GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- for Windows

Guilty Gear game with big changes

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- is a premium action title for PC developed by Arc System Works. It is the seventh installment in the popular mainline Guilty Gear series of fighting games. Its story picks up where GUILTY GEAR Xrd left off and introduces new characters for players to try out.

Compared to its predecessors, GUILTY GEAR Xrd -SIGN- and GUILTY GEAR Xrd -REVELATOR-, the biggest change that GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- bring is a new direction to the art style, animation, and overall presentation. This time around, it draws plenty of inspiration from anime and manga for its designs.

A different look

Guilty Gear is a long-running fighting game franchise first released back in 1998. It has developed a cult following through the years and has been heralded as one of the greatest 2D fighting games of all time. With GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-, the franchise embarks on what it calls a "complete reconstruction" that will bring new changes, while still staying true to the core essence that fans love.

Guilty Gear games have always had pretty robust gameplay systems, offering combat variety, but can be a bit too technical sometimes. The new installment is more streamlined for beginners with its in-depth tutorials that allow you to master every mechanic at your own pace. Aside from Arcade and Survival, the Story mode is more cinematic than ever, with fewer cuts for an immersive experience for you to enjoy.

The series' signature Insta Kill mechanic makes a return here, as well as a new feature called Wall Break wherein stage transitions occur when you perform a combo on your opponent at the edge of the screen. One area where it falls short, though, is with multiplayer gameplay. Online matchmaking is unbalanced, and you will encounter frequent server and connection issues that ruin the overall experience.

A fan-favorite character returns

With the release of the game’s Season 3, a fan-favorite character rejoins the fray. Elphelt Valentine, one of the artificial lifeforms from the Valentine Series, becomes the game’s second DLC character. She made her debut in Guilty Gear Xrd and by STRIVE, she has been running her own Heavy Metal band, Speothos Venaticus. As a playable character, she has an array of freeform set-ups, making her perfect for players who change their playstyles and prefer to remain unpredictable.

Aside from Elphelt, the Season 3 release also comes with a couple of updates to the base game. For one, Johnny of the Jellyfish Pirates finally becomes playable. In the original release, he only made a background cameo. This time, his theme song and avatar items are also available. There is also a revamp for the Main Menu screen, as well as the Lobby Selection for online matches. Players also receive a set of QoL updates, such as spelling and grammatical corrections and user interface streamlining.

A great entry point

Overall, if this is your first foray into the series, GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- is a great entry point to the franchise, with beginner-friendly features like in-depth tutorials and an immersive Story Mode. If you're a long-time fan, you'll appreciate the changes it made to visuals and gameplay, while still retaining the essence that you love. This is a fighting game that is definitely worth checking out.