After 6 long years SNK brings us the new version of the much loved KOF, featuring some new faces and most of the familiar faces. With graphic and gameplay improvements, but maintaining the usual mystique and style.
The King of Fighters XV It is available for PC, Xbox series X, Xbox series S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Little introduction needs the youngest of a long list belonging to a franchise with 28 years of history on the back, which has been able to garner praise from both critics and the most demanding gamers due to its dizzying dynamics and fluid gameplay. At Bitwares we had the privilege of accessing early access and we will tell you about it here.
Closing chapters – No spoiler mood-
The story of the game temporarily continues the plot arc that presented its predecessor version, partially closing the history of the Verse saga produced after the disturbances in time caused by Ash Crimson. This time Antonov will not be the organizer and will be a normal playable character.
In addition, some characters that will trigger specific events in the story when playing with them will gain capital relevance. Among the most outstanding we will have Shun’Ei (who debuted in King of Fighters XIV) and Isla (new character).
The original roster presents us with 39 characters, 3 of them new. In addition to a large number of DLC characters not yet confirmed. The combat mode is the traditional one in teams of 3, which can be chosen entirely or make a mix of characters from different teams. Most of the classic characters are present, but with some notable absences (I reserve the right to name them so as not to break anyone’s heart).
Gameplay, Impeccable
The gameplay of King of Fighters XV is absolutely wonderful, with a fluidity and speed that reminds me of my younger days playing KOF ’98 in neighborhood arcades. We will have several modes to test our skills: story mode, offline and online 1v1 and 3v3 versus mode, training mode, challenge mode (where we will complete missions making the most aggressive combos) and a gallery mode.
It is important, or rather VERY IMPORTANT, to clarify that the online mode has the rollback netcode (thanks SNK for listening to your followers!). If you don’t know what is the rollback netcode and how important it is to play online I leave you a note explaining everything in this link.
Graphics and sounds, big improvements
The graphics of King of Fighters XV They were made on the Unreal Engine 4 engine, the game is entirely made in 3D but is played in two-dimensional plane (the so-called 2.5D). The graphics and animations are really spectacular, it seems that in some animations there is a drop in framerate barely perceptible to the eye (only during the story, not during combat).
The sound section is excellent, the music on the stages is an ideal accompaniment, the voices of the characters are entirely in Japanese, maintaining most of the same voice actors as the previous version. Fortunately for those of us who don’t speak the language of the land of the rising sun, the game comes with subtitles in Spanish. We also have a DJ Station mode where we can create a playlist with our favorite songs from the game.