#”Guilty Gear -Strive-” in the test: Can the anime flogger convince?

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“#”Guilty Gear -Strive-” in the test: Can the anime flogger convince?
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“Guilty Gear” is back! Can Arc System Works convince with “Guilty Gear -Strive-”? Our test reveals it!

Guilty Gear -Strive-

Release: Already available

Genre: Fighting game

Plattform: Playstation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Entwicklerstudio: Arc System Works

Publisher: Bandai Namco

You can buy the game here:

PlayStation: PlayStation 4 (Amazon) – PlayStation 5 (Amazon)

PC: Steam

Nach «Dragon Ball: FighterZ» kommt «Guilty Gear -Strive-»

At the beginning of 2018, the developer Arc System Works released a 2.5D fighting game called Dragon Ball: FighterZ, which is still celebrated by fans today and has even established itself in the esports sector. Now the developer is returning to its origins and breathing new life into one of their most famous fighting game series: “Guilty Gear”.

With “Guilty Gear -Strive-” the seventh offshoot of the “Guilty Gear” main series was recently released. Here, too, Arc System Works relies on 3D elements combined with 2D gameplay. This gives you a look that is very similar to that of “Dragon Ball: FighterZ”.

Easy to learn, difficult to master

The “Guilty Gear” series is known as one of the heaviest fighting game series. With the latest game, Arc System Works wants to make it easier for beginners to get started. For this purpose, a tutorial mode was integrated into the game, which really impressed me in terms of scope. The tutorial starts by learning the basic movesets like hitting, dodging, and dashing. After you have internalized the moves, the tutorial mode develops into a missons mode. The missions consist of tasks such as trying out certain combos or super attacks in a wide variety of scenarios. Here you learn to deal with a total of 15 playable characters. Only in this mode do you realize how profound, complex and unique the combat system of “Guilty Gear -Strive-” is. Because of the different character types, the characters do not always control each other in the same way. For example, some do less damage and are quick on the move. Others, on the other hand, are slow, but give it a lot. The tutorial from “Guilty Gear -Strive-” is a success and teaches even fairly inexperienced players very well what one needs to know about the combat system.

Some techniques take some practice. The tutorial mode can be of great help here.

If you have a few moves on it, you can refine your skills against AI opponents in various solo modes. Here you can test yourself in arcade, survival, versus or training mode. In addition to punches, kicks and block options, various special attacks and super attacks are available, which can be triggered using the appropriate key combination. The super attacks are the so-called overdrives that can be carried out when the tension action bar is full enough. This can be used to wreak havoc on the enemy. There is also the burst bar, which can be used to perform psych bursts. With the help of a Psych-Burst you can save yourself from unfavorable situations (e.g. freeing yourself from an opponent’s combo). You can also use the stage itself, because with wall breaks you can hurl opponents through the arena and thus inflict more damage on them.

By the way: “Guilty Gear -Strive-” punishes people who play too defensively. If you run away from your opponent all the time, it can happen that the tension bar charges more slowly. In this game you inevitably have to play more aggressively. Some might not like this, but in my case I didn’t mind.

In arcade mode, beginners notice how difficult “Guilty Gear -Strive-” can be. Even in the normal level of difficulty, the AI opponents deliver an exciting fight. But despite the difficulty, it’s a lot of fun. Because of the challenge, you are constantly motivated to get better.

The story film is just under four hours long.

The story mode of “Guilty Gear -Strive-” is very different from what you might imagine. Instead of playing yourself, you get the story told here in an in-game film. For Guilty Gear newbies interested in the show’s story, it’s a good story summary.

A beautiful anime flogger

The graphics of “Guilty Gear -Stive-” are beautiful, which unfortunately I couldn’t always let it affect me in the heat of the moment. But let me say so much: “Guilty Gear -Strive-” is a wonderful anime flogger! The change to the 2.5D style à la “Dragon Ball FighterZ” is doing the game series very well. The anime graphics in combination with the detailed battle arenas and the great battle effects look really great. The characters in particular look confusingly similar to a hand-drawn anime.

But “Guilty Gear -Strive” not only has beautiful graphics, it also offers a very energetic soundtrack. Because the title has a rock soundtrack just like the previous parts. The tracks are the perfect accompaniment to the action-packed fights and I really like them.

An online playground for veterans

Of course, the most fun in a fight is when you play with others. With “Guilty Gear -Strive-” it is also the heart of the game. Either you do it offline in 1 vs 1 mode or you go online for it. But you should only venture into online matches if you are already practiced. Because with “Guilty Gear -Strive-” veterans of the game series often gather in online mode.

Once you have practiced enough and feel ready to go online, you have several options for doing so. The tower mode works like a ranked mode. In this mode, the players are assigned to one of the ten floors depending on their skill level. Victories let you level up in the mode and the further you go, the greater the challenge. But be careful: if you suffer a lot of defeats, you can quickly get down again.

In “Guilty Gear -Strive-” you can’t just hit your head. You can also go fishing in the online lobby and get new outfits.

While you are tied to the floor in tower mode, you can choose your opponent yourself in park mode. By the way, you can create your own avatar for this online lobby. You can customize this by fishing for equipment in a playful way. Incidentally, I couldn’t find any lags or other problems in my online matches. This is probably due to the praised Rollback Netcode. This ensures that delays are minimized – even if the other player is at the other end of the world.

Conclusion: a terrific anime flogger (rating: 9/10)

With “Guilty Gear -Strive-” the developers of Arc System Works were able to show once again that they are masters in their field in the fighting game genre. The anime flogger does a lot of things right and refines the “guilty gear” formula with good innovations. Thanks to the extensive tutorial and the story in film form, the game is also suitable for beginners as a good introduction to the game series. As a “guilty gear” casual, the online mode can sometimes be really nerve-wracking because you often meet “guilty gear” professionals – even if you are on a lower floor. Added to this are the sometimes long loading times (PS4), which can be annoying in the long run.

We would like to thank Bandai Namco for providing the review copy!

The article «Guilty Gear -Strive-» in the test: Can the anime beater convince? first appeared on BuradaBiliyorum.Com.

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