GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- has recently released a limited time Beta of its new upcoming game mode “TEAM OF 3”. This game mode features 6-players, each split into teams of 3, fighting each other. This adds a new mode and team dynamic to GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-. However, after playing it for a bit…this new mode didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
IMPRESSIONSGoing in, I initially believed that TEAM OF 3 would be a new mode designed with casual and competitive players in mind. That it was going to be something similar to either King of Fighters where each person would have one life bar, or at least it’d be similar to The King of Fighters XI where you could freely switch in-and-out, maybe have some sort of special assists and tag-in mechanics. However, I knew that things were going to be zany and very casual the instant that I seen the game’s tutorial.
The tutorial explains that each person can only fight as the main character ONCE per round, meaning that you’re not allowed to constantly counter someone. Once someone is switched out, that’s it. They cannot get back in until the next round. The next is that you all share a single lifebar. This means that if someone is badly messing up and do not want to switch out, the entire team is going to be penalized severely for that mistake. However, I believe it’s also cool in a sense that you need to plan or at least think about your counters beforehand. Also, switching in must be okay’d by the person in and the assist, allowing for a good dynamic if you understand what’s going on. Also, you get to fight together for a short period of time; meaning that you can create temporary, once-a-round, insane mix-ups if done properly (there’s also a bar which tells the duration that “co-play” lasts).
The next things it that you have “skills”, which both secondary characters (the assists) can use, which has its own bar. They are separated into Offense, Interference, Healing, and Support. Also, these skills in itself have a cool down once activated. The objective is to oppress the opponent, heal and aid your ally, while disrupting any combos that the opponent might do. Sounds good in theory, but it feels random and chaotic in the way it has been implemented. You have four people (both assists on both teams), using items simultaneously to cause a bunch of havoc on the battlefield. Some of the items include: Wind to push back the opponent, Generating Fire or Electricity, Afros, or even a “Sturdy Chimaki”.
Next is the “Break-In” mechanic which works as a typical assist in other games (such as in Marvel vs Capcom or BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle). These are inherently fine if it weren’t for the way that they were implemented within the game, making them feel random and too oppressive. I am fine with assists disrupting your combo, even if you already hit your opponent because it’s something that has always happened as long as the assist was called prior to the combo happening. But to my annoyance, it feels especially hard to hit an opponent’s character when called in for an assist, plus all of the assists TRACK you. It feels like everyone has low cooldown Dragon Ball FighterZ C-Assist. There is no reason for my opponent’s teammate to run directly to my location and deliver their move. This is the biggest issue with this game mode. Well, aside from the fact that you can also be combo’ing your opponent and still get disrupted by a Break-In assist.
Even when I win, it feels like there is no real semblance of order. It feels random, chaotic, and I simply do not enjoy it as much as I should. There is no reason for weird things like the “Skills” to be available to use, and your teammates should not be able to call assists if you’re within block or hit stun. The gameplay currently promotes chaos, which is not something I’d want to play. It’s not even a fun party mode like Dragon Ball FighterZ had, it’s simply a roll of the dice that feels especially bad to play.
Leave a Reply!