Was Guilty Gear Strive Worth It? Part 2

Guilty Gear is a 2D fighter set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been ravaged by conflict between humans and Gears (biomechanical weapons). It’s a bit of long runner at this point, with the first entry clocking in back in 1998 for the original Playstation. To say it was influenced by hard rock and heavy metal is an understatement. Was Guilty Gear Strive worth it?

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This review was provided by a friend of the site: Minimum Payne. You can also follow him on Twitter!

Read Part 1 of “Was Guilty Gear Strive Worth It?” Here

Is Guilty Gear Strive fun?

As a fighting game fan, I’d say its a solid package. Being able to go ape on people as Sol Badguy has always been fun for me between XX AC+R and Xrd REV2, and it’s no different in this game. I’ve also admired the series’ metal anime aesthetic even if I’ve only properly tried the games within the last 8 months or so. Strive hits all those notes and makes me excited for the game as an ongoing experience that’ll receive support for years to come. That said, we’ll have to wait and see how some of the imbalances in the roster get ironed out.

Does Guilty Gear Strive have good value?

I pre-ordered the base edition of the game for both PS5 and Steam. I paid roughly 40-50 dollars each for them, just a little less than MSRP. The Steam version still needs some work to bring it up to snuff but as far as the package you’re getting at the entry level I’d say it succeeds. Approximately 15 characters seems like a paltry amount these days but with the level of fidelity and variety on display here it doesn’t feel like such a small roster. I’d recommend it for whichever platform you prefer.

Was Guilty Gear Strive Worth It?

Value is a tough call to make for fighting games. It’s a genre that doesn’t have a definitive end as long as you can find someone to play against. To me, a fighting game’s value is relative to its ability to support and reward your interest.

Some perspective

Let’s compare Guilty Gear Strive to other titles. I would not have paid the 60 dollars launch price for the recent Samurai Shodown game if I knew just how awful its online system had turned out. It simply would not allow me to want to spend the extra time to justify that purchase.

Comparatively, Mortal Kombat 11 has given me over 600 hours of gameplay for the 150+ dollars I’ve spent on the game. It’s also responsible for my involvement in the greater FGC (Fighting Game Community).

In the past three weeks since Guilty Gear Strive has launched, I’ve clocked in about 30 to 40 hours across two versions of the game. I see myself easily playing this game for dozens more hours in the future. I sincerely believe if you want a game that’ll reward your time and effort, then this is it. 

TL;DR If you’re a fighting game fan, Guilty Gear -Strive- is worth it. It will be getting more updates and content throughout its lifespan. Additionally, its high level of polish makes it good entry point for both fans of the genre and newcomers. With over half a million copies sold, there should be a thriving player base for some time. It has also gotten some praise for the innovative ladder ranking system.

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