The 2XKO alpha lab test is well underway, and as expected players are digging into it and uncovering all manner of nasty combos and dastardly tech. However, through this journey of twitter-clip exploration a question has risen to the top of the general 2XKO discussion. Are overly-long combos any fun, and should they have a home in 2XKO?
By overly-long, I’m referring to those eye-watering combos that weave between characters, sometimes linking multiple supers together, that leaves the victim locked into a period of helplessness as their oppoent styles on then for ages. For some, this ability to pull off 15+ second combos is where the juice is, where all expression of mastery can be found. For others, being able to take your hands of your controller and check Twitter mid-match isn’t exactly riveting.
This debate is playing out online. On one side, thsoe who feel these long periods of essentially downtime aren’t great for the game. Game developer Keits from Iron Galaxy brought in his own research, which found that 6-8 seconds of downtime is where frustration starts to bubble up. Whereas, others like influencer Cosmonaut Marcus have spoken up about how fundamental overcoming this feeling is to the fighting game experience. The idea that you’re meant to lose a lot, for a while, and pushing through that feeling is how fighting games become rewarding.
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