I was going to wait until the last DLC fighter was announced first, but since I'm just finishing up 100% of the achievement screen I feel like I might as well throw my hat in the Smash Ultimate pile.
It's alright. This is a 'quick review' but I'm going to have to take this step by step so there's some categorization here.
Spirits: This mode in particular isn't very good. It's pretty much an AI stomping ground fit for mostly weakish fanservice respective to every spirit. I guess for a fighting game campaign it's not too bad but I feel like I wasted a lot of my time bothering with it.
Fanservice/Party: As a party game Ultimate is pretty good, there's a lot of item combinations and the stages are all fun to play on. There's a shitton of fanservice for so many franchises that I don't know how the game is going to look when it finally goes golden with its roster after all the new additions. Just the music remixes and character reps alone give so much power to the game's legacy.
Gameplay: It's mediocre pure and simple. It's certainly stronger than Smash 4 but neutral game here is still a very safe endeavor and foxtrots are a ridiculously gutted dashdance. I don't like the movement while fighting and I certainly don't like playing as most of the fighters. Combo game is very restricted, thanks in no small part to them removing a shitton of grab combos and giving a big Fuck You to SDI which is a design decision I still don't get at all. Ultimate wants people to play by turns which is all good and fine but I didn't enjoy 90% of the roster's toolset due to how restrictive they all play. Compared to the likes of really any modern fg on the market it's incredibly lacking. There are exceptions ofc, I really like Ryu/Ken's special canceling taken over from SF, especially Terry's toolset. I also approve of Link's bomb zoning and spacing setups. I'm just far more a fan of slower paced fighting games that make up for its lack of APM with strong mindgames and decisionmaking but Ultimate seems to be very limited in scope of both due to the more streamlined options.
Overall I think it's a good party game and a mediocre fighting game. I think it's alright after spending roughly 200 hours trying to fashion out how I feel about it. If you're looking for a party game that plays well at a competitive level I highly suggest playing Duck Game instead
It's alright. This is a 'quick review' but I'm going to have to take this step by step so there's some categorization here.
Spirits: This mode in particular isn't very good. It's pretty much an AI stomping ground fit for mostly weakish fanservice respective to every spirit. I guess for a fighting game campaign it's not too bad but I feel like I wasted a lot of my time bothering with it.
Fanservice/Party: As a party game Ultimate is pretty good, there's a lot of item combinations and the stages are all fun to play on. There's a shitton of fanservice for so many franchises that I don't know how the game is going to look when it finally goes golden with its roster after all the new additions. Just the music remixes and character reps alone give so much power to the game's legacy.
Gameplay: It's mediocre pure and simple. It's certainly stronger than Smash 4 but neutral game here is still a very safe endeavor and foxtrots are a ridiculously gutted dashdance. I don't like the movement while fighting and I certainly don't like playing as most of the fighters. Combo game is very restricted, thanks in no small part to them removing a shitton of grab combos and giving a big Fuck You to SDI which is a design decision I still don't get at all. Ultimate wants people to play by turns which is all good and fine but I didn't enjoy 90% of the roster's toolset due to how restrictive they all play. Compared to the likes of really any modern fg on the market it's incredibly lacking. There are exceptions ofc, I really like Ryu/Ken's special canceling taken over from SF, especially Terry's toolset. I also approve of Link's bomb zoning and spacing setups. I'm just far more a fan of slower paced fighting games that make up for its lack of APM with strong mindgames and decisionmaking but Ultimate seems to be very limited in scope of both due to the more streamlined options.
Overall I think it's a good party game and a mediocre fighting game. I think it's alright after spending roughly 200 hours trying to fashion out how I feel about it. If you're looking for a party game that plays well at a competitive level I highly suggest playing Duck Game instead