The King of Fighters XV: Is it Worth Buying?

The King of Fighters series has been around for almost 28 years, creating a fanbase with its own specific expectations. So, it’s no wonder that the newest game in the series strives to improve the best aspects of the franchise at the expanse of things fans find less important.

But that also means that the final product might be a bit harder of a letdown if you don’t know what to expect.

Is The King of Fighters XV worth playing?

If you’re one of those players who expects a long mortal kombat-style campaign, a variety of single-player modes, and graphics that will push your hardware to its limits, you should probably skip the newest KOF installment.

But, if you’re one of those people who enjoys mastering complex combos and fighting other players online, there’s hardly a more satisfying fighting game on the market for you to pick up.

The Good

The system in KOF XV is incredibly complex, and mastering it gives immense satisfaction. Each of the 39 characters offers a completely different playstyle, giving you plenty of room for experimentation.

Additionally, it has five unique online modes, you’ll have a chance to test your skills immediately. Few things feel as good as executing starting a deadly combo with a well-placed shutter strike. And being on the losing side doesn’t hurt all that much.

Each failure will teach you a new way to play, or give you more determination to learn an appropriate counterplay.

The Bad

Unfortunately, KOF XV doesn’t offer much outside of online modes. The incredibly short story mode feels more like an arcade mode with a few additional cutscenes.

And speaking of an arcade mode, there is none.

You can play the Versus mode against the CPU and that’s about it. It doesn’t help that the AI seems very glitchy, seemingly changing its play level from button mashing to EVO champion in a span of a single match.

Although the game offers you a tutorial and an extensive training mode, KOF XV is not a good choice for your first fighting game. If you don’t know what you’re doing, your punches will feel weak and the fights unsatisfying.

The Ugly

For better or worse, KOF XV feels more like an improved version of KOF XIV. Depending on what you thought about that game, this might be a pro or a con.

The widely marketed 3 on 3 matches are also a bit different compared to what you might expect after playing “Blazblue Cross Tag Battle” or “Tekken Tag Tournament”.

There are no assists and you can’t switch your character mid-combo or even mid-match for that matter. This mechanic mainly exists to give the game a bit more tactical depth – you’re expected to take the strengths and weaknesses of your characters into consideration when choosing who will fight who.

You can use one character to fill the power gauge quickly and the next one to deal damage with it. But other than that, this mechanic does not come into play during actual fights.

Conclusion

In the end, whether the game will fit your taste depends on what you want out of it. If what the game does well is important to you in fighting games, you’ll find there are a few titles that do these things as well as KOF XV.

But if the depth of the system is less important to you than the amount of offered content, the game might turn out to be a massive disappointment for you.

ALSO READ: Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Get to the Underdark?