Recent reviews by dronevil

shiki torno

As of writing this review, I no longer have any friends who play Trove with me. I just do this ♥♥♥♥ 'cause I'm unemployed.

UPDATE: This review was written (as positive) when the game launched with very, very broken functionality. The game is now completely playable online, with crashes being far less common. Can 100% recommend this now to anyone who's a fan of the genre.

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes is potentially the only mainstream 2D fighter that has been able to check every box on gameplay. Featuring a diverse cast with multiple different playstyles, and system mechanics that become more useful as you grow as a player, there is an insane amount of depth to the time you will spend playing this game and learning how to improve. Boasting a roster of 24 characters (with 3 more to be released as DLC over the next year and a half), there is bound to be a character for everyone to stick to.

Now, let's get to the stuff that you fighting game players may want to know about, gameplay and mechanics. UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes (herein referred to as UNI2), while an anime / airdasher style fighter, is more ground-based akin to Street Fighter or King of Fighters. However, do not mistake the idea of a ground-based fighter with simplicity or slow gameplay. While you are lacking in traditional movement options (no double jumps, no super jumps, no airdashes), you have intense, fast-paced offense. Notably, UNI2 has Melty Blood's Reverse Beat mechanic. For those who don't know, Reverse Beat is a mechanic that allows you to, once per string, gatling (normal-to-normal cancel) backward, from heavies to lights. With a wide variety of normals and specials to mix throughout, offense is fast paced, yet far from shallow. You will be relying a lot on conditioning your opponent, and the way you open people up will depend on your play style and your attitude. Special moves are closer to something like Melty Blood (or Street Fighter) than they are Guilty Gear. Rather than a special being tied to a single input, or maybe two, a special is usually tied to the motion itself, giving you three* different variations of each special. A light version, a heavy version, and a metered or EX version. (* Some specials do not follow this rule exactly). Due to a focus on these EX specials, meter is not always saved for a super kill, but also used for defensive options, utility, and taking your turn back. Paired with the pace you gain meter, UNI2 is a game that forces you to be quick on your toes with resources, regardless of your character.

Now, what makes UNI2 especially different from other fighting games? The GRD gauge. I'm mostly going to cut through the excess explanation with the expectation that if you're reading this far, you've played a good bit of fighting games and have a bit of know-how. The GRD gauge is a shared meter (segmented into 12 blocks, 6 on each side) between both the players that is influenced by every action you take. How you move, how you defend, how you press forward, the way you play shifts the gauge in or out of your favor. Think how Negative Penalty in GG punishes you for running away for too long, except its all measured, and there's equal rewards for successful risk taking, good decision-making, etc. Where does this lead? Why does it matter? There is a clock attached to the GRD gauge. Every approximately 16 seconds, the player with more of the gauge filled up wins the "cycle" and gains a buff known as GRD Vorpal (or simply "Vorpal"). Vorpal gives your character a buff to one of their unique traits, a 10% damage increase, and access to Chain Shift, a move that can cancel what you are doing, pause the screen and convert your GRD into meter. You cannot simply win the GRD cycle by winning neutral. You don't always win one by winning the other. GRD is crucial to mastering the game, being able to plan your actions to not only win the battle on the screen, but to win the cycle of the ongoing second battle in the meter, is a skill that many high-level players continue to hone even now.

Past the gameplay, You get 40 colors, and 5 semi-customizable color slots for each character, online offers ranked and casual matchmaking, on top of simple player lobbies. UNI2 has implemented rollback netcode, allowing more stable connections from your region to people on the other end of the continent, if not beyond. (Your mileage may vary, depending on your location, connection, etc. Furthermore, read the beginning of the review.) Past that, the game has the widely desired Replay Takeover mechanic, allowing you to go back and play out certain situations from your matches over again to solve your problems in precise detail. And for the situations where you require maybe a bit less precision, the game still has a phenomenal training mode for you to practice combos, situations and setups.

Now, I may be biased, I have been playing since early into UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[cl-r] (the prior entry's) lifespan, and this is, or rather was my most anticipated game to release since before it was even announced. But regardless, if you've read this far, I'd say give the game an honest shot. Of course, it has flaws. The game is evidently rushed in a lot of spots, the PC port was released in poor condition thanks to Arc System Works' poor handling of publishing, and the regional pricing is so horrid that players in places like South America simply can't afford to get the game at launch price. Even so, this is one of the smoothest, cleanest, and most fun fighting game I have played in my entire time pressing buttons and landing combos.

Would I recommend UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes? If you love fighting games, yes. If you're disappointed by the state of the current leading games in 2D fighters, yes. If you want a game that provides much to explore, a game that is still very unsolved, and a game that will continue to develop for a while, UNI2 is the game you are looking for.

(P.S. This is my first time writing an honest review. I've left comments open, so if I've made any mistakes or gotten anything wrong, let me know.)

Can they patch in usable frame data for Bedman?

Worst gift I've ever recieved because no one wants to play with me anymore :(

would you believe me if i said i'm still really bad at this game?

underrated TBH

this game still sucks don't look at my hours btw

UPDATE: Randy Pitchford is going to hell. Learn to download steam depots.

peggle