have a lot of work ahead of us. So, although we’ve made a great deal of progress, we will not be shipping in 2021 or 2022."

In game development, vertical slices are self-contained showcases typically presented to fans and press in order to give them an idea about what the gameplay will look like.

The video showcases a few known Runeterra Champions including Ahri, Darius, and Jinx, with special emphasis on Ekko and his time rewind mechanic, which offers plenty of avenues for opening up opponents with incredible mix-up tools.

The Cannon brothers also confirmed the game would feature no motion inputs, instead, focusing on something seen in games such as Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, where different moves can be triggered via a combination of button presses and directional movement. 

That means newcomers won't have to worry about practising their Dragon Punch inputs while still giving room for more experienced players to unlock the potential of Project L.

The devs finally stated that fans will not have to wait yet another two years to hear from them, promising at least two updates next year. "You’ll hear from us again sometime early in the second half of 2022. GG until then."

We've embedded the video showcase down below for you to check out.

• Read more: Riot shuts down rumours of NFTs coming to Project L
  
  

Don’t forget to check out our League of Legends dedicated section for more news, guides, updates, and esports coverage.

Featured image courtesy of Riot Games.