Laser League [Game Preview]

Javier Garcia

“ Laser League is an exhilarating, futuristic, and immensely fun team-based sport.”

• System: PC


• Publisher: 505 Games


• Developer: Roll7


• Release Date: Early 2018


• Pricing:N/A


• Rating:N/A


• Genre: Indie, Sports, Multiplayer


• Players: 1-8


• Official Website: http://www.laserleaguegame.com/

Specs (PC)

OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-4170 @ 3 GHz or AMD A10-5800K APU @3.78GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 or AMD Radeon R9 270x
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 4 GB available space
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX compatible sound card
*Additional Notes: This title supports 64-bit Windows ONLY.

Developer, Roll7 (Not A Hero), and publisher, 505 Games, (Dead by Daylight) have decided to combine forces and try their hand at the eSports genre with their new title Laser League. This entry into the genre is a welcome surprise because of its addictively fun gameplay and easy to pick up mechanics that almost anyone can learn in about five minutes. Laser League comes out early 2018 but 505 Games has been allowing gamers to have an early taste of the game via "field test" events and open betas.

Impression

We were lucky enough to take part in one of those early Laser League field tests earlier this month. First off, the event ran smoothly by the staff through the use of Discord, which allowed staff and players to communicate flawlessly and setup 3v3 matches amongst one another. We were given a brief overview of the game"s premise, core mechanics, and a few tips on how to use specific classes and their modifiers. Once that was out of the way, participants of the field tests were allowed to enjoy the fast-paced, Tron-like style gameplay with free reign. We couldn"t have had a more enjoyable experience!

Okay, now to the gameplay. In case you don"t know how the game works, here"s a quick rundown. Two teams of 2-4 players battle it out on various pitches (stages) by touching nodes of light that will turn into lasers with the color of the team that first touched them. They"ll stay lit up on the stage for a short amount of time, but in that time the objective is to have members of the opposite team run through your team"s colored lasers. Once all members of the opposite team have been hit by your lasers they are eliminated. and your team earns 1 point for the round. Earn 3 points to win the match, win 2 out of 3 matches to win the set and emerge victoriously.

Those are the basics of the game, now let"s get into some more mechanics and tips that we found useful when playing Laser League. When it comes to the various classes, Shock is the easiest of the six to pick up. Shock"s ability allows him to temporarily throw out a forcefield around his body that will stun any member of the opposing team and knock them down for a short time. If your own laser passes over their body while they"re down they will be unable to play out the remainder of the round unless one of their teammates runs over that player"s icon and revives him. The AOE (area of effect) of the forcefield is wide enough that you can even hit multiple members at the same time. It"s a simple and rewarding class to use.

Blade and Smash would be the next two classes that are easy to pick up. Blade uses a big scythe-like weapon to slice opposing players and render them useless unless they are revived. Smash uses a big shield to bash players nearly half-way across the screen, use this bash to hit them into your team"s lasers and knock them out until they"re revived. These two classes works have similar attack angles and speeds, which is why they"re grouped together. The other classes (thief, ghost, and snipe) are slightly more difficult to use but we have no doubt that players will learn how to use them effectively and they"ll probably be some of the strongest classes overall.

Besides the classes, there are some mechanics about the stages that you should know. Firstly, you can run through any of the four walls and end up on the opposite side. This allows for escapes of incoming enemy lasers and to catch your opponents off-guard with your attack abilities. Lasers seem to spawn at the same locations and times in any given match. Getting used to those positions and timings will allow you to get an advantage over the other team. However, after a game is over the node spawn points will change. At higher levels, knowing the exact patterns that nodes will produce will be used in conjunction with other strategies to force enemies to run through your own lasers.

Another helpful tip: in 3v1 situations have one player guard the bodies of the two downed enemies while 2 of your teammates chase after the last enemy. This helps dissuade that one remaining enemy from trying to respawn their teammates. Instead, they have to try to outplay your teammates 2v1, which makes it more unlikely that they"ll win the round.

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Even though Laser League is still in its beta form, we see huge potential in this game. It can easily pick up a niche following like Rocket League did. But, it"s also simple enough to pick up that it caters to a more general audience as well. We would love to see this game gain a huge following and have dedicated players and teams competing in high-level matches. However, that"s way down the line. For now, we"ll gladly enjoy the remainder of the open beta and are looking forward to the full release in early 2018.

Author: Javier Garcia

Hey guys! I"m a huge fan of anime and video games. I used to be a competitive fighting game player (search my name in YouTube). So, I guess it was natural for me to make my way over here to Japan. I teach English, write anime articles, and put together videos when I have time. I hope you enjoy the content we"ve created for you here at Honey"s Anime!

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