Waiting on netcode testing
As of right now, the embargo on Guilty Gear Xrd has lifted — we can talk about it, and hot damn is there a lot to say. The game is beautiful, extremely crisp, and the gameplay is just as good as it always was. While some cast members are mysteriously absent (like Johnny or Baiken) the newcomers bring a lot to the meta-game, and new mechanics are added on top of everything like Roman Cancels, Dust Attacks, and Gatling Combos.
What’s really crazy is how much like an anime Xrd looks. A lot of the cutscenes are actually in-engine, and even some of the supers and Instant Kills look cinematic. Even after a few weeks of testing this game still blows me away — especially so since the hardcore spirit of the series has been preserved. It looks just as good as the videos.
There’s also a bit more here for solo players than normal, including a full-on arcade mode with individual stories, and a storybook-like option that lets the conclusion of this chapter play out. It’s not going to win any writing awards, but anime fans and Guilty Gear enthusiasts will love the fact that there’s more world building here.
Our full review isn’t quite ready though, since we haven’t been able to test the netcode at all. The lobbies look great. There’s plenty of spectator potential and a whole host of options for ranked and unranked play — hell, there’s even PS3 and PS4 Cross-Play. But we haven’t been able to get in yet and give it a shake, so we’ll wait until we can do that first.
