2XKO is arguably the most anticipated fighting game of the decade. Developed and published by Riot Games, this title made a huge stir when it was announced as “Project L” all the way back in 2019 amongst the members of the FGC. The thought of a free-to-play fighting game with League of Legends money and branding backing it to usher in a new generation of fighting game players captivated the community, and after years of development and teasing it was finally released as of January 20th of 2026. Was the game worth all the wait and hype though? That’s what I’m here to investigate.

Normally I’d start with an overview of the game’s premise and story, but 2XKO features no narrative beyond character bios and whatever story emerges in a versus match. The game very much is just ‘the League of Legends fighting game’, and there is more to say on the implications of this but for now I will begin with a gameplay overview. 2XKO is a two-on-two tag fighter with each player selecting two champions and engaging in a classic contest of neutral, pressure, and combos, until one side has won two rounds of play. It features the usual spread of light-medium-heavy attacks, special moves, assists, supers, and so forth. The first major difference to similar games is the removal of motion inputs in favor of two dedicated special move buttons. 2XKO certainly isn’t the first in the genre to do something like this but, with the option of using motion inputs removed entirely, the game makes a bold statement in lowering the skill floor for all players without exception. Assuredly a choice made in favor of on-boarding fighting game newcomers, but there are still characters and mechanics that test your ability to perform precise inputs so the older experience isn’t totally lost. The character I chose to play for example, Yasuo, has a stance called Calm he needs to cancel into constantly for proper combos and pressure, and learning how to enter Calm without triggering his Storm Breaker super has filled the space motion inputs occupied to an extent.

The tag system bears resemblance to previous tag fighters such as Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle in the various assist moves each character can call and the ability to switch into the assist character during their combo, but 2XKO sets itself apart using its Fuse system. These let you add an additional function to your tag partner such as being able to cancel a super into another super, baton passing twice in one sequence, or using up to two assist attacks before the tag partner leaves the screen. There’s even a Fuse that lets you play as a single character with heightened stats! Needless to say this system offers a delightful bit of customization to your gameplay, and it’s fun to observe how different players use different Fuses in their own way. While some have criticized the system for creating arbitrary scarcity on mechanics that could theoretically be always active, I personally feel this design keeps some potentially degenerate strategies in check by portioning these skills off. 

Even with all these unique mechanics introduced though, the true element of 2XKO that sets it apart from all similar games is the duos system. The game is designed to be fully playable with two players assuming responsibility for controlling one character on a team, even if the opponent is one player controlling two characters as normal. This introduces an element of trusting your partner to use assist moves with good timing, and activating the combo-breaking burst maneuver when it’s needed most. The player in the assist position can never force themselves onto the field outside of performing the Double Down-specific cancel, and in turn must be ready to continue the fight if the point player manually chooses to tag out or triggers a baton pass. This mode of play is definitely not optimal as when playing as a duo offers no unique mechanics and solo players have complete control over their own actions, but it makes up for it by being the most satisfying part of 2XKO. Winning in a fighting game on your own merits has always felt great, but being able to do so in coordination with another player is a rush that can’t be topped. 

Of course no fighting system is worth it without great characters to pilot within the system, and 2XKO‘s featured fighters feel great. The roster covers seven different archetypes even within a lineup of just twelve launch characters, so finding someone to get your feet wet with is inevitable. My aforementioned main character in Yasuo is an all-rounder samurai with great swordplay neutral and fancy combo routes through Calm, but he’s just the tip of the iceberg. The folk-hero Braum has a large hurtbox and slower movement but possesses a unique shield function that protects allies whether he’s on point or assisting, and features a powerful win condition in entering the Unbreakable state to unlock a disgusting amount of armor frames. Caitlyn is a unique take on a zoner who features unmatched range on her attacks, but must play a more honest back and forth to create situations where she can do so safely thanks to her long projectile recovery. Not every character is created equal and there are definitely some frustrating matchups you have to deal with (cough Ekko cough), but gameplay wise this is a solid start to a roster which will only get more robust over time.

So with such a fun and freestyle core gameplay loop, what is there to do with it? Well… not much. Besides jumping online to fight in lobby matches, the only other modes are tutorials, combo trials, and training mode. These are of course great tools for building the skills you need to thrive in a competitive environment, but ultimately their purpose is to funnel you back into the online matches once you’ve developed new skills. Thus it seems we’ve run into the biggest issue with 2XKO in terms of its design: conflicting priorities. Riot’s team has done a great job creating a game with competitive integrity and accessible mechanics within the core fighting, but the wider platform hosting these matches is created only with competition in mind. I respect the confidence the developers have for the game’s core loop being fun enough to hook players, but in focusing only on competition they’ve completely left behind the crowd who would stick around long term if given an alternate means of engaging with the game’s world. I’m not asking for a full single-player adventure mode mind you, as even a solid arcade ladder with visual novel presentation would do wonders for investing the more casual players into the characters before asking them to play dozens of hours with them in matches and buy their (very) overpriced skins. Time will tell if their current strategy works out, but unless duos proves to be a smash hit it’s possible the game will simply stabilize into a hyper-competitive niche like so many games before it.

It doesn’t help that the current roster is a pretty bad introduction to the world of Runeterra too. I still feel the characters on offer play great mechanically, but thematically half the game’s launch roster is from the Piltover and Zaun side of the setting. The push to capitalize on the Netflix series Arcane is very obvious, but 50% of a 12 character roster is beyond overboard. This gives the impression that Runeterra is primarily a steampunk magitech setting when in reality Piltover and Zaun is the ONLY city-state in the whole world with technology of its level. There’s also no representatives of the Shuriman continent, which while less fleshed out than Valoran is still a key part of the setting, and The Shadow Isles were also completely ignored despite the fact that monster characters in fighting games are such an easy win with their core audience (they even added WARWICK for crying out loud, it’s not like they’re against monster characters). The biggest absence by far is the lack of Demacian characters, which aside from being an insult to me personally, makes Darius’ inclusion very awkward. Darius literally would not exist without the character he is a dark foil to, Garen, and yet there’s not even a single champion from Demacia to properly flesh out this classic rivalry. I really do want to say that with time these issues will be ironed out simply by adding more characters, but with how little heed the developers have taken to representing its own intellectual property beyond what is strictly necessary/marketable, I honestly can’t say I’m confident this will be addressed quickly.

These torn priorities extend even to the visual design of the game. The characters have a great cartoony stylization and animate very well, and the stages they fight upon are grand. From the gorgeous and moody atmosphere of Scuttler’s Strand to the power that emanates from Vi when she strikes the ground with her gauntlets, the visual style of the gameplay is impressive. But while scrolling through the menus it’s a contemporary, overly clean and utilitarian layout which lacks any real pop. The lobbies and the player avatars that inhabit them are equally disappointing, theming themselves not around anything related to the world of its game but a fighting game locals event. Neither of those choices would be bad on their own but when taken in concert with the in-match graphics, it comes off as though the characters exist as fighters within a fighting game within 2XKO, rather than preexisting characters brought into a new game dedicated to showcasing Runterra’s battles and landscapes in new ways. Again, it’s not wrong for the developers to want to foster a strong competitive scene, but when your game’s aesthetic is designed to appeal only to that audience I fail to see how casuals beyond the strict gameplay-first people are supposed to fall in love with the game. The music is decent at least since Riot’s music team is staffed by very talented composers, although the emphasis on trap percussion heavily reinforces the disconnect between the game as a platform and most of the cast’s high fantasy aesthetics. It fits right in when fighting on one of the many Piltover stages I guess, but the variety will need to increase as a more diverse set of stages and characters are added.

Finally for a spiritual reflection on 2XKO, I wanted to focus on the duo play which I praised so much. The hardest part about a fighting game after you learn the basic techniques is learning how to manage your mental state, as making mistakes and losing matches is frustrating and ultimately there’s very few places to deflect blame to outside of yourself. With the introduction of duos a risk of blaming your teammate is introduced which can be a negative, but if you and your partner truly care about one another then this can actually be a source of great encouragement. Sharing in victory, consoling in defeat, and pulling off great plays together can make a sour losing streak so much better where you might otherwise have just wallowed in self-pity and resentment. With this in mind 2XKO serves as a great reminder of the importance of having a spiritual partner in our lives of faith as well. Upholding the Catholic faith can be a great challenge since the standards of behavior are quite high relative to the rest of society, and it can be difficult to uphold virtue when you feel isolated. Even having one friend in whom you can confide in and exchange advice with can be a massive boon, as faith stops being something you can only fight for in your head and starts being something which can be worked out alongside someone with the same interest. One must be careful to advise and be advised with clarity founded in Scripture and magisterial teaching, but when done in humility and love this can grow our love for The Lord far more than we could have accomplished alone. So don’t be afraid of connecting with your brothers in Christ and working through troubles together, even if it’s something as simple as encouraging them to speak with their priest more or inviting them out to prayer. Solitude can do the heart good, but connection is ultimately the goal of any religion, let alone the one true religion!

In conclusion, 2XKO is a very fun video game which stops tragically short of its own end goals. The gameplay feels amazing and the duo play system is arguably the most fun I’ve ever had in a fighting game, but my drive to play more of the game is completely the result of my pre-existing appreciation of the genre in question. While it is fully equipped to teach new players how to approach the genre, it ultimately styles itself in a way that alienates much of the casual audience in favor of serving its existing audience. Perhaps the game is technically better off trying not to please everyone, but a free-to-play game desperately needs a wider install base to thrive and currently there just isn’t enough here to get attached to on its own. If you love fighting games or have a fighting game player in your life who will do duos with you then by all means, play 2XKO and enjoy the best dueling action you can find at the price-point of free. If you’re not already into the genre though, it’s still worth trying to see if the gameplay will hook you on some primal level but I would strongly caution you not to expect this game to be particularly unique in its ability to make you fall in love with this style of game. I myself look forward to many more rounds in the ring alongside my brother over the coming year, but we’ll see if it has the potential to avoid EOS and make its big break. Call me cautiously optimistic.

About PeaceRibbon

A graduate in philosophy from a campus with Benedictine monks, "PeaceRibbon" is just an ordinary introvert looking to put his hours of playing games to good use. He's played games on every Nintendo console since the family Wii and later took up PC games once aware of Steam. He's explored a lot of genres, but his favorites have been story driven RPGs and fighting games. Often finds himself going deep into gaming culture and seeking out low-profile titles over keeping up with big releases.

When not gaming, he enjoys walking in beautiful places, and overthinking just about everything. Also serves as a cantor at Mass whenever he can. Has a twin brother who shares many of the same hobbies and passions.