Some things are worth waiting for. At least, that’s what they say. However, it’s a bit of a delicate balancing act – take too long to put a game out, and you run the risk of: A. people hounding you for details constantly, getting in the way of actually developing the damn thing, and/or B. folks generally losing interest. With new titles constantly flooding the market, you have to try your absolute hardest to keep your head (i.e. your relevancy) above the torrential waves, lest you be buried beneath Mt. Indies n’ Shovelware. Games like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Breath of the Wild 2 have recently learnt this the hard way, their radio silence giving way to acidic vitriol from fans clamouring for something. Anything. And in this biz, more vitriol is something we could frankly do without.
So it’s a bit ballsy, if you ask me, that today’s devs-in-focus have (re)announced a game with the open caveat that it might not be here ’til 2023. At the earliest. It’s called Project L, and it’s a sleek-looking 2D fighter coming courtesy of Riot Games. You just may have heard of one of their other endeavours, a pretty low-key affair known as League of Legends. In fact, it’s that niche little number that Project L is going to be drawing on, featuring several recognisable characters and locales from the world of Runeterra.
The game was first revealed in October 2019, so if it does indeed hit shelves in 2023, that’s a pretty sizeable wait time for fans. To tide us over, a couple of reps for the studio have put out a video showing off some fresh footage from the brawler. Eurogamer has the scoop, and you can check out the presentation below:
“We’re excited to share that Project L will be a tag-team style fighting game, where you’ll build and pilot a team of two different champions,” Tom Cannon (one of the stars of the video) explained in a blog post. “In this preview, you’ll see we’ve updated the game’s art style and included a breakdown of a champion’s kit. You’ll catch a glimpse of how we’re approaching controls with an easy-to-learn but hard-to-master mentality.” Probably still won’t stop certain folks from whinging about it being too difficult, though.
Cannon has also confirmed that “although [the team has] made a great deal of progress”, Project L “will not be shipping in 2021 or 2022”. The earliest point we can expect further info is apparently the back end of 2022.
Strap yourselves in then, guys. We’re in this for the long haul; assuming we’re all even still here next year. I’ll be 12 months older, and maybe I’ll be a little wiser as well – ahahaha, couldn’t keep a straight face.
Are you excited for Project L? Are you prepared to wait it out? Let us know!
Via, EuroGamer.
