Guilty Gear: Strive

Guilty Gear: Strive is the next installment of the Arc System Works studio's fighting games series that launched in 1998. The game is the seventh part of the main series. Strive continues the story of the conflict between protagonist Sol Badguy and his arch-enemy Asuka R. Kreutz.

Mechanics

Like the previous installments in the series, Strive is a classic 2D fighting game where two protagonists battle each other in a variety of arenas. Unlike other brawlers such as Tekken or Street Fighter, Guilty Gear: Strive focuses heavily (though slightly less than the previous installments) on aerial combat. Each character has access to a special attack that knocks enemies off the ground, allowing you to perform long aerial attack combos.

During fights we have to watch our health gauge and tension gauge. It recharges when we play aggressively, attack an opponent or get close to him. Gained tension we can spend on more powerful attacks or Roman Cancel. This technique allows us to temporarily slow down time and forcibly return our hero to his default stance. Roman Cancel can be used offensively to prolong our combos or defensively to interrupt our enemy's combos. In emergency situations we have access to Psych Burst, which is a technique that pushes the enemy away from us. However, we can use it only once in a while.

New in the series are dynamic arenas, reminiscent of those in the Dead or Alive series. When we manage to push the opponent to the end of the arena, further attacks can pierce him through an invisible wall at the edge of the stage. The fight then moves to another location.

The basic version of the game features fifteen playable heroes that differ in their style of gameplay. Some are balanced, some are adapted for ranged combat, and some focus on powerful grappling. Additional heroes are available for purchase in season passes.

Game modes

Strive includes several single-player and multiplayer modes. The training mode is designed to teach the player the gameplay basics. Arcade mode allows us to fight against AI-controlled opponents in a series of skirmishes. Mission mode imposes objectives on us to develop our skills, such as completing a certain number of grapples or recharging our tension gauge. We can also try our hand at survival mode, where we face several enemies in a row without healing between skirmishes. In the story module, we can watch a several-hour long movie, divided into shorter chapters, presenting the plot of Guilty Gear: Strive.

The game also allows us to fight against other players through local or network multiplayer. The network rankings are shown as a multi-storey tower. Depending on our skills we are assigned to one of the floors, and with each victory we climb higher. Matchmaking selects opponents on a similar floor to us, ensuring that we face players similar to us in skill.

Technical aspects

The game offers a nice, 3D graphics maintained in a manga style. Particularly impressive are the detailed backgrounds and lighting effects accompanying the more powerful attacks.

Last updated on 01 September 2024