The promised second Project L update has been released on Riot Games’ YouTube channel. This provides our first in-game look at the latest character announced for Project L, Illaoi.
As depicted in his initial reveal, Illaoi is a big-bodied brawler with access to huge pimples. She is able to summon tentacles that allow her to extend combos for longer than is normally possible.
Upon attacking, Illaoi will swing a giant totem capable of inflicting heavy damage. Thanks to the tentacle in the totem, Illaoi attacks take up a ton of screen real estate.
According to Project L executive producer Tom Cannon, the version of Illaoi featured in the video is only about 30% complete. Despite this, the character is now in a playable state in the developers’ internal test build. Tom notes that the character “still has a lot of work to do”.
What’s interesting is that Project L started out as a 1v1 fighting game. About two years ago, the developers decided to turn Project L into a 2v2 fighter instead.
As expected of any 2v2 fighter, Project L has implemented a number of mechanics that allow the two player characters to coordinate. During the video, many of these mechanics are explained in detail.
For starters, there’s a basic assist action that works as expected in a team vs. fighting game. Each champion is apparently armed with two assist actions. Additionally, the assist input can be held for a loaded assist.
The handshake tag allows a player to immediately identify the other champion on their team if both characters are on screen at the same time. Using it in combination with the basic assist action is apparently a great way to create confusion and pressure.
Finally, there’s the “Dynamic Save” which essentially acts like Project L’s combo breaker feature. Dynamic Save is available at the start of every match. It allows the second Champion to appear in an attempt to save the Champion point.
If the dynamic save succeeds, the opponent will be knocked back. However, players should be aware that this action can be baited and punished if you become too predictable.
It is important to note that the names of these mechanisms are always subject to change. Moreover, these mechanisms could change as development progresses.
Universally, each character is armed with movement options such as walk, run, dash, chain dash, jump, long jump, and super jump. Many fighters come equipped with movement abilities that are unique to them.
The developers note that placing their champions in the right place at the right time is a skill that players will gradually improve over time. The value of good positioning is demonstrated several times in the video.
It was stated that the developers intended to incite action during gameplay. This means that the offense is meant to be rewarding while the buttons are worth pressing.
However, it is also stated that there is a “mixture of clear and important defensive options and more nuanced systems that reward [players] to read [the] opponent’s next move.” This should hopefully create a fun balance between the offensive and defensive mechanics of the game.
Although we don’t talk about it, many other game mechanics are shown in the video. Some of these mechanics include grabs, ground bounces, wall bounces, OTGs, and more.
There’s no UI in the trailer, but it’s clear that the characters are also armed with the ability to perform character-specific super attacks.
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