izigame.me

Let’s get the huge negative out of the way. Custom characters in ranked was a huge mistake. I bought this game on release and it turned me off the game eventually. Custom characters ruin the competitive integrity and spirit of ranked; characters having different heights and hit/hurtboxes from the character that’s being mimicked introduces a wide spectrum of variance in the match. I know SoulCalibur has always had a stronger customization mode and I do agree that it should be celebrated. However, competitive integrity and the customization can and should exist as two separate entities.
Despite that negative, offline tournaments/sessions will always be the gold standard and the game holds up well there.
The new mechanic, Reversal Edge, was somewhat contentious. When a Reversal Edge hits, an RPS minigame occurs, which slows down the match. However, Reversal Edges have an obvious flaw – being very vertical. As skill level increased, the mechanic became used less and less. Consequently, I wasn’t entirely put off by the mechanic’s consequence of slowing the game down since it happened less often over time. Whenever it did happen however, it became more a knowledge check than anything. As an example - like how in Tekken how you’d want to break King’s Rolling Death Cradle if he happened to get the Arm Breaker grab on you…for Reversal Edge, you’ll wanna make sure to defend against Geralt’s A option at all costs, especially for ring out scenarios. Getting hit with non-A options would just be a small price to pay compared to the bigger punishment (unless it’s a low HP situation, then have fun lol).
Therefore, I wouldn’t call Reversal Edge a success, but I don’t think it’s the colossal disaster that some interpret it to be. If they want to do something like this again for the next entry, I would ask Namco to take inspiration from Tekken’s Power Crush or SF4’s Focus Attack. As it is right now, Reversal Edge is awkward and it didn’t exactly help beginners defend better either.
I’ve been fairly critical so far – so why do I still recommend it? I recognize that not all buyers of a fighting game are necessarily tournament players. I enjoyed the package as a whole. The single player content is good and the roster is great too. Geralt, 2B and Haohmaru being available as guest characters still kinda blows my mind. If you’ve played SoulCalibur in the past, the overall presentation and action should scratch that itch. Libra of Souls, Story Mode and of course, Character Creation/Customization should keep most players occupied enough.