The first reactions to Project L's playable demo are in, and they're overwhelmingly positive.
Over the past weekend, Riot debuted a playable Project L demo at EVO 2023 in Las Vegas, finally rolling out their long-gestating fighting game for anyone at the event to try. Now that fighting pros and fans alike have had the chance to go hands-on with Riot's new game, they've got nothing but praise for it.
Just below for example, one EVO 2023 attendee calls the demo "CRAZY," pointing to an extensive Ahri combo attack. There's no denying the demo footage looks absolutely slick, with character combos and the switch between main and backup characters in particular looking pretty sublime.
THIS GAME IS CRAZY #ProjectL pic.twitter.com/COTUjTMp23August 5, 2023
More EVO 2023 attendees have sounded off with similar thoughts just below. For Project L to be playable for the fighting genre's most hardened fans at EVO and come away with basically universal praise should be seen as a serious win for Riot's new fighting game.
When I say I am on the Project L hype train I mean it. Beside Ekko I would love to see Samira or K'Sante next. pic.twitter.com/V5RnMDexowAugust 8, 2023
Played #ProjectL I love it soo much! I can’t wait to play more! #evo2023 thank you! @riotgames pic.twitter.com/OKO0bbjSIFAugust 6, 2023
So #ProjectL was a blast. Can't wait to play the full version! pic.twitter.com/Xpspqh7wlzAugust 5, 2023
These reactions to Project L are also notable because it's one of the scant times we've seen or heard anything from Riot about the game in over four years. After being announced in 2019 amid a slate of other projects, Project L has basically gone radio silent since then, with its developers only popping up periodically to offer slight updates.
In a previous update last month, Riot revealed Project L actually supports 1v1, 2v2, and 2v1 matchups. Game director Shaun Rivera described it as "a bit like tag-team wrestling" as one fighter takes to the stage, while the other waits to be tagged in just offscreen. Project L looks pretty fast and ferocious from these new clips, and it's already got plenty of fans.
You can check out our guide to the best fighting games if you're after something to get stuck into to make the wait for Project L easier.
