Fighting games are really popular right now, with two heavy-hitters already existing this gen, Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V, 2018 started with another strong contender, Dragon Ball FighterZ. The good news for the FGC is not stopping there. Soul Calibur VI and Dead or Alive 6 have been the latest announcements and we will have hands on them soon. Let’s take a look at what the latter has to offer since its predecessor, Dead or Alive 5, back in 2012.
Dead or Alive 6
First things first, when will you be able to play the game itself. Well, that is a little far away since the announcement said sometime in early 2019.
You can expect it to launch no later than March 2019 since it does not need to compete with games of the different genre that might seem more accessible to the audience like Anthem, Metro Exodus, Days Gone, and Kingdom Hearts 3 just to name a few.
That does not mean fans cannot have their hand on it. The game will be playable at the Evolution Fighting Game Championship from August 3-5 in Vegas. Moreover, it has been rumored that players will also be treated to an online beta.
Gameplay
A few adjustments have been made to keep the core mechanics intact, yet bring in some new and fresh concepts to the gameplay. The game director Yohei Shimbori says:
“This game is a small departure from the last game… but things aren’t really slowed down, there is just a much bigger focus on more meaningful blows rather than small hits like in some previous games.”
The director goes on to explain how the combat was improved in a way which pleased the eye as well with certain changes like slow-mo, fatal rush, and the break gauge. These features have been introduced to make the action more cinematic and appealing so to engage participation and competition.
The slow-motion feature adds the suspense to the fight whenever a hard hit is landed. Furthermore, the body part that is at the tail end of this heavy hitter is also briefly highlighted for a sense of action. The Fatal Rush is a string of attacks that deal decent damage and come in quick successions.
These are harder to execute, however, in the latest iteration of the Dead or Alive series, beginners and newcomers will be able to perform these at the push of the Special button, the R1 or RB button by default. Experts and advanced players can also use this to chain together and perform longer combos.
When enough hits have been performed or blocked, the super meter goes up. This Break Gauge can be utilized to perform Break Blow, a destructive and flashy super combo or a parry/counter called Break Hold against any type of attack: high, mid or low. These can be carried out with the use of the Special button along with some directional button inputs.
These moves and features add a little more depth and strategy to the layer of gameplay, all the while allowing newcomers the easy access they would want when they first start to play the game.
Characters and Stages
The stages have been revamped to provide more realism to the fight and at the same time being interactive and impacting the actual fight. Pushing your opponent against the ring full of spectators will cause him to bump against an audience member who in turn will push him back and cause him to lose balance, therefore, opening a window of attack.
Of course, it’s hard to say if we’ll see the craziness of the stages of previous games return but Shimbori promises that fans can somewhat expect similar arenas, although they may be toned down a tad bit to not feel over the top. The series finally aims to grow and be a part of the fighting game scene at the tournaments.
Concerning characters, this is also true because of how the overly sexualized presentation is toned down a little this time around. If you have been playing the previous entries, you would know how the female characters were a bit, shall I say, indecent because of the revealing outfits and some authentic physics at the wrong places. The director knows why the series has to grow up now:
“We wanted to make a more cool and mature Dead or Alive this time, and to that end, we made a conscious decision to make the characters less sexualized.”
This is maybe even more important in the climate we are living in right now where things have become a little more sensitive and personal. The lead character is a true gritty warrior thanks to the toning down. This allows attention to be paid to the actual fight and the character themselves.
Speaking of how characters change during the fight, you’ll be able to see them sweating after executing a move, making noises in anguish on receiving a hit and even showing visible wounds in the latter stage of the fight. Character models have thus been made more responsive and authentic. Everything from facial expressions to lighting and shadows to textures of the garments has been given a rework and polish.
“Our goal is to no longer force characters to look great at all times, but to leave that up to the natural flow of battle” says director in response to the dynamic nature of the fight.”
Game Modes
Offline content, as in previous entries, will be given a higher priority with story mode allowing you to play as all characters. Moreover, the campaign will be designed such as to serve as a tutorial for newcomers or returning players to polish and recount the moves of each character. A detailed training mode will also exist and the game will ship with an Arcade Mode.
The online mode will also be prominent and will have support from the developers throughout the cycle to make sure there are no laggy sessions, performance spikes or inconveniences when online play is concerned. The online mode is so players around the world can challenge each other and which goes into making the game even more competitive and skill-based.
We cannot wait to get our hands on the more grown-up, realistic yet fun and thrilling Dead or Alive game in the series. The game keeps the features that intrigued fans of the previous installments, yet brings something refreshing and new to mark it as a competitive e-sport. I hope that we will have more info for you guys near EVO 2018.
This is all we have in our Dead or Alive 6 info. roundup. If we missed anything that you would like to add, be sure to let us know in the comments section below!
