Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is the sequel to Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- that was released on the PS3 and PS4 in 2015. The game continues the story featured in -SIGN- and includes new characters as well as new gameplay modes. At its core, it might look like an expansion to the original game but it packs much more content than a typical expansion including a fully featured story mode that continues the story from SIGN and around six brand new characters.
If you are new to the fighting genre, you will feel right at home with Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- as the game is the benchmark for fighting game tutorials. Not only does it feature two different types of gameplay modes: Stylish and Technical – it also has an extremely detailed tutorial mode that details every step of the fighting system. This can prove to be useful if you are a newbie in fighting games and have no idea how to execute combos or special moves.
If you are able to grasp the combat system, it is a lot of fun to execute the various combos. But if you still have difficulty in executing combos and special moves, then you can still enjoy the game by switching to Stylish mode, which makes it easier to perform combos or special moves. Player is usually given a choice of picking either of the modes at the start of the battle. Stylish mode simply makes it easy to execute the special moves and the finishers of each of the respective character, which can be tricky to execute in the game.
In terms of single player content, the game features a traditional arcade mode called Episode. This mode is different from the regular story mode, which is essentially one giant cutscene revolving around the Guilty Gear Xrd universe. Episode features arcade style battles with CPU and has introduction and an ending for each of the character. Finishing Episode mode rewards the player with in-game currency that in turn can be used to unlock alternative character skins or various gallery items.
In addition to the Episode mode, players can try to train in the Dojo or fight Online. Those who are familiar with the game will recognize the return of the M.O.M mode which grants medals and in-game currency. These medals can be used to level up characters allowing the player to tackle the more challenging fights featured in this mode.
Story mode in Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- starts with a recap of events featured in -SIGN-. If you are worried about missing out on the story, you can rest easy knowing that the story is explained in detail with a lengthy recap. There is also an in-game encyclopedia that is full of information related to Guilty Gear universe. It features details on characters, locations, keywords and terminology that is used in the game and also provides a comprehensive timeline of the events for the game. This ensures that if you are still new to the universe of Guilty Gear but want to read more about the lore, you can check out this encyclopedia to get the necessary information directly from the game.
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- also includes an impressive online mode offering Lobby Matches, Ranked Matches and Player Matches. The online lobby visualizes each player complete with their avatar, which can be customized according to the player’s likeness. Battles can be conducted by challenging another player. The way this is handled is through arcade machines where the player can sit next to another player to challenge them to a match. The battle usually begins shortly afterwards and it is mostly lag free experience thanks to the solid net code. The game also features cross-play between the PS3 and PS4 users.
There was one aspect of the online multiplayer that I definitely appreciated a lot. Ark System Works has basically allowed the players to select their own region and lobbies. So if you have no luck in finding lobbies that are full of players, you can opt to look for a different region with a lobby that has sufficient players.
There is a mini-game of sorts in the form of a fishing mode that will let us control a visual representation of our avatar in the same location as the online mode, but this time we can use him to fish out items by spending a set amount of currency to capture fish, which results in various unlockables including BGM, character portraits and avatar customization items.
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is a fantastic fighting game that features a gorgeous art style allowing its characters to truly shine in gameplay. The game rocks near perfect image quality on PS4, and that is topped off with a solid performance of 60 fps, which is essential for a fast-paced fighter. In term of value, the game has a normal story mode for each of the fighters along with an online lobby mode allowing users to fight online in ranked, unranked or private matches. The story mode is essentially a visual novel that covers the lore of Guilty Gear, while offering minimal interaction. It is fantastic for the fans of the series who want to see their favorite characters in action.
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is available now for the PS3 and PS4. It was developed by Ark System Works and Published by Aksys Games. The review covers the PS4 version of the game.
