Easily one of my favorite aesthetics in like anything ever. I am not a super experienced FG player but Strive scratched an itch that casually put me over 300 hours in just a couple months of playing. I've always been aware of the phenomenal character design of the Guilty Gear franchise, but with the absolute gorgeous new visuals of Strive, it knocks it even more out of the park.
The new characters as well are incredibly well designed, such as Nagoriyuki, who I personally feel like is one of the most well-designed black characters in any game, which is very important.
The game overall is very balanced, especially after the patches that we have got to this point, with every single character being viable, even to the point of being able to win tournaments, as recently demonstrated by GOBOU playing Goldlewis. The netcode is great as well, and two strong internet connections feel just as good as playing offline.
The most unfortunate part of Strive is the online/lobby system, which has been beaten to death but it really does such that in a game that is so truly awesome that it has such an abysmal online design. The lobbies are so ugly and I really just miss the chibi arcade setups of other ARC SYS games that worked great; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The dual stations are also extremely glitchy and just don't work at all sometimes, requiring several attempts just to match with someone you want to in one of the rooms. It's a little better since release but it still honestly sucks and really has no reason at all to be this bad.
One thing that I don't see many people talk about is the story of the game; it's not playable, but I think it's an important part of the experience is Strive to get a better sense of the current context of the characters and the personality of the newer characters. I personally loved the story, especially the last act, which had some pretty heavy themes, extremely engaging moments, and beautiful action sequences. I was really, really happy that I spent the 4 or 5 hours watching it, and think that it deserves a lot more praise as being a really great narrative.
The soundtrack of Strive ties a nice bow on the game, and it is ridiculous that it wasn't even nominated for Soundtrack of the Year at the Game Awards. Just about every original piece is an epic composition that I actually would and have listened to on my own time outside of the game. Each piece thoughtfully reflects on the personalities of the characters, and some, such as Zato's theme "Let Me Carve Your Way" are genuine masterpieces.
I really love this game and it was everything I hoped it would be and more when I commit to trying the game before release. Above all it is incredibly fun with mechanics and a joy to learn and get better at.
The new characters as well are incredibly well designed, such as Nagoriyuki, who I personally feel like is one of the most well-designed black characters in any game, which is very important.
The game overall is very balanced, especially after the patches that we have got to this point, with every single character being viable, even to the point of being able to win tournaments, as recently demonstrated by GOBOU playing Goldlewis. The netcode is great as well, and two strong internet connections feel just as good as playing offline.
The most unfortunate part of Strive is the online/lobby system, which has been beaten to death but it really does such that in a game that is so truly awesome that it has such an abysmal online design. The lobbies are so ugly and I really just miss the chibi arcade setups of other ARC SYS games that worked great; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The dual stations are also extremely glitchy and just don't work at all sometimes, requiring several attempts just to match with someone you want to in one of the rooms. It's a little better since release but it still honestly sucks and really has no reason at all to be this bad.
One thing that I don't see many people talk about is the story of the game; it's not playable, but I think it's an important part of the experience is Strive to get a better sense of the current context of the characters and the personality of the newer characters. I personally loved the story, especially the last act, which had some pretty heavy themes, extremely engaging moments, and beautiful action sequences. I was really, really happy that I spent the 4 or 5 hours watching it, and think that it deserves a lot more praise as being a really great narrative.
The soundtrack of Strive ties a nice bow on the game, and it is ridiculous that it wasn't even nominated for Soundtrack of the Year at the Game Awards. Just about every original piece is an epic composition that I actually would and have listened to on my own time outside of the game. Each piece thoughtfully reflects on the personalities of the characters, and some, such as Zato's theme "Let Me Carve Your Way" are genuine masterpieces.
I really love this game and it was everything I hoped it would be and more when I commit to trying the game before release. Above all it is incredibly fun with mechanics and a joy to learn and get better at.