I don't want to think about how much money I'd have had if I invested all the quarters I poured into Capcom's fighting games into stocks and bonds. No, I'm just going to be grateful that now I can pay a flat price for the games and keep it pushing. One thing's certain, I'm going to have a wealth of options to try in the upcoming months.
2XKO
With a successful foothold established in MOBAs, Riot is now branching its popular League of Legends characters out into almost every game genre from collectible card games to yes, tag team fighters. 2XKO will be the first tag fighter up this year, releasing January 20 on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
There were 11 fighters in early access, and they were a pretty diverse mix. Ekko, of course, uses time manipulation to deal damage. Caitlin brings her sniper skills to the table. Teemo is, well, annoying as heck just as usual.
Some of the concerns brought up so far are the relatively small roster (at least so far) and the length of combos. Game Director Shaun Rivera has addressed the problem in a video message.
"Combo length is far too long in our game. This is something we feel pretty strongly about, and we’re actually actively working on addressing today," Rivera said.
I want to be clear that it isn’t something you’re going to see immediately addressed in our first patch of our first season next year. This is something we’re going to have to take multiple stabs at over time.
And the main reason here is that there are many knobs we can turn that will have many downstream effects."
In any case, 2XKO is free-to-play. So it won't cost you anything to see if you want to live life as a Teemo main in another game.
Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls
It wouldn't be a tag team fighter resurgence unless Marvel Comics characters were involved, would it?
Arc System is the most obvious contender for Marvel vs Capcom's throne, but the truth is you're maining a single character. You'll be calling in three other characters to assist with combos, reversals, and just generally styling on your opponent.
While you choose a roster of four characters before the match, you start with only a single one unlocked. As you perform in-game actions such as Wall Breaks, you unlock the others. Longtime Arc System players may recognize this style from Guilty Gear Strive. It definitely fits with a comic-book themed fighter. After all, the more of Marvel Manhattan you tear apart, the more likely it is you'd encounter even more crimefighters.
In addition to the typical light, medium, and heavy attacks, each character brings their own unique combat mechanic. Captain America uses his mighty shield to block attacks, for example. Spider-Man will do all kinds of web swings and throws. Fighting game legend Justin Wong shows off some spectacular spider moves here:
Some critics are concerned the auto combos might make Fighting Souls lack the needed spice to compete with other fighters. It doesn't have a release date yet, but Arc System is confident we'll see it in 2026.
Invincible VS
Think, Mark, think! Look what these other tag fighters have to do to mimic a fraction of our power! Skybound Games is a new indie venture that will handle projects based on Skybound's franchises which include The Walking Dead, Outcast, and of course, Invincible.
It wouldn't be Invincible if the violence depicted in the game wasn't bloody, visceral, and constant.
A roster of 18 heroes so far includes the obvious ones such as Omni-Man and Invincible, but also some interesting choices including Cecil Stedman, the shadowy government employee that keeps the Global Guardians going behind the scenes.
Obviously, he can't stand toe-to-toe with a superhuman, so Cecil uses an assortment of superpowered weapons and many, many cameo fighters. His inclusion shows that literally any character from Robert Kirkman's comic and hit TV adaptation might show up in the game.
There's even a brand new character depicted in the YouTube video here. That character, Ella Mental, was created specifically for this game and portrayed by rapper/singerTerra Whack. She'll be an important part of Invincible Vs' much anticipated story mode.
This one is developed by Quarter Up, a studio with members who worked on the 2013 reboot of classic fighter Killer Instinct. Here teams of three battle for supremacy, and they can tag in/out in the middle of combos to keep them going. Invincible Vs is coming April 30.