Rather than merely allow players to counter incoming attacks with a single button, Last Round demands knowledge of the trajectory of attack that the opponent is performing so that the appropriate countering direction can be pressed. Placing a premium on twitch-based countering and combo-based juggling, Dead or Alive has always had a frenetic fighting system that has succeeded in separating the franchise from its peers. It’s a shame then that despite the painful omission of online multiplayer, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round’s core fighting system is actually sublime. There’s no two ways about it the absence of online multiplayer is totally inexcusable and massively damages the game’s appeal. Given that fighting games such as Dead or Alive rely on the robustness and passion of their online fanbase to flourish (especially on PC), not including online multiplayer on day one seems like a great way to prevent those communities from ever getting off the ground and expanding in the sort of way that PC audiences deserve.
As extravagant as the fighters themselves, the stages in DOA 5 Last Round are also larger-than-life affairs
