Impressions: DNF Duel is a flashy fighter with promise on Swap
There’s an extended and storied historical past of turning present recreation franchises into aggressive and thrilling preventing video games. The visible novel Tsukihime turns into Melty Blood, as an example. That custom is alive and effectively with ArcSys’s newest, DNF Duel. Primarily based on the long-running and massively in style Korean on-line beat-’em-up Dungeon Fighter On-line, DNF Duel follows the ArcSys system by providing attractive visuals, over-the-top motion, and a parade of distinctive characters. Whereas the sport initially launched on most different platforms final June, the sport is now seeing a launch on Nintendo Swap.
DNF Duel is a one-on-one fighter the place a solid of sixteen characters, all primarily based on playable courses from Dungeon Fighter On-line, duke it out. Whereas this recreation has plenty of the visuals and aptitude of titles like Responsible Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ, the gameplay doesn’t characteristic their common air dashes, double jumps, and loopy motion. DNF Duel solely has a number of buttons: a light-weight assault, heavy assault, Ability, MP Ability, Awakening Ability, and guard.
Like most preventing video games, particular assaults might be finished utilizing the MP Ability button with quarter circle or “dragon punch” stick motions, however this recreation additionally brings within the simplified transfer shortcut controls from Granblue Fantasy Versus, one other ArcSys-developed spinoff fighter. Principally, gentle and heavy assaults do easy assaults on the bottom and within the air, however urgent a course and the Ability or MP Ability button will carry out a corresponding particular assault, Smash Bros. model. The MP Abilities are your strongest specials, and are ruled by a replenishing particular meter, known as the MP Meter. It begins at 100, however jumps to 200 when your well being will get lowered. Principally, once you carry out an MP Ability, it makes use of a few of your MP. When it reaches 0, you’re Exhausted and might’t use an MP Ability till it replenishes sufficient for that transfer’s value. So long as you have got 1 MP, although, you may nonetheless use an MP Ability, however its value will take the meter beneath 0, making it take longer to refill. For example, in case you have 10 MP and use a particular that prices 30 MP, you need to look ahead to the 20 MP to refill earlier than you even hit 0. This creates a enjoyable danger/reward system in each match, the place useful resource administration is essential.
Even well being is a usable useful resource on this recreation. DNF Duel has two sorts of harm: Crimson and White. Crimson harm is apparent ol’ harm straight to your well being bar, brought on solely by MP and Awakening Abilities. White harm is attributable to every thing else, which turns a portion of the harm you are taking right into a white bar. If you don’t take any Crimson harm for a short while, you’ll routinely begin to heal among the White harm. In case you are hit by an MP Ability when you have White harm in your well being bar, ALL of the White harm will likely be depleted. Nonetheless, White harm can be used offensively. By urgent heavy assault and the Ability button, you’ll do a Conversion, turning all your White well being into MP Meter, permitting you to carry out extra specials, and cancels your present motion, permitting you to react sooner or create new combos. Lastly, when your well being is low sufficient, you enter Awakening mode, which grants every character distinctive buffs and provides them entry to their Awakening Ability, which is that this recreation’s model of the tremendous assault.
General, the sport has some easy but contemporary mechanics. The gameplay feels tight and responsive, and whereas having so many alternative assaults on two ability buttons can take some getting used to, when you get the cling of it, the gameplay loop is addictive.
Presentation sensible, the sport is sort of fairly, even on Swap, the place the decision takes successful however the framerate is rock stable. Characters are distinctive and have some lovely animations and particle results. The music options that trademark ArcSys guitar sound, which is all the time welcome. General, it’s fairly spectacular what the crew managed to do when porting the sport to the Swap.
The most important query mark for the sport is its on-line capabilities. As of writing, I couldn’t discover any on-line matches (the sport isn’t out but, in any case), so I can not touch upon its high quality. Disappointingly, whereas the opposite variations of the sport characteristic rollback netcode, which is usually thought to be the popular methodology of connection for on-line preventing video games, the developer said that the Swap model will as a substitute have delay primarily based netcode. Whereas this isn’t essentially a dying blow, it does trigger some concern and is sort of disappointing, as different video games like Skullgirls and Energy Rangers: Battle for the Grid have rollback on the Swap. As such, I will likely be writing the total evaluation of the sport after launch, as soon as I’ve gotten some on-line matches below my belt.
General, although, DNF Duel has come to the Swap surprisingly intact with little sacrificed, and is a enjoyable time for any preventing recreation fan. Make sure to preserve an eye fixed out for my full evaluation quickly.
