Approachability has long been a Gordian Knot for fighting games.
For many, many years, different games have taken various approaches
to broaden the appeal of the relatively niche genre.
Despite reaching wildly different levels of success, the overall concern of approachability still remains.
Guilty Gear Strive is the latest attempt at a series trying to reach a new and bigger audience.
It is without a doubt much easier to digest than previous Guilty Gear games,
and the new direction does come with some sacrifices.
Yet what Strive gains in return is monumental.
It is ultimately an incredible fighting game, one that’s exciting to both watch and play.
Thanks to its design and the tools included within the game, it's simple to quickly get up to speed
while also feeling like there’s always more to learn.
Strive is approachability done right, helping players along without babying them.
The game wants you to learn, and more importantly,
wants to show you how rewarding learning a fighting game can be.
It creates an insatiable desire to get better
because the next breakthrough in your own personal skill always feels right around the corner.
To understand why Strive works so well,
it's important to have a basic grasp on how it's different from previous Guilty Gear games.
While there are many differences to dig into,
a good example that clearly illustrates this new approach is the Gatling System.
In past games, many of even the most basic attacks would chain, or gatling, into each other,
creating long and flashy combos.
Gatling still exists in Strive, but you're far more limited
with which buttons can actually combo into each other.
At first, the approach seems oversimplified, but it's a perception that slowly changes over time.
In practice, the streamlined gatling system and high damage
allow new players to immediately feel like they're doing something of consequence.
It gives you the sense of having a fighting chance, even if you barely know what you're doing.
Strive creates this sensation of power without circumventing the systems of the game,
which is something auto combos in other games are guilty of.
Crucially, though, doing flashy and impressive things is still very possible,
it just requires a deeper understanding of the mechanics, like
how to utilize a Red Roman Cancel
or how certain attacks can chain into each other upon a successful counter-hit.
Strive takes an impressively measured approach overall,
letting new players feel awesome right away
while still being mechanically rich enough to appeal to veterans.
Still, there are changes here or there that may irk you
depending on your familiarity with the series.
Even simple things like Sol's Wild Throw not bouncing the opponent off the ground for a follow-up combo
takes the fun out of it just a bit.
There are more significant changes as well,
such as how Ramlethal is a far more straightforward and vanilla character
than her more complex iteration in Xrd.
While these changes may be understandably disappointing,
it all honestly feels worth it in the end.
Strive makes bold changes, but does so under a cohesive
and well thought out vision that's beneficial for the health of Guilty Gear overall
by allowing far more players to appreciate the series.
Simplicity also doesn't necessarily make things boring, as Strive demonstrates time and time again.
Ramlethal may be less complicated than she is in Xrd, but her massive range and powerful hits
are satisfying each and every time,
as is throwing her giant greatswords at the opponent, pinning them to the wall,
and watching them literally explode.
Strive does an incredible job of imbuing its cast with an abundance of personality,
a trait Guilty Gear has always shown with excellence.
Whether it's a classic character like May obliterating the opponent with dolphins
or a newcomer like vampire Nagoriyuki going into a blood-fueled rage,
each member of the cast has something that makes them appealing.
In fact, there’s so much to love
that it's hard not to gravitate toward multiple characters.
It doesn't hurt of course that Strive is one of the best looking games out there right now.
Its 3D models look like immaculate 2D anime characters, and the backgrounds are full of detail.
The soundtrack is also top notch, which is another Guilty Gear staple.
The various character themes will be rocking out in your head
days after you first hear them.
One of the best aspects of Strive is how effectively it teaches players
without requiring external guides or outside information.
While the tutorial itself is largely worthless,
there is an excellent and gigantic mission mode
that not only teaches mechanics specific to Guilty Gear,
but also general fighting game concepts that can be applied to other games.
Knowing what a meaty attack is or how to hit confirm, for instance,
are crucial tools that make earning victories that much easier.
Strive doesn't just explain these concepts, either.
You actually have to successfully apply them at least three times to pass an individual mission.
You can even watch replays within the game if you want to pick up strategies from other players.
As a genre, fighting games have a dictionary's worth of terms to learn
and so it's appreciated that Strive puts in significant effort
to help break down such a steep barrier.
However, it's a shame that it doesn't have a couple of basic additions.
The game doesn't offer frame data in training mode,
nor does it have lengthy combo trials for individual characters.
Both of these things can be found online, but it still would have been helpful if they were in the game.
Even more crucial than its teaching tools
is how well Strive handles online play.
It has a phenomenal implementation of rollback netcode, and while
it isn't necessary to go into the specifics,
know that the vast majority of matches feel fantastic
regardless of the distance between you and your opponent.
The longevity of so many fighting games has been absolutely torpedoed by poor netcode,
so it's great to see Strive at the front of the pack.
Beyond the netcode, its floor system is incredibly smart.
Rather than featuring a traditional ranking system,
Strive has you climb a tower with heavy metal names for the floors
like "Fade to Black" and "Symphony of Destruction."
The floor you're on denotes your level of skill,
and the higher the floor, the tougher the opponents.
What's crucial here is how well the floor system filters out players.
Whichever floor you're on, you'll be fighting players very close to your skill level.
What this means is that for the most part, every ranked match feels tantalizingly close.
Plus, once someone has ascended to the next floor,
they can't go back to the previous ones without being demoted,
preventing pros from bullying new players.
Constantly fighting players at your level
makes ranking up enjoyable instead of a rage-filled nightmare.
Helping to ease the anxiety is the fact
that Strive doesn't tell you when you're close to either ranking up to the next floor
or getting demoted to the previous one.
The game just wants you to play
and puts you where you need to be when the time is right.
It may seem like a small thing,
but purposefully hiding that information makes slugging it out online much more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, in a way, online is also Strive's biggest weakness.
The online lobby system, while novel, isn't very functional.
You create an avatar, dress them up, and move through a virtual lobby
approaching battle stations to challenge players.
While it definitely adds some personality to the proceedings,
far too many times you'll fail to match with another player
or even fail to just connect to the battle station.
With enough persistence you're able to get matches and sometimes it's smoother than others,
but regardless, there's definitely some ironing out that needs to be done here.
As far as single-player content goes, Strive doesn't go above and beyond,
but still offers some variety.
There’s an arcade mode that provides a bit of story for the chosen character
and a wonderfully infuriating surprise for anyone that manages to get to the end without losing a round.
There's a survival mode where you fight against an endless wave of opponents
and a four and a half hour story mode that you don't actually play,
but instead watch like a long movie.
Survival mode takes far too long before offering any real challenge,
and the story mode is a bit of a double-edged sword.
The lore of Guilty Gear is about as complex as Kingdom Hearts,
and Strive puts in almost no effort to get you up to speed with what's going on.
However, if you do put in the time, digging into the world of Guilty Gear is such a blast
because of how insane things get.
If you have a penchant for ridiculous anime wild rides, you won't be able to resist falling in love.
While Guilty Gear Strive definitely has shortcomings to consider,
they feel almost insignificant when tallying up everything the game does so well.
It’s not just another Guilty Gear, but instead a defining moment for the series.
In a lot of ways, it's so far ahead of its peers in terms of online functionality and accessibility,
two areas the genre fails in time and again.
If you've been too intimidated to seriously get into fighting games,
it's hard to think of a better game than Strive.
If you're a battle hardened veteran, there's no reason to wait.
Jump in and start shredding.
You'll lose countless hours in the blink of an eye.
Final score: 9 out of 10.
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