King of Fighters XV review: Deep mechanics but lacking learning tools
Title: The King of Fighters XV
Developer: SNK
Publisher: Koch Media
Platforms: PS5 (reviewed on), PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: February 17, 2022
The King of Fighters XV is a good fighter with awesome net code and great mechanics. I don’t feel like it’s a good first fighting game like last year’s Guilty Gear Strive but is great nonetheless.
The mechanics are awesome, the ideas and depth to a single fight with any character make the game feel a little different with every fight. Learning the timing when to use my max and other meters is by and large one of the reasons to keep coming back. Linking moves with meter, ex, and creating openings for supers leaves you hungry for the next fight. The lack of a more common team mechanic is sorely needed in this game and would be awesome for bigger more varied combos creating a lot more possibilities.
The roster is massive and, as I stated earlier, each character really brings their own charm and character to their combos and fighting style. The designs are top notch and spectacular to look at, the move sets look really great and make the action fun with each button press.
If you’re new to the genre, it’s tough to recommend this one unless you’re going to look up tutorials online. It doesn’t have a breakdown of terms and only shows heavy and light symbols in the barebones trials mode, which should teach you the bread and butter combos.
The gameplay online is great thanks to the rollback net code. Every match I played ran quite smooth with a few very minor hitches. Even the laggy matches I had weren’t abysmal like street fighter 5’s can be. Sidebar every fighting game and most shooters should be running with rollback net code.
The King of Fighters XV is a great, rich fighter that lacks some of the tutorials and assists a lot of fighting games are adding in these days. What it lacks in beginner friendly tools, it makes up for in depth and reward in learning its deceivingly simple systems.
The King of Fighters XV (PS5) Score: 7.5
The King of Fighters XV is great game with awesome animations and deep systems, but it lacks beginner friendly, or any form of, learning tools to let newer players get in the game.