Laser League, the future competitive sport from OlliOlli developer Roll7 and publisher 505 Games, has an open beta launching very soon.
Laser League game promises Tron-like light games and team-based competitive action, with just a hint of moderate violence; imagine crossing ice hockey with a laser light show at the planetarium and you’d be in the right ballpark. Speaking of ballparks, the Laser League open beta will feature a bunch of hyper-futuristic stadia and event-specific maps, including:
- Empire Campus Stadium (London, UK)
- Gauntlet: Restrictive map that quickly escalates in complexity
- Spin Cycle: Defensive map with perpetual long lasers
- Geng Hao Megaplex (Tianjin, China)
- Warzone: Multiple short firing nodes
- Crusher: Short moving lasers trap players
- Silvertip Arena (Detroit, USA)
- Y-Control: Long central orbiting lasers and shorter rotating lasers
- Prime: Interlocking lasers that allow players to expand control by owning the centre of the map
In an interesting shift for a pseudo-sports game, Laser League also features RPG-like character classes. Much like building out a balanced team or pulling off a complex meta in Overwatch, you’ll need to mix and match to get the best out of the action. We’re expecting more in the final release, but here are six classes available in the open beta:
- Blade: Offers a short-range attack to eliminate opponents
- Smash: Provides a longer-range dash attack, to send opponents flying across the pitch
- Snipe: Allows players to drop a marker and trace a line across the pitch, then teleport back, eliminating anyone in their path
- Ghost: Gives players a few seconds of invincibility to safely grab laser nodes or revive teammates
- Thief: Delivers opportunities to steal laser nodes that have been activated by the opposition
- Shock: Lends powers of electricity to stun rivals
The Laser League open beta kicks off – is that the right sporting parlance? – on Friday, January 26th at 9am PST (5pm GMT) and run through to Sunday, January 28th at 10pm PST (6am GMT on Monday, January 11th). Servers will be available in North America, Europe, Russia and Singapore, but players in adjacent territories should dip into the nearest servers if they want to take part.
