New Project L dev update gives us an overview of the tag system, core gameplay details, and Illaoi

The wait is over. Project L has just received its second and final update for 2022, with some in-engine Illaoi gameplay, a breakdown of core gameplay, and an overview of the tag system that will play a big part in Riot’s free-to-play fighting game.

This update features the much-needed information we’ve come to expect from Lead Designer Tom Cannon, along with Shaun “unconkable” Rivera. Rivera joined the team earlier this year, having transferred from the Legends of Runeterra team. He’s also a big name in the American fighting game scene, especially as an excellent Iron Fist fighter in his day.

You can watch the full Twitter update video above, but if you’re looking for a breakdown of what was shown, we’ve got you covered. First up is Illaoi, whom we saw earlier this year during the game’s free announcement. Since then, bruisers have been added to the engine, giving us a broad look at their tough playstyle.

We see her alternate between heavy hits and tentacle assists, which embodies the idea of ​​bringing champion fantasy to the game that she floated in a blog post a few months ago. The character is clearly not ready yet, with Cannon confirming that the team is still working on models, art, animations, and effects.

Moving on to gameplay, Rivera took the lead in breaking down Project L’s core gameplay, which seems largely set in stone. He started the section by saying “We wanted to create a game that you can enjoy right away, while also rewarding the time you spend mastering it”.

Moving on to locomotion, we briefly covered the different options available to players in Project L, including walk, run, sprint, chain sprint, jump, super jump, and long jump. On top of that, specific characters have their own movement abilities, something we see Ahri and Darius demonstrate with their air dash and air strike, respectively.

Offensively, Rivera explained, the goal is to reward players who run the offense with big, explosive combos. We’ve seen plenty of clever offensive play in previous gameplay, but we’re getting a lot more here, including crosses, free throws, and more.

Defense is where we see a lot of development in this progress video. Not only is there a wave rush, but Doom creates space between her and Ekko, allowing a punishing counterattack. There’s also a powerful push block, which we’ve seen Ahri use to devastating effect. It’s nice to see properly strong defensive options to balance a strong offense, otherwise players find themselves backing off and blocking too much.

Finally, and probably the most important update added to this video is the tagging system. Project L was originally a 1v1 fighter from Tom Cannon’s previous game, Rising Thunder. However, the tag system has been appropriately fleshed out with this video showing how your two champions of choice work together.

“Secondary actions” are attacks that your backup hero can perform off-screen, such as throwing projectiles. Some can even be recharged, causing delayed hits and most likely additional damage. There’s also “Handshake Tab,” which allows you to switch to another champion while both characters are on-screen. This proves to be excellent for extending combos, but can also be used to confuse your opponents and get you out of trouble.

Finally we see “Dynamic Save” which acts as a combo-breaker. This lets you get out of enemy combos, pushes other players back and provides some breathing room. Again, it’s a great defensive option that complements the plethora of offenses we’ve seen this time around.

Finally, Tom Cannon once again thanked the tournament organizers they met earlier this year at Evo, the largest fighting game tournament in the world. While we don’t know the team’s exact competitive aspirations for Project L at this point, even speaking to Riot Games’ senior esports staff, Cannon noted that they are: “Games are made with you (tournament organizers) in mind.

This of course meant a certain level of community collaboration, especially since Cannon later urged those interested in fighting games to head to their local events and give the genre a try. If nothing else, this is great news for fans of the unique grassroots community that has built up around the genre.

What do you think of this update! Let us know below! Maybe this update can win over some previously less than enthusiastic League fans?