DNF Duel Review

Summary
If you’re a fighting game enthusiast, you have no doubt heard about this game but let me explain to you why everyone is talking about it. Some great news for beginners is that they give you a detailed tutorial mode that explains the system mechanics in detail so you won't be left in the dust when you play online. Truly a modern marvel that must be seen in motion to really appreciate how impressive the graphics quality appears. Unfortunately, fully optimized combos in DNF Duel have such incredibly high damage that if you have enough resources to spend you can 100% - 0% combo your opponent. Arc System Works are masters of their craft and they have outdone themselves once again setting the gold standard along with Strive for what AAA fighting game should be developed.
Good
  • Beautiful graphics
  • LIT soundtrack
  • Unique characters
  • Rollback netcode on point
Bad
  • Infinite combos
  • 100 to 0 combos
  • Overall high damage system
9.6
Amazing
Gameplay - 10
Graphics - 10
Audio - 10
Replayability - 8
Controls - 10

If you’re a fighting game enthusiast, you have no doubt heard about this game but let me explain to you why everyone is talking about it. Let’s start with what DNF duel does right. Drawing from a lore-rich online hack n slash game there are a ton of characters and likely many more that will be added as DLC in the coming year. No two characters feel the same, which is a rarity in the genre and a welcome breath of fresh air.

Some great news for beginners is that they give you a detailed tutorial mode that explains the system mechanics in detail so you won’t be left in the dust when you play online. I highly recommend not skipping these lessons because meter management is huge in this game, and it is important to know how to use your resources efficiently in order to defeat your enemy. Meter can be used to cancel recovery animation which leads to combo routes otherwise not possible in a normal setting. Super attacks also require meter and of course, you will have to pay to play when using special moves. I found this mechanic refreshing because it makes it more difficult for people to spam the same move over and over which can be annoying to deal with in a match.

Let’s be real though most people just want to find a cool character and do some sick combos right? There are combo trials for each character, and while one can dream up their own combos in practice mode, this is a great starting point to understand your character’s bread and butter. Troubleshooter was the first character that grabbed my attention because he has a giant sword (Giant swords? Am I right?) in one hand and a shotgun in the other, he’s just an outright badass. This guy has it all in his kit! Grenades, time-delayed explosives, and booze which will increase his damage potential. Many of the expected archetypes are represented so there are zoners, grapplers, and rush down although some fall outside of these categories as well.

After a few hundred online matches I’m happy to report that the rollback net code is VERY smooth even when fighting against opponents that clearly have a subpar connection. With that being said some people just wake up and choose violence so there was the occasional laggy match, but it was so infrequently occurring that I could count them on one hand. The music is intense and really goes well with the level and character design. Visually the game is stunning, and I often found myself at a loss for words at how beautiful and smooth the animations looked. LIT! Truly a modern marvel that must be seen in motion to really appreciate how impressive the graphics quality appears. Arc System Works are masters of their craft and they have outdone themselves once again setting the gold standard along with Strive for what AAA fighting game should be developed.

Now for a small bit of ‘bad’ news. Unfortunately, fully optimized combos in DNF Duel have such incredibly high damage that if you have enough resources to spend you can 100% – 0% combo your opponent. Even if we don’t focus on infinite glitches that will be patched out of the game it’s an incredibly high-damage system and has become a polarizing subject of discussion in the FGC community. As a Dragon Ball FighterZ player TOD (touch of death) combos are nothing new to me, but for some, this can quickly take the fun out of playing. My recommendation is to pick a character that you enjoy after exploring the roster and learn their bread and butter combos until they become second nature. Find some people of similar skill levels and train with them. Don’t throw your arcade sticks!

Written by
Dragon Ball FighterZ, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear, and 3s are my main games. I also play music games and retro games/rpgs when not training for tournaments ^~^

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Lost Password

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.