UNDER NIGHT In-Birth makes up the trifecta of must-have ArcSys Fighting games on PC right now along with Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Whereas Guilty Gear is the most stylish of the three with its stylised 3D models and animations while BlazBlue is the craziest in terms of gimmicks and mechanics, UNDER NIGHT In-Birth is the happy medium between the two sporting high quality sprite artwork, a more subdued less crazy gameplay and a soundtrack that easily rivals that of GG and BB's.

In terms of gameplay, Air-dashing which has more or less been a staple that defined anime fighting games is not in UNIEL (though a similar mechanic is still present) making this a more ground-based fighter. Motions and specials have been streamlined to be much easier to perform and learn and with the addition of a smart-combo function, UNIEL is a very easy fighter to pick up and play.

Unlike Guilty Gear and BlazBlue which had very comprehensive tutorials however, UNIEL is lacking in that department so seeking third party help via wikis, videos or a friend is the best a player can do in terms of explanations of mechanics which can be a bit discouraging. Thankfully the aforementioned streamlined controls makes it so that once you get your head around the mechanics and terminology, it's smooth sailing from then on.

While I personally got the game initially because of hype for the upcoming BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, UNIEL's well balanced cast of characters, clean artstyle and incredible soundtrack makes me excited not just for BCTB but for a potential port of UNDER NIGHT In-Birth Exe:Late[st] as well.

UNDER NIGHT In-Birth makes up the trifecta of must-have ArcSys Fighting games on PC right now along with Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Whereas Guilty Gear is the most stylish of the three with its stylised 3D models and animations while BlazBlue is the craziest in terms of gimmicks and mechanics, UNDER NIGHT In-Birth is the happy medium between the two sporting high quality sprite artwork, a more subdued less crazy gameplay and a soundtrack that easily rivals that of GG and BB's. In terms of gameplay, Air-dashing which has more or less been a staple that defined anime fighting games is not in UNIEL (though a similar mechanic is still present) making this a more ground-based fighter. Motions and specials have been streamlined to be much easier to perform and learn and with the addition of a smart-combo function, UNIEL is a very easy fighter to pick up and play. Unlike Guilty Gear and BlazBlue which had very comprehensive tutorials however, UNIEL is lacking in that department so seeking third party help via wikis, videos or a friend is the best a player can do in terms of explanations of mechanics which can be a bit discouraging. Thankfully the aforementioned streamlined controls makes it so that once you get your head around the mechanics and terminology, it's smooth sailing from then on. While I personally got the game initially because of hype for the upcoming BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, UNIEL's well balanced cast of characters, clean artstyle and incredible soundtrack makes me excited not just for BCTB but for a potential port of UNDER NIGHT In-Birth Exe:Late[st] as well.