Dragon Ball FighterZ by ArcSys sayans Early Beta Access is ON...
...and yes, it's the hypest Dragon Ball and fighter game out there (coming from a huge SF fan). You get the best of both worlds (Akira Toriyama + ArcSys mastery). Plus the soundtrack is pure metal.
Despite the fact that I'm not the most competent at fighters, especially this type of fighter, I am highly enjoying FighterZ as well. Already had some solid matches and it plays like a charm.
Summoning Shenron with Goku just before Gohan's one handed ulti (Perfect Cell saga) and a perfect K.O. is so damn satisfying. In general, Arc Sys games tend to have the most detailed and fun (more important) tutorials out there. I spent dozens of hours in Guilty Gear Xrd without even battling online. Of course there's no move set here in the beta but when vanilla releases in about two weeks you can expect tons of content, and single player of course. I truly believe this is the fighting game that will further connect casual gamers who are fans of the show/manga, and the competitive ones (via EVO etc).
Even though it mostly depends on what type of games you like, I would say that the Switch is a better 'down the line' choice than PS4, considering the Playstation has way more games.
It's taken me a lot to make this post. Not just to work up to doing so, but consistently rewriting this to explain how I feel about a game I completed the other night. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
On the surface, it's not overly complex in terms of gameplay or even replayability. It's only 6 hours long, and features a rather simple and repetitive combat system, and even more repetitive puzzles. But to strip the game down to those bare essentials does it an injustice. What it is, is a beautiful, harrowing and heart breaking story about mental illness.
You get more into Senua's head than you rarely do other characters. The sound design, visuals, mechanics and design of the game all serve to feed this unique immersion, and all capped off by a stunning performance by Milena Juergens (in a role she effectively got on accident. She's not a professional actress, this was her first performance and she's an impeccable natural).
This is one of the most difficult games that I've ever played. And I don't mean difficult in terms of it being a challenge, I ain't saying "it's the Dark Souls of psychological horror." What I mean is that it was often difficult to stomach, to endure. Even just walking around an area, trying to solve a puzzle, was near torture for the way the game uses the audio and visuals to portray Senua's psychosis. It's difficult in the same way Spec Ops: The Line was difficult, albeit with vastly differing results and philosophies driving both games. They're both gut-wrenching, uncomfortable experiences that hammer you with anvils.
But what made it all the more difficult for me, was its subject matter. And that's kind of why I'm having difficulties writing this post.
You see, there have been periods of my life where I had suffered from a psychotic break. Hearing things, seeing, even feeling. Those were dark times for me, incredibly so. Family and friends were lost as to what I was going through, and professional and medical help was often just a frail shield against the darkness. But I'm different now. I haven't had anything like that for years, since before I even joined this forum. There are times where I can feel myself slipping but I never go back to the way things were.
Playing Hellblade, going through what Senua was going through, living through it, it all hit very close to home. It was surreal how spot on it felt at times. It was a struggle at times, not going to lie. But it was also extremely touching, emotional and just as heart-warming as it was wrenching.
It's not a perfect game and it certainly isn't my favourite game of 2017 but it perhaps mean more to me than any game has in years. I can't do it justice, just play it. Maybe it'll have a similar impact on you, maybe not. But it may just be enlightening.
Darthnazgul, I appreciate you sharing your personal story with us, Hellblade truly is a special game and I’m glad more and more people are playing it and coming out with stories similar to yours. And in all honestly, aren’t we all constantly battling our own sorts of demons as humans? Some demons are just bigger than most, but as long as we have quality art like this to walk us through, and good people to talk with, demons don’t stand a chance.
