*updated for Season 2*

Gotta admit, kinda hard to defend this game at the moment. If you're just looking for a fun fighting game to play this will definitely scratch that itch. If your goal is a competitive fighter with high skill ceiling, this ain't it yet.

As a community, I'm sure i speak for most when i say we were all looking forward to specific changes for Season 2. Season 1 was a lil wacky, but i was willing to wait in good faith. New season drops, and sure my main got some buffs I've wanted for awhile but unfortunately its drowned out by the fact that every character did too and now the game is incredibly overtuned. Moreso than before despite the devs promising to focus more on defense this season and toning down offense. They did neither. I'm sure they will do some damage control and nerf alot of this back down, which is good, but it shouldn't have gotten to this point in the first place.

The devs had all of Season 1 to figure the kinks out and listen to community feedback to deliver on whats next. How they managed to go backwards is beyond me. What was the point in lowering the power levels by the end of Season 1 just to ramp it all to hell once again the very next season!? Why make a promise, fail to deliver, then debate with customers on Twitter while cherry picking responses in favor of your changes? Your customers hold the power, and this game will die as soon as they say so.

I also refunded the Season 2 pass, but not because of the recent patch, but because of a different and very fixable issue: transparency. We live in a time where selling a pass without showing us its contents is no longer acceptable. Cosmetic microtransactions provide enough revenue, you dont need to 'hide' contents of a pass to ensure your customer base buys it. What you do, and what your competitors already do, is you give us the roadmap and let us decide if the pass is worthwhile to buy. Providing a hint via color portrait is beyond stupid. Just tell me who is coming and let me decide if the pass is worthwhile. Season 1 pass was mid and i deserved the right to know before hand who was coming before making the purchase. Of course it is my fault for buying anyway but i will not make that mistake again.

I still very much enjoy the game and will keep playing but man i hope Namco takes the time to read these reviews and learn from your mistakes or this game WILL die.