A League of Legends fighting game is the sort of idea only the most stoned bozo, most gormless ruffian, could have dreamt up a decade or so ago. It stands in the day-dream pantheon of a Riot Games MMO (wait a minute), or some kind of League of Legends trading card game (hang on a second). Yet, despite the odds not only does such a game exist, but it’s class A kino. Though, not without fault.
2XKO is a free-to-play 2v2 tag fighting game from Riot Games, the studio behind such powerhouses like League of Legends and Valorant. Set as a sort of alternate spin on the League of Legends universe, it snatches characters from that game, morphing them into fighters, and lets you duke it out with folks online. You can even play alongside a friend on your team, adding a fun dynamic to the typical fighting game affair. You want to see your favourite character with a bit more funk about them? This game is a platform for that.
The game lies somewhere in the middle of the genre in terms of pacing — more hectic than genre mainstays like Tekken or Street Fighter while not going quite as wild as other tag fighters like the Marvel vs Capcom series or various anime fighting games. Great effort has been spent on the tag system itself, how a player (or two) can weave between characters to perform impressive feats. It is a game oozing with quality-of-life features, a sort-of tailored experience aiming to impress both those with a history in the genre and bright-eye newcomers alike.
So it’s good news that this dedication to making a rich, velvety tag system has paid off so well in 2XKO. It all feels so fluid, so responsive. You throw out an assist with one character, charge up a heavy attack with another, then effortlessly tag into that assist just before the heavy goes off and it all just…works. At the ground level it’s an energetic twist, but the higher you climb in terms of expertise the more these systems flourish into a sea of possibilities. It’s easy to learn, difficult to master: fighting game potential in its purest form.
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Then you add the fuse system. This is an invention in its own class, but for comparison’s sake plays a similar role to Grooves in the Capcom vs SNK series — team modifiers that totally flip what you’re able to do with your characters. This can include chaining supers together, expanding your options when tagging between characters altogether, or placing your second character into a more supportive role.
There is one dud in fuses that I’ve been torn on for some time: Juggernaut. This fuse removes the tag system entirely, in favour of a solitary, buffed-up fighter with a few extra boons to help them contend with two-character teams. After a few months playing the game, I ultimately see little purpose to Juggernaut, save for a concession to potential players who could be scared away from tag mechanics in this tag game.
It seems intended as a training tool, but shuts players off from the real meat and potatoes of 2XKO. It also appears to be a balancing nightmare: too strong and it feels as though those engaging with tag mechanics are working twice as hard for damage Juggernaut players can manage easily; too weak, and it feels utterly helpless against even middling players with access to a second character. If it were meant to be the suggested way to first engage with 2XKO, the game wouldn’t recommend the Double Down fuse as a default. I’m left wishing Juggernaut was removed altogether.
Especially given that 2XKO is not lacking in accessibility options to help people gradually embrace its more complicated bits. You can toggle on easy inputs (called Pulse Combos) in character select, making a game without motion inputs all the easier. The difference in damage between a Pulse Combo and one performed manually is, for the fledgling player just starting out, inconsequential. One fuse, Sidekick, allows a player to sit back and assist their duo partner, lessening damage and supporting from the sidelines in an ingenious onboarding mechanic that allows the unconfident out there to dip their toe in with a friend, without feeling like they’re letting the team down.
The game is also free, which counts for a lot. It is not the first free-to-play fighting game by any means, Killer Instinct had a free version over a decade ago, and Brawlhalla remains less-acknowledged than it probably deserves as a popular free-to-play platform fighter. And Granblue Fantasy Versus’ free rotation of characters leaned into this, too. Still, 2XKO feels like the first time the live service hilt has been gripped with both hands. A rotating store of premium skins and seasonal battle pass supporting what is frankly a fighting game at the same level of quality as the premium Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
The game is, I believe, inherently an ankle-breaker. Meaning even intermediate play is complex by nature of the tag mechanics at the heart of 2XKO. A player using the 2X Assist fuse is playing their own game in which the goal is to hit you from cruel and unusual angles. Those using Double Down will use one character’s super as cover for their second’s largely incontestable offence. It matters little how slight an angle the ramp to 2XKO is, you will quite quickly be faced with The Sauce.
Now The Sauce is wonderful, and any good fighting game (like any good lasagna) needs plenty of it. In this liquid float hundreds of hours of Rocky-esque personal improvement. It’s certainly what I play fighting games for, but I do worry that certain characters or design decisions may drown greener players in the slurry. Yasuo and Ekko, for example, are rich in skill expression and downright dirty in their ability to style on people with high-flying combos and outrageous mix-ups. I have seen Yasuo do things while playing 2XKO that have left me giggling, while Ekko’s kit is so laden with powerful tools like his time winder projectile or Chronostrike that he appears as a smorgasbord to those with a taste for the genre’s intricacies.
I believe the reason why he and Ekko have remained so strong throughout the game’s early access release up until today (even with launch-day nerfs) is because, at its heart, 2XKO was built for characters like Ekko and Yasuo. They were clearly designed by fighting game fanatics who wanted to make a game in which the most rancid gameplay is possible. These characters will remain strong in spite of nerfs unless totally maimed, because their strength lies not in damage numbers, but in intentional design.
It’s not just those two either. Warwick has gained a reputation of sorts as of late for ravaging scores of online players thanks to his speedy and unrelenting offence. There are multiple characters that are excellent Zoners, built to keep you at a distance with powerful projectiles, though all able to convert ranged pressure into beautiful combos. Blitzcrank is for the grappler goons out there, a down-and-dirty robot able to snatch opponents from a distance and slam them into the ground for loads of damage. All of these characters were painted with a master’s brush, all of them nasty.
This is totally fine, if not brilliant news, for those in love with fighting games already: training mode monsters, frame-data physicians and patch note academics. For the sizeable portion of potential players 2XKO is hoping to win over? I’m not so sure. With all the effort put into making 2XKO tempting for fighting game newbies, it is clearly in essence a game for fanatics. The argument 2XKO is built around is this: you do not need to make a fighting game shallow nor drain it of its complexity to attract a curious wave of new players. All you need to do is offer tools to help players engage with a fighting game’s more daunting aspects. If millions play complicated games like League of Legends or Valorant, why not a fighting game like 2XKO?
Time will ultimately tell I suppose, but the 2XKO team have clearly gone all-in on this and in doing so have foregone the typical offering its contemporaries have. There is no story mode, no arcade mode, nor any bonus casual alternative mode for a more relaxing experience. There is no Street Fighter 6 World Tour counterpart, nor an ARAM equivalent that League of Legends players may be familiar with. If the direction is right, it could very well be a bridge between untold thousands and the unique bounty of fighting games. If Riot is wrong, 2XKO could be the most delicious rum and raisin ice cream ever made, trying to win over crowds of vanilla enjoyers. It’s a game built around the joys of tag fighters. As someone who has tried and failed to get friends to play 2XKO, I remain unconvinced of this strategy.
What I will say is that for those who do stick around with 2XKO, they’ll find a game bolstered with quality in almost all areas. It’s Saturday night stunning, a fascinating divergence from the stylised fantasy of League of Legends. If the father MOBA to 2XKO is a hand-drawn illustration, then 2XKO is a more rebellious cell-shaded piece. An almost punky, vibrant game in which characters erupt from excellently-crafted backgrounds and VFX. I love that the team had the confidence to break out in its own direction, remaining faithful to the source material while also making bold changes to beloved characters where it wanted to. Blitzcrank is the prime example of this, a character who is certainly showing his age in League of Legends but has found new life as a bulkier brawler in 2XKO. Not an easy thing to do, but done with class here.
I do wish there were more characters, and that’s a running theme ever since 2XKO’s early access release. A launch cast of 12 is solid, there’s no doubt. But given the tag nature of the game, you end up seeing a similar cast of fighters often (especially when the meta has clear winners already). The passing of time will resolve this, there’s no doubt, and the fuse system does go a long way in remixing a team in interesting fashion, but nonetheless you can only see Warwick so many times before you tire of the dog.
The same is true for the music in 2XKO. The game has this blend of electronic and metal across the board which certainly helps set it apart from other fighting games out there. Guitars and electronics duel it out on the main menu screen, while character-themes on occasion pop in during tense moments. Some of these are darn catchy, like Darius’ mean Metal anthem and Blitzcrank’s more dubstep-y tune. However, one of the quirks of 2XKO’s dynamic music system is that you’re, sadly, unlikely to hear them much. I would very much love a BGM select option in the future.
The online netcode in 2XKO is exceptional. Very rarely did I encounter matches which I considered unplayable, or frustratingly laggy, a testament to the infrastructure Riot has provided. Given how good it is, I find it puzzling that no options for cross-region play are available for public matchmaking. I know for a fact that matches between the UK and US are of good quality, I played on an American account last year prior to the early access release and it was truly impressive. Given that you can play on different regional servers in other modern fighting games, it’s a shame that 2XKO (with netcode likely far surpassing what’s present in those titles) does not allow it. Perhaps a quirk with the 2v2 nature of the game, or a Riot server. A shame, nonetheless.
In terms of the game’s live service component, it’s a rather fair one. You can earn all the new characters as they release if you play the game regularly, and you are given access to a healthy number of cosmetics by just playing the game, rather than having to fork out cash for nice skins. What skins you can buy are a bit pricey perhaps, but the bills must be paid and, to be honest, I’m more than comfortable slapping down around £17 for a costume I fancy.
Plus, a dedicated skinline exists in 2XKO that contributes to real-world grassroots tournaments around the world. Riot Games’s willingness to send money to the game’s competitive scene through in-game microtransactions is a lovely touch that shows an eagerness to support the game’s most dedicated players, and makes busting out the wallet feel like supporting a good cause.
2XKO is undoubtedly a fantastic fighting game. It’s clearly been created by a talented team head-over-heels with the genre, with a boundless understanding of what fighting game players want from a modern title. It is not perfect, nor the genre saviour eager beavers drooled about years ago, but for a studio’s first venture into a genre dominated by legacy franchises, it’s a game that matches or surpasses those with bold new ideas. The question now is this: can 2XKO win over enough people to go the distance, and use its launch momentum to continue building a true live service fighting game? Or, will it wilt in the niche shadows? I hope for the former.
