Dead or Alive 6: Last Round Review – Fast, Fun, and Packed with Content

Dead or Alive 6: Last Round Review

The fighting genre is rich with competition. From the forefathers of the industry to new and exciting approaches to battling, it takes something remarkable to make an impact. While competition is fierce among 2D fighters, only a handful of titles truly go head-to-head in the 3D realm. Tekken has maintained its dominance, releasing regular iterations that build on previous systems, while others slipped into the shadows. Dead or Alive aims to emerge from that darkness and challenge once again. Alongside announcing a new release in the franchise, Koei Tecmo is also releasing the definitive version of its 6th entry, titled Last Round, but will it be enough to rival its competitors and reclaim its following?

Dead or Alive has a unique triangle system, which adds a wonderful layer of strategy to fights. This encourages you to use all the skills in your arsenal rather than relying on certain tools to overcome your opponent. Strikes counter throws, throws beat holds and holds thwart strikes. It’s a simple system, but in practice, it pushes to read and react rather than spam attacks. While this is a deep system, which rewards mastery, it never feels overwhelming due to the game’s accessibility.

Ready to Rumble

Fighting is fluid and easy to pick up and play. The inclusion of Fatal Rush combos, which allows you to unleash a flurry of hits with the press of a single button, helps to lower the barrier for entry, giving newcomers a way to stay competitive. As fights progress, you can build your special attack meter to deliver a visceral Break Blow, which knocks a chunk off your opponent’s health or use this to perform a Break Hold, which counters an oncoming attack. The intuitive implementation of these features adds to the overall accessibility and pace of matches.

In addition to standard Arcade, Time Attack, Survival and Versus modes, Last Round also includes DOA Quest. This mission-based mode is packed with small objectives and acts as an additional tutorial, teaching you the numerous aspects of combat while rewarding you with a plethora of items to customize your fighters. While it can feel a little grindy, it’s a great mode to dip into when wanting a quick fix. However, if you want to improve your skills in the arena, the comprehensive Training mode is the place to go. From basic tutorials to Combo Challenges, Team Ninja includes everything you need to become a true warrior.

One of the biggest changes with modern fighters is the care and attention given to the story. Mortal Kombat raised the bar, delivering an engaging narrative that seamlessly intertwined with the story. With DOA 6, the story is a confusing mess. Split into character-specific tales, it’s difficult to work out the structure due to the disjointed menu. It can feel like work having to figure out what’s happening and due to this, many players may find themselves losing interest long before the story reaches its conclusion.

Weapon of Choice

The roster is varied, with each character possessing a unique fighting style that allows you to experiment with different approaches and find a fighter that suits your preferred playstyle. Although some characters follow tropes of the genre and the overt sexualisation of women feels dated, there’s still a solid and diverse cast. While the visuals have been polished, it still shows its age. Textures lack the detail seen in modern titles and models look a little basic. However, the movement and animation still look great, leading to cinematic battles that remain exciting from start to finish.

Other new features include a Photo mode, previous DLC characters and some new customizable options. In reality, there’s not much else for a so-called definitive release; however, the gameplay is the selling point. This is a great 3D fighter that rivals many of its peers and the release model may tempt more players to engage. The free-to-play, Core Fighters edition, includes 4 characters and access to several modes, whereas the Standard edition includes the full roster and all modes. While this may help build a thriving online community, the netcode isn’t perfect, with odd stutters that could harm the overall online experience.

The Final Blow

Dead or Alive 6: Last Round is a strong fighter that features a wonderful triangle system, adding an extra layer of depth to battles. Although the story mode lacks the focus and structure of its peers, it makes up for this with the wealth of content on offer. The training mode is particularly impressive, offering clear insight into mechanics and combos for both newcomers and veterans. Fights are tight and fluid, thanks in part to the strong animation, although its age does show, particularly in the texture work. With a free-to-play option available, it’s certainly worth checking out, but it doesn’t quite manage to compete with its biggest rivals when you step into the arena.

***A PS5 code was provided for this review***