Recent reviews by Spoonz

-Rollback appears to add input lag
-Ranked is one game per opponent
-Denuvo
-If you must have a copy the console versions may be better

I'll play it again if they improve the lag and/or remove Denuvo

SYSTEM
Round start full meter (100). Meter regenerates automatically.
The maximum meter you can store increases as you lose health.
A/B buttons function as regular moves. No directional inputs are tied to them.
S button is specifically for character specific special moves that works like Smash and GBVS easy input.
Reminiscent of Blazblue D
MS button is used to access meter-using moves. Moves with MS can be done like S button or motion qcf/qcb.
Using the motion inputs with MS prompts your meter to regenerate immediately.
Not 100% certain but having simple inputs and motion inputs on the same button leads to inconsistencies with moves coming out.
There is no toggle to turn off simple MS inputs. GBVS sidesteps this issue by having simple inputs entered
on a separate, dedicated button.
It is early but it seems the benefits for motion MS inputs are not noticeable enough at lower level play.
Block button is used to access the forward roll. Can also be used to negate right/left mixups. Game allows you to block
by holding the direction back down/back as well.

Two types of damage red and white
white damage recovers after a period of time while not being hit, red is lost for good
On hit A/B/S deals 50% white damage, MS deals all red damage
On block A/B/S deals no damage at all, MS deals 50% white damage

After reaching 30% health characters enter awakening state
Every character has a unique trait that activates
You also get access to Awakening Skill which is a one button, once time use per round.
It has no invulnerability and much like using a Rage Art in Tekken 7, using it deactivates your unique awakening trait

Overall DNF Duel has a lower skill floor than Strive but also a higher execution ceiling.
The feel of DNF Duel to comparative FGs:
SFV - GBVS - DNFD - Strive
If I was to compare it to a single series it would be UNIEL/ST.
Huge normals, but no air blocking at all. You will have to learn how to block everything.


ONLINE
Rollback netcode is fantastic and is on par with Strive.
While in an online match you will see opponent's ping and rollback frames.
No quick match casual/player match, only player lobbies.
Can't search player lobbies by region.
In player rooms host can't broadcast they're going to disband room: no option like Xrd to close room after all matches complete
No minimum online PC check: you will run into people whose PCs can't run the game properly.
When ranked matchmaking can't specify connection speed, only auto/manual accept match, region, strength smiliar/all
No connection or wifi indicator when prompted to accept a ranked match
While queued can play tutorial/trials training arcade survival
When about to find a match it freezes the game for some reason
No audible indicator when opponent found
Game will keep matching you forever even if you're AFK


GRAPHICS
Looks good, but moderate in terms of PC graphical options.
Artstyle ensures the game will not age poorly.


SOUND
Soundtrack lacking for franchise two decades old, current selection is lacking.
Can pick voice language per character, opponent's choice of voices doesn't override your choices on your PC
Music stops when window not focused, no option to adjust it


MISC
Only windowed borderless/windowed options, no full screen option in game (possible to change outside of game)
Replay settings reset whenever you leave the replay menu
Regional pricing means less LATAM/SAM on NA servers
PC has no DFO bonuses like the console physical editions


TLDR
Low skill floor above average skill ceiling fighting game with superb netcode. It is fun.

My initial impressions after playing a few hours online.
I played Vsav/Vsav2/Vhun2, HSF2, Pocket Fighter, Cyberbots, Red Earth.


+3P/K option, no issues mapping buttons to stick
+Vsav has EN option, Vsav2/Vhun2 are japanese only
+can queue up for multiple games at once including JP/EN versions. Option to play one of the games or browse
museum mode while queued.
+Meaty museum mode
+toggles for special characters, eg easy akuma select in HSF2
+good online from my session. Searched for connection strength 2+. I had one bad match with badly fluctuating rollback but that was before setting a minimum connection strength.
+compared to the console versions of this collection, PC has next to zero input lag
+options to reduce light and flashing in certain games


=one button specials option (which is automatically disabled in ranked)
=having so many versions of Darkstalkers, it seems people have difficulty staying on one version. Or they like a particular version. Or trying out everything day 1.
=numerous filters which may or may not suit your tastes. I think the default filter was fine.


-no opponent connection indicator indicating if they're wired/wifi. No rollback indicator like in Strive or MBTL
-barebones PC settings. resolution, window/borderless/full is about all you get
-Default aspect ratio is a bit stretched, but easily changed
-Slowdown in HSF2, not sure if native to the arcade version as I haven't played it, but it's there.
-censored Honda Stage
-no crossplay with consoles
-no replays

From the games I played, the ports and online are solid. Not a clown show like SF30th is.
The asking price is probably steep if you don't like Darkstalkers (half the collection) or only like a couple.
Whether this collection has legs will depend on whether the community adopts this collection.

A solid entry in the KOF franchise.

Most of the particle effects are terrible, but for the most part the graphics and presentation don't offend my eyes like XIV did. It definitely looks better in motion.

XV lowers the skill floor (simplifying some inputs, some universal inputs, input buffer larger) while the ceiling remains as high as previous entries. (characters retain their depth of moves). Legacy skill will carry over, so you can easily stay on 98/02 if you would prefer to get XV on a discount.

The music is great, but if for whatever reason you don't like it XV has soundtracks from previous games via unlocks.

Rollback netcode has been great. Playing against high ping people is doable. Matchmaking needs to be patched however, as there can be times when you will not be able to connect to any opponent.

XV online does suffer from the same problem as GG Strive in that it does not have an online quality check for PC. So players with PCs that can't handle the game are allowed to play online, resulting in underwater slowdown matches. What both Strive and XV really need is a wifi connection indicator like Tekken 7 and DOA6 so you can properly currate the quality of matches you play. The connection quality filter on matchmaking is not very accurate.

PC XV looks to be the best version of the game as the Playstation counterparts suffer from greater input lag.

Honestly, the only off putting thing about XV is the MSRP. It's a lot to ask for, but I think people will get enough replay out of it for a long time.

Good story driven game.
Graphics hold up well enough that you can skip the remaster.
Cutscenes, however, are a bit dated.
Gameplay mechanics fun for the first half of the game, but gets tedious after a while.

The most irritating thing the game does is constantly swing your camera to the left,
even after manually toggling it back to the right.
For people who prefer the camera over the right shoulder it's maddening.

I played Control before Alan Wake and I prefer that, but Alan Wake is worth a playthrough.

Better than the console version but lacks the mobage codes for whatever reason

Easily the best game of 2019

The worst thing I can say about it is it uses Denuvo. Hopefully it is removed in the future.

This game plus Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 2 remake reminds everyone Capcom is a company that can still produce quality games

Good entry in the series and the superior version is on PC. DLC is overpriced, though.

You're better off playing DR 1 or 2.

3 is an inferior sequel in every regard.

Digital card game. If you didn't like Hearthstone or other card games this game is unlikely to convert you.
That said, this is less RNG based than other similar games. Starting off is made easy by plentiful packs given to you. Not difficult to create a competitive deck. Art is superb. Evolve is a great mechanic for this genre due to the strategy and momentum swings it can enact.

The english script is incredibly poor and includes censorship of card names (ie. Satan to Prince of Darkness) and some of the art (Isabelle). No dual language option, although you can patch your game to revert the censorship and/or switch to JP voiceovers.

Solid game worth playing if you can get over the silly localization.