Over the past few days we have had the opportunity to try The King of Fighters XVthe highly anticipated new chapter of the fighting game frachise by SNK Corporation. After playing the title thoroughly and taking numerous slaps both from the CPU and from other online players, we are ready to offer you our review di The King Of Fighters XV.
The King Of Fighters XV: our review
Let’s start with the part of the game that we approached first, namely that of the tutorialto which we have given priority to get an idea of the combat system for which the developers have opted for this new chapter of King Of Fighters.
This section is structured in many small mini guides covering all the basic moves of the game, 35 in total to be exact, each of which is divided into three parts, the explanation of the move in question, our execution of the same and then a little insight into its use in battle.
Overall we are faced with a rather basic teaching method, which in the end is a bit too hasty to properly introduce the basics of King of Fighters XV combat, given that the information is given all together and without the player really having the time or the way to internalize it properly.
Along with the Tutorial Mode we find that Missionwhich although it may sound like a sort of Arcade Mode, is nothing more than an extension of the previous guides, only this time we will be asked to perform five combos for each character for a grand total of 195 challenges.
On the one hand, missions are a great way to put the game’s roster of fighters to the teston the other hand, on the contrary, we are again faced with too general guidelines which, combined with the lack of a specific tutorial for each member of the roster, make the learning process of a new warrior really difficult.
A real shame if we consider that each character is pleasantly different from the previous one in practically everything and that the feeling that is obtained by choosing one rather than the other is radically different.
The gameplay
Having taken stock of the partial deficiency of the tutorials, does the quality of the gameplay compensate? The answer is a resounding yes, given that the King Of Fighters combat system was created with some very good basic ideasnet of a few too many edges here and there.
The gameply of the game, in fact, is reconfirmed as devoted to action and designed to be as fun as possible, even if it does not lose technicalities in the process. After doing some tests, in fact, it becomes clear that the skeleton of the fight is fairly difficult to master and you will need to have a certain dexterity to perform the most complex combos.
Particularly beautiful and scenographic the moves Climaxof the real final moves in all senses, not to mention the unprecedented management of moves EXwhich now depend on the appropriate bar, which allows you to perform various different actions, and the MAX mode which now has new requirements to be activated.
In short, all small ideas for further stratify the combatwhich actually pad in hand works, once you have overcome the obstacle of learning the combos and the initial bewilderment.
Less elegant the tookperhaps the only real flaw of the combat system, which consist of proximity actions that are practically impossible to fail since if you are too far away to perform them the game interprets them as simple attacks.
At the moment, the online sector is more difficult to evaluate, which is divided into casual and classified encounters, i.e. those that take into account the ranking based on the results of the individual player. To understand how well this system works we will have to wait a few months, but for the moment we can say that the netcode rollback does its duty very well, guaranteeing matches practically always fluid.
Various history and technicality
Weak point of the title instead is the story mode, which is none other than one Arcade mode disguised as narration. We don’t find many narrative holds going forward in the short main campaign, and the events that happen on the screen are only intelligible by doing the necessary research at a later time.
Again this is a missed opportunity, given that the background narrativo of the characters is rich and varied and has nothing to envy to many of his colleagues who also focus on this playful component.
Finally, we were particularly pleased to find the so-called Training mode, which allows you to train to play even with your friends online. A nice addition that allows you to better understand how to improve in making combos, if you train with the right partner.
Ultimately then we close this review by saying that The King Of Fighters XV is an excellent fighting game, fun, solid and frenetic, which lacks here and there some roughness that should have been mitigated, but which still remains a more than pleasant experience for everyone. fans of the genre.
In short, if you are looking for a title to beat your hands with a high rate of fun, this is the game for you.