In a turn of events that everyone hotly anticipated in prior months, Dead or Alive 6 was finally announced today at E3 2018. The successor to the long-running DOA 5: Last Round, is here!
IGN has an early look at the game with a reveal trailer featuring Kasumi and Ryu. Notable improvements include silky-smooth 4K graphics thanks to a new engine. Oh, and fighters now sweat profusely as the match goes on. Bruises, dirt, and wounds are also highly visible the more damage the character takes. The game is expected to be released in early 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
C-c-combo Breaker!
A couple of new additions to the series and ones that might be seen as controversial. These are the inclusions of the Fatal Rush and the Break Gauge. The former is a unique combination of attacks chained together by just spamming the Special Button over and over. The latter is essentially Dead or Alive’s “super meter,” filled up by hitting — or being hit by — attacks. Once full, the Break Gauge can be used for a Break Blow, a more offensive-oriented special attack, or a Break Hold, a counter.
Yes, I’m going to go out on a limb that this might be seen as controversial. The DOA series has never had super meters before. Having one while also introducing a one-button spammed special attack would no doubt surprise long-time fans of the franchise. Remember, if certain features are newly-introduced to games, they’d take time to become widely accepted. This is true for ones which attempt to streamline the mechanics for games which are characterized by stiff competition such as shooters and fighting games.
Realism, minus the bouncing
The game’s producer and director, Yohei Shimbori also noted that Dead or Alive 6 will be taking a different direction. This will definitely feel like a departure from what the franchise has been known for: extreme bouncing boobs and revealing clothing. In an interview with IGN, Shimbori cited that the team “wanted to make a more cool and mature Dead or Alive this time, and to that end we made a conscious decision to make the characters less sexualized.” That also meant that characters are warriors first, eye candy second.
This is definitely a welcome change. For the past decade or so, the Dead or Alive series has been known for having overly-sexualized female characters, and Koei Tecmo cashed in on the controversy with fan service — Dead or Alive Beach Xtreme Volleyball, anyone? As the games industry and gamers themselves mature, so too does the product. Remember, Lara Croft who was once ’90s eye-candy is now an athletic, lithe, and believable character. She’s certainly no longer a bunch of pixels that hot-blooded folks would oggle at for hours. The same holds true for DOA — strong competitors, not sexualized ones.
The fighting game scene for esports heats up for the summer. If the official website is any indication of things to come, it looks like June 11 will have more announcements for fans of the series. As usual, we here at Daily Esports will keep you informed.
[Images and video courtesy of IGN]
