Guilty Gear Strive

Man am I excited to talk about Guilty Gear Strive today! I first experienced this series on the Sega Dreamcast back in 2000 and this is the latest entry in the series and a direct sequel to the game that we got back in 2016. One of the coolest things about this game for me is that they are going to make a dedicated PS5 version which I am very excited to try out.

Finishing What Was Started

I think that it is really cool how the story is following on from the events of Guilty Gear Xrd. With that, though I am sure will come a bit of confusion for people who did not play that game. The basics of the story are that “That Man” the one who has caused all of this destruction needs to be put in his place more now than ever, the fate of the world hangs in the balance as the story is brought to a close!

2D With Some Depth

I am going to say right now that Guilty Gear Strive is the best-looking fighting game ever made… so far. This thing is just pure eye candy! The roster of 15 characters are all very unique and the game moves at a blistering pace, so much so that it can be hard to keep track of what the heck is going on.

What I truly love about the visuals is the way they are like hand-drawn 2D sprites, but the game also has a great 3D effect going on with the stage design. Everything about the visuals in this game is spectacular.

15 Fighters Ready For War!

I just mentioned that there are 15 fighters in the game. 13 of these are returning characters such as the usual suspects in Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske. The rest of the cast is awesome, but it is the two new characters I am most interested in checking out. Nagoriyuki has a style that I think is very cool he is part samurai and part vampire and his gimmick is that he takes his opponent's blood to power up his own attacks. The other character is a badass chick called, Giovanna. I love the whole thing that she has going on. She is like a special agent, but she also has a spirit wolf that she can use in battle. Two new characters may not seem like much, but I feel that these two will make a great addition to the roster.

Breaking The Wall Down!

The gameplay of Guilty Gear Strive looks like it is going to be pure mayhem. I feel that they are doing something very clever here in that they are changing things up, but keeping the core of what we know and love. The new gameplay feature I want to give some special attention to is the Wall Break. The Wall Break lets you break into a new stage when you hit a combo at the edge of the screen.

Pros:

• The two new characters are fun
• The gameplay is fast and skill-based
• I like the direction they are taking the story in
• It looks and sounds amazing

Cons:

• Some might find it a tad too fast-paced
• Sometimes it may be a bit too flashy for its own good