I don’t know whether I agree with updating a game then charging full price for it. The fantastic Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, which we reviewed last year, had our guy Kane Newell singing its praises from the rooftops and even saying that it could have competed against genre heavyweights Street Fighter and Tekken. I’m not going to skin his review and put across my own opinion as I agree with his verdict. To read up on all of Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator’s basic fundementals and features, modes and gameplay elements, you can read Kane’s review HERE. It’s a phenomenally stylish fighting game with a lot going for it. Sharp 2D anime characters mixed with 3D stages, superbly animated cutscenes and Instant Kills, one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a fighting game (I’m a metal fan) and fantastic, responsive controls. Like I say, I’m not going to dissect the game as Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 is nothing more than Revelator with a few significant upgrades.
This is the ultimate, most complete version of Guilty Gear Xrd with the 26 characters all here but with 2 brand new additions added into the already expansive diverse roster. First up is Baiken, a revenge-driven, pipe-smoking, busty samurai from previous Guilty Gear games, then there’s Answer, a completely new addition, a sort-of business ninja that seemingly spends the entirety of each match on his phone, throwing playing cards like shuriken. They are completely different to one another as Baiken has some nifty quick combos at her disposal, whereas Answer is slower and stronger and requires significantly more skill.
The Story mode has a new chapter added in REV 2, with characters gaining more padding with episodes for them too. It elaborates on the already over-the-top plot filled with radically wild action. A few tweaks of the gameplay balance have been made too, like nerfing notoriously powerful moves and buffing weaker ones. The game feels better, more complete, and fairer. You know now that if you lose, it’s because you suck.
To the Guilty Gear fans, buying this is a no-brainer, but to the non-fans, it needs to display a tremendous amount of appeal of which it manages tenfold and then some. Wacky but fun characters each with their own combos, Burst moves and those amazingly entertaining Instant Kills mean there is so much to Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, so much to see and do, so many options on how to take down your opponent. It’s a deep fighter you can’t button mash your way through as every move and combo requires skill to perform in the best situations. Victory doesn’t come easy, but it does come stylish.
Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator was a fantastic game full of glitz, but REV 2 makes it fuller. The balance feels fairer, and the animation is second to none. The REV 2 update builds on a game that fires on both cylinders. An assault on the optic nerve and certainly a game you won’t want to put down.
Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Arc System Works (WW), Aksys Games (US)
Platforms: PS4, PS3, PC
Release Date: 26th May 2017