DNF Duel Review: an exaggerated fighting game beyond all limits

From Dragon Ball FighterZ to Guilty Gear Strive, the number of fighting games that the Arc System Works guys have packaged in recent years is surprisingly high, making use of the most disparate collaborations at times. This is the case of DNF Duel , a vibrant fighting game based on the Dungeon Fighter Online franchise – a lucky MMORPG that at least in Asia enjoys unstoppable popularity – and developed with Neople, the license holder, and Eighting, already author of Fate / unlimited codes. , Castlevania Judgment and Marvel vs Capcom 3 .

While the Dungeon & Fighter brand is not quite as strong in the West, in recent weeks we have been entertaining ourselves with the final code of the fighting game that had impressed us during the beta with a deep, articulated and accessible combat system (re-read our tried-and-true DNF Duel), discovering a title capable of departing not a little from the most recent and famous efforts of Arc System Works.

Survival of the Fittest

Being based on a successful MMORPG, at the time of approaching DNF Duel we were convinced that the product would offer us a massive narrative system aimed at offering as much information as possible about its fascinating universe, similar to what Granblue Fantasy did not long ago. : Versus (for all the details, find our special on the Granblue Fantasy: Versus RPG mode).

On the contrary, however, the Asian association has opted for the most classic of Story Modes, equipping the sixteen playable characters with as many short and not exactly interconnected stories , but mostly aimed at justifying an intoxicating roundup of clashes. The narrative premises of DNF Duel are equally simple: in a remote and unspecified time, those who rebelled against the “Great Will” caused the subdivision of the universe, which during the “Great Metastasis” incident was partitioned into numerous fragments. Over the centuries, each of the “Plans” generated by the cataclysm became an autonomous world,. However, when the energy needed to establish the interdimensional link was almost exhausted, the contacts between the various Planes ceased and the travelers were brought back to their respective places of origin against their will. Centuries after the ” day the doors were closed “, the forgotten portals are finally recovering their ancient power thanks to the energy released by the Adventurers: fierce fighters possessing the mysterious force known as the “Will of the World” and precisely capable to travel across worlds to create memorable brawls.

While we appreciated Arc System Works’ decision to distance itself from Guilty Gear Strive (which instead of the story mode included a three-hour anime) and include a playable campaign in DNF Duel , essential for exploring the background of the various wrestlers, on the other hand we must recognize that this was the perfect opportunity to introduce the Western public to the mythology of an intellectual property that has unfortunately gone unnoticed in various parts of the world.

Although this choice is due to the developer’s desire not to get involved in a content that is, after all, an accessory in the eyes of users who are almost exclusively interested in the competitive component of the product, in our opinion it is a partly wasted opportunity.

Exaggerated beyond all limits

If on the whole the individual stories of what in effect presents itself as an Arcade Mode have convinced us very little, also because of the annoying visual-style dialogues that intersperse the battle phases, it must be said that the roster has been diversified well beyond our wildest expectations .

Inspired by as many classes present in the original South Korean MMORPG, the sixteen fighters of DNF Duel are characterized by unique fighting styles, not surprisingly even those apparently very similar once dragged on the battlefield behave in a totally different way. This is the case of the Grappler and the very fast Striker, two martial arts experts who excel in hand-to-hand combat and who, in our opinion, are among the most effective hitters in the package: the first is quite slow, focuses on the defensive and tends to counterattack with deadly holds; thin and light, the second is the embodiment of speedand as such, she concatenates combos on the ground and in mid-air with greater freedom than all the other members of the roster, making her the ideal character for newbies to the genre.

After all, the magic touch of Eighting, which once again has kept faith with its traditions, has resulted in a particular and not entirely effective balance: despite the sixteen warriors are all characterized by ruinous and exaggerated gameplay, not to say out of test , however, during our test we found serious discrepancies both in terms of effectiveness and ease of use.

Having to translate the various classes of an MMORPG into fighters, DNF Duel not only includes individuals specialized in melee, but also fighters who, using firearms of all kinds, enjoy distance-based attack patterns: without detracting from the Ranger. , which with its guns manages to riddle with shots approaching opponents, the Launcher in particular seemed extremely unbalanced, as it can use grenades, rifles, lasers, flamethrowers and even missiles to keep the challenger at bay and send him to the hospital to hospital even before he has a chance to land a single attack.

If in the hands of such an expert, the infamous Inquisitor is even capable of summoning a fiery wheel onto the pitch that traps the opponent in an endless grip, which can cost him as much as a third of health (a solution that leaves no no escape for newbies!), the very slow Crusader can erect an inviolable barrier behind the enemy and hammer him with blows to exhaustion, also because DNF Duel does not have any Wall Break mechanics (for more information on this mechanic, jump on the Guilty review Gear Strive).

Of all, however, the least balanced character is undoubtedly the fearsome Vanguard, who with his immense spear enjoys an enormous range and covers at least 60% of the screen with each blow , greatly complicating the life of martial arts experts and to other melee fighters. Although the evident strengths of each class are counterbalanced by as many weaknesses, we would have liked a more accurate balancing and able to enhance them all to perfection. However, it must be said that, although some duelists have a few more gear and are literally able to control the battlefield while maintaining a safe distance, the exaggerated and always adrenaline-pumping DNF Duel has proved to be one of the funniest fighting games of recent times and even the clashes have seen us at a clear disadvantage have turned out to be a feast for the eyes.

Resource management

On the other hand, the introduction of a couple of new mechanics allows you to overturn the outcome of a match in the blink of an eye . But let’s proceed with the order, specifying first of all that the product uses a mapping of commands very similar to that of Granblue Fantasy: Versus, which already at the time had greatly simplified the execution of special moves to meet the needs of newbies like that.

Adopting the same philosophy, the DNF Duel combat system entrusts the light attack, the medium attack, the skil and the special techniques that consume Magic Point to the four front keys of the controller. Putting aside the two normal attacks, which tend to blend surprisingly well, in this round, users have immediate access to a wide range of moves, including ten highly destructive specials that can be chained together to create sequences. spectacular. Triggerable by also combining a direction with the desired attack button, the Skills are powerful, but the real weapon of DNF Duel fighters must be identified in the techniques whose activation requires a certain number of MPs. Rather than resorting again to cooldown times that limited the use of specials in Granblue Fantasy: Versus,Conversion “(which we’ll talk about shortly).

Depending on the type of attack used, in DNF Duel it is possible to inflict two different types of damage on the opponent: while the so-called Red Damage does not recover over time, White Damage regenerates when you are not hit for a while or avoiding the parry. If at first sight this system allows you to “absorb” the incoming blows without worrying too much, at least until the inevitable breaking of the guard (always indicated in the center of the screen) , it should be borne in mind that magical techniques convert all accumulated white damage into red damage , emptying even a full life bar in the blink of an eye.

Executable only when HP drops below 30%, the Awakening move in particular is the perfect tool to turn the tide of a duel with a single action, as it causes massive damage and eliminates the “chip damage”.

But be careful, because the activation of the awakening is easily interrupted, which is why it is advisable to use it only during a combo already started. If on the one hand the introduction of White Damage discourages the abuse of the parade and the adoption of a too conservative approach, on the other hand the temporary damage can still be sacrificed to resort to the aforementioned Conversion: an unprecedented maneuver that, in addition to canceling Most attacks – including MP Skills and Awakening – turn white damage into mana, allowing the player to instantly reload their MPs and extend the ongoing combo.

Use it after draining the MP bar and then entering the state of exhaustion ” Exhaustion ” (a dangerous condition because it enormously limits your offensive and defensive options), and you can continue to tirelessly grind your rival until you knock him out.

Although DNF Duel can break a spear in favor of beginners, thanks to the simplicity with which it is possible to ring even deadly combos , its combat system requires a lot of practice and proper management of the two exclusive resources, which on balance represents the true key to achieving victory even during an apparently lost battle.

Content and performance

Moving on to the analysis of the content offer, we appreciated the association’s decision not to focus exclusively on online methods. Although the competitive component remains the beating heart of the title, DNF Duel presents a fair amount of modes intended for single player, such as the already examined Story Mode, an eight-stage tournament mode with as many opponents controlled by the CPU, and the inevitable Survival Mode , which, as the name suggests, subjects the user to a series of increasingly difficult challenges.

The latter adds a bit of spice to the offer, since the player’s health does not recharge between one fight and another: to bring home the leather, it becomes imperative to keep as much HP as possible and, after each match, spend the points obtained to increase the offense and defense parameters, unlock temporary bonuses that multiply the points received in case of victory, or in any case restore a portion of life lost. A mode, the one devised by the guys at Arc System Works, in which you breathe the role-playing fragrance of the popular MMO by Neople and Nexon. On the online front, however, the package includes the now usual free and classified games, which in fact contribute to increasing one’s ranking in the world ranking. Since the servers were only open a few hours after the official launch, we have extended the duration of our test to be able to submit the

Fully confirming the impressions gained last year, when we put the beta of DNF Duel on the test bench, the flamboyant and already tested rollback netcode of Arc System Works has allowed us to measure ourselves with duelists from all sides of the globe without running into disconnections or find the slightest hint of latency.

What has not satisfied us, however, is the return of the lobbies so criticized by the community and which once again see the players impersonating super deformed avatars inside a real virtual arcade: if from an aesthetic point of view the gimmick which Arc System Works does not seem to want to give up is all in all pleasant, the need to physically take a seat in front of a cabinet and wait for an opponent to position himself on the opposite side seems to us very little functional and intuitive .

Nothing to complain about matchmaking, which at least in these first days from launch has always carried out its task properly, allowing you to train alone while looking for a challenger of your level.

As we had already anticipated after trying the demo of DNF Duel, on the graphic level the new creature of Arc System Works is less treated than the superb Guilty Gear Strive; net of a few too many edges, however, the polygonal models are still supported by well-made animations and by the irresistible cel-shading that transforms all the products of the Japanese studio into splendid interactive anime.

The colorful three-dimensional backdrops are also excellent, always overflowing with elements and able to do justice to the evocative settings taken from Dungeon Fighter Online. At least on PlayStation 5, where we conducted our tests, DNF Duel runs stably at 60 FPS and does not hesitate under any circumstances., just as you would expect from a fighting game with obvious competitive ambitions.

Localized in English only for what concerns texts and menus, the title adopts the track spoken in Korean by default, but browsing through the options we also found the dubbing in Chinese and above all that in Japanese, which we are convinced will make you jump for joy. to fans of the studio and more generally to aficionados of Japanese animation. Overall, the soundtrack accompanies menus and action without infamy and without praise, and although the songs cannot be described as memorable, the rock tracks fit quite well with the pressing rhythm assumed by the disputes .