Despite naming my dog after a League of Legends character, its fighting game spinoff 2XKO hasn't been on my radar. My fighting game experience is minimal, and I've never had the confidence to try online matches. Getting better at the genre is a noncommittal dream – sandwiched between wanting to learn the drums and speak a second language – but unlike the drums, which my partner has dissuaded me from with pleas to think of our tiny house and its thin walls, I don't really have an excuse for not giving fighting games a better shot. It's just scary!
Which is all to say: when Games Editor Oscar Taylor-Kent asked if I'd like to check out 2XKO, the excuses came flooding out. "But I suck at fighting games," I pleaded. "My dog ate my homework. Fighting games ate my dog!" Still, I had a trick under my sleeve. I'm good at League of Legends, and in theory, would already have an intuitive feel for its champion's kits in 2XKO. In theory.
Blind rage
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After several seconds of diplomatic consideration, my politest takeaway from being repeatedly shot by Caitlyn is that 2XKO has a surprising mix of close and long-range fighters. Being outranged isn't as disadvantageous as it is in other games – 2XKO is a tag fighter, so picking two fighters means you can round out their individual weaknesses – but instead of thinking logically, I pick brawlers Darius and Illaoi for my first match because I can play them in League.
Against the much slippier Ahri and Caitlyn, I fare… poorly. Darius blunders into each one of Caitlyn's bear traps, and I can't work out how to make Illaoi do the Tentacle Stuff I know her for in League. One defeat turns into five, and If there were prizes for humiliation, I'd be too embarrassed to collect my trophies. Part of the issue is that I still don't know the controls – 2XKO's tutorial throws a lot of information at you and doesn't wait around to see if it sticks – but I get the sense that I've also doubled down on an aggressive playstyle I can't keep pace with.
Admitting defeat and slinking back to the fighter selection screen, inspiration strikes. Nasty inspiration. 2XKO's fighters may not have much mechanical overlap with their League counterparts, but the ethos of their playstyles remain intact. Illaoi is an in-your-face monster in both games, while Darius still relies on his axe-hook to keep people within his orbit. Would Teemo, a fighter known for being an absolute nightmare to play against in League of Legends, be just as annoying in 2XKO?
If you haven't played League of Legends, a little context. Teemo is a ranged character designed to be played in a lane of mostly melee fighters. Teemo poisons anyone he hits, has a speed buff to keep his enemies at arm's reach, and an ability that blinds champions. That's not to mention the poisonous mushrooms Teemo litters around the map, or his invisibility, or even the nasally laugh he gurgle-giggles whilst poisoning you. You get the picture – Teemo sucks to play against. In 2XKO, I counted on him being the same.
Playing as Darius and Teemo doesn't immediately fix my issues – namely 'I don't know how to press buttons' – but they make much better use of 2XKO's tag-in tag-out system. Having Teemo in the back pocket means I don't have to play as aggressively, as his mushrooms and poison darts are as effective in 2XKO as they are in League. Rather than trying to stay glued to Caitlyn or Ahri forever, I can apply pressure as Darius until inevitably fumbling a combo, then switch to Teemo to keep fighting from a distance.
I'm describing this plan with the benefit of hindsight. In the heat of the moment, it was a lot of button-mashing trial and error. I still don't know what I was pressing to throw mushrooms, nor can I explain how Teemo was briefly transformed into a side-scrolling attack helicopter. But there's one thing I do know: after a scrappy final round filled with shithousery, I won my first 2XKO match.
It should be painfully clear by now, but I'm not experienced enough to weigh in on how 2XKO slots into the broader fighting scene. But as someone who's played League of Legends for the last 15 years, it's wonderful to see its characters remain so vibrant in another medium. Fighting games that create strong individual identities for their fighters – think Smash, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter – have always hooked me the longest, more so than any technical or mechanical detailing, and 2XKO already has a vast universe available to draw more characters from.
Truthfully, I didn't expect to play 2XKO for more than a few matches. Yet here I sit, counting down the minutes until I can convince the rest of my League pals to go toe-to-toe in the 2D realm. After all, I've lived in this world long enough to become its villain. Another round in the mushroom minefield, anyone?
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