being an axl main is awesome. everyone hates you and routinely skips past playing you for the simple crime of forcing them to play a bit of neutral. you prevent them from running their twenty second lockdown pressure drills for a bit and it’s the end of the world; they’d much rather go up against the litany of other rushdown characters who can all do that or the guy that can eat your healthbar in three decisions.

the game is fine. as far as its pace is concerned, strive is essentially rocket tag, and that’s a fine thing to enjoy. it just comes at the obviously infamous cost of representing a departure from xrd (or prior entries but i won’t pretend to be knowledgeable in this arena). this has invited natural comparisons to street fighter (super turbo in particular) and samurai shodown, but i think the core system mechanics manage to carve their own niche within the high damage subgenre. for all the debate around simplification, it seems clear to me that arcsys’s goal was to create a fighting game that the majority of people familiar with the genre can learn simply through relevant match experience, avoiding the confines of the training room and bringing the title in line with an older arcade experience. again, totally fine thing to be. i do think i prefer xrd’s brand of bullshit but not because it’s inherently more cerebral or anything - matches just tend to feel more dynamic. it’s an instance where strives emphasis on creatively using meter’s hundreds of applicable permutations to open holes in opponents defense is somewhat negated by the lack of opportunities to tap in per round and by how viciously quick some of these rounds can close out.

i strongly dislike the menus, user interface, and lobby system, but this aside it’s curious to me that strive represents an artistic departure from the rest of the series as well and this aspect has mostly been swept under the rug by the community. i assume this is fine for most because it’s pretty and because we will never escape the fondness gamers have for the metal gear rising/anarchy reigns soundtrack. still, its very much an intentional continuation of xrds aesthetic sensibilities - understandable given that titles landmark reception - but it feels worth mentioning that we are at this point quite far removed from the grungy, muted, and punk tone of earlier entries. but giovannas hot so who can say whether this is bad or not

not morally egregious per se but rather a depressing culmination of a decade's worth of design trickery and (d)evolving cultural/social tastes and otherwise exists as insipid twitchcore autoplaying bullshit that should come with a contractual agreement binding its devotees to never speak prejudicially about mobile games or musou ever again lest they face legally enforced financial restitution. just play nex machina man. or watch NFL. been a fun season for that. fuck the review man let's talk sports in the comments

i was really nervous about returning to this game for fear it wouldn't click with me nearly as much as it did the first time. i've lived a lot of life and have experienced a lot of other similar games since i played bayonetta! i'm so relieved to say that i still adore every little thing about this game. i think this and metal gear solid 3 are two of the only games whose cast fill me with such warmth that my face hurts after every cutscene from fondly smiling ear to ear. there hasn't been and probably never will be an introductory cutscene as perfect as bayonettas. :' )))))))))))

INCREDIBLE 2d run and gun platformer that is a masterpiece in art direction achievement but I cant give this shit a 5/5 in confidence because i actually really dont like the run and gun segments, i adore the bosses,
if the game was just a boss rush game id be completely fine with that but holy fuck i dont like the non-boss stages(excluding ms chalice's ghost punch romp)
Also the parry is a piece of shit sometimes the damn thing doesnt even register
I can excuse nearly every boss in the game bc its that good tit-punch energy, but MAN what a fucker
its great though, esp with your wife. or your friend if you aint got one of those layin around

HOT DAMN THAT WAS A GREAT TIMEEEEEEEEE OMG
not only do i fuck with machine girl but this gameplay loop is so satisfying and that neuron activation you get when a hint shows you a different way you didnt even consider trying to do during the level or even figuring it out by yourself is INSANE
personally my favorite soul cards not counting the obvious kick-ass endgame one was the teal grappling hook RPG card so fucking sick
I also love the art direction, I feel like not every story beat hits the way the devs intended? Like a lot of the appreciation for the ending and the characters is ultimately up to if you want to put in the time to unlock all of White's memories and his connections with other characters

And this game is all no-take-backs, like when people die theres no gotcha at the end or anything like that theyre like Dead dead. Which, forgive me, I kind of was anticipating because of the heavy anime influence on this game. Not that thats bad infact i think its fun! Though sometimes with the writing I was kind of left feeling lightly satisfied when the characters had a tender moment because theyre all really weird dorks that clearly come from troubled upbringings trying to reconcile with one another

And that patience with each other and listening to each other is really a key theme throughout this game i think, you cant just mash through and win
Sometimes just feeling like youre the shit and on top of the world of the game's mechanics is all the incentive you Need
There are times where i even forgot I already had an Ace medal in certain stages
But I kept going back to just scratch that itch, that what-if i can shave a few seconds off

So all in all this game is addicting, not too terribly long, nice online interactivity to really push you into wanting to feel some of its most buttery smooth levels

I just think gathering the gifts kinda detracts a little from the regular characterization of the characters in the story, but if you dont give a fuck about squinting at stories then this is absolutely a uniquely perfect video game that totally is a gold standard for a good as fuck "shooter platformer"

also side note but, i didnt know until the ACCESS level that you could fucking *swap the cards...........................its really funny how you Never need to do that until the 6th to last level in the game LMFAO but also got me thinking.. "holy fuck.. SO I COULD BE EVEN B E T T E R AT THIS THAN I REALIZED IF I GO BACK WITH THIS SWAP IN MIND!!!!!!!!"

just, just fucking play it
get it on a sale if you Have to, borrow from a friend
idgaf, try it.