More than two years after its announcement in 2019, The King of Fighters XV has finally been released. Following on from the success of their Samurai Shodown reboot, SNK has a lot to prove with this latest brawler.
The main complaint levelled at 2019’s Samurai Shodown was the quality of the netcode used for online play or lack thereof. I can clarify from personal experience that the online play was, well, unplayable. This glaring problem hampered what was an otherwise triumphant return to form from SNK. So, more than a month has passed since the release of KOFXV, was it worth the wait?
The answer is yes. SNK has done a great job of updating the series for the fifteenth time, both graphically and mechanically. All the criticisms levelled at SNK’s previous two flagship brawlers have been addressed. The graphical disappointment of KOFIV is reduced to a distant memory by the crisp and exciting 4K visuals of the latest instalment. Indeed, many of the character models from KOFIV appear to have made their way over to KOFXV, but in a far superior form. This is no excuse for the poor quality of KOFIV‘s models, but somehow, I don’t feel cheated by those that have been upgraded and reused here.
The critical issue of the online multiplayer has also been addressed in KOFXV, and SNK appears to have done a good job of integrating rollback netcode into their game. I have no serious complaints about performance or connection when fighting other players online. Sure, I have encountered a few bad connections, but this is to be expected.
Perhaps KOFXV‘s greatest achievement is not trying to be anything more than it should be. SNK’s budget is far smaller than say, Capcom’s, or Bandai Namco’s, so there are no frills here. The story mode functions much like a classic ‘arcade mode’, with some short but sweet in-game cut-scenes providing a loose narrative. Then you have your requisite training mode, tutorial, combo challenges, online and offline multiplayer modes, all of which I’ve found to be perfectly adequate. One thoughtful addition to the package is the ‘DJ Station’, where you can play and unlock music from all the KOF games.
A victory for SNK then. The combat is fast, fun, and there is plenty of depth to be found at a high level of play. Like most modern brawlers of this nature, it’s easy to pick up and play, mash some buttons and get a result, but mastering KOFXV will take practice. I’ll be in the lab!
