Dead or Alive 6 Last Round, how to return to the old days - Review

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is the definitive version of Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo's fighting game, which officially debuted in 2019 on PC and eighth-generation consoles (PS4 and Xbox One in this case). It's an all-in-all convincing fighting game based on the iconic Triangle System, a combat system comparable to the game rock-paper-scissors: in other words, strikes (punches and kicks) beat throws, throws cancel counter-attacks, and counter-attacks neutralize strikes. We are therefore talking about a system that is original in its own way, capable of making every battle unique and requiring attention to the opponent's movements.

In any case, Dead or Alive 6 gets a makeover of sorts in a version optimized for current-generation consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series). And, let's be honest, the optimization work isn't too bad: the fights are frantic, responsive, and as delightful as before, with a noticeably better aspect if you opt for performance mode, at the expense of some minor graphical details. The only problem is that Last Round brings no real improvements to the formula we already knew, nor significant additional single-player content, apart from a photo mode where we can pose the characters.

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is offered in the usual dual formula: a "Complete Edition" that includes all modes and 29 characters (actually 31 since two of them are sold separately, but we'll get to that) and another Core Fighters, the free-to-play version that allows you to enter the arena for free with four characters, with the option to purchase new components. The complete package might be interesting if you've never played DOA 6, but certainly not very appealing for those who have already "devoured" it in every form, unless they want to enjoy greater fluidity. 

An interesting combat system, now as then

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round doesn't change a single comma from the "old version" and hasn't been revisited at all regarding the combat system (and we'd even say that's how it should be). As we mentioned, Team Ninja's fighting game features a particular gameplay stratagem, which we could easily define as the triangle system. In fact, as you'll soon realize if you've never had the chance to try it, DOA focuses on throws/grabs to neutralize the opponent and make them fall to the ground. 

In practice, in addition to performing increasingly layered combos (including kicks and punches at various heights), the game guides us towards mastering throws in every circumstance, giving us increasingly detailed notions, both in offensive and purely defensive phases. The latter, if mastered correctly (and it won't always be easy, quite the opposite), will allow us to grab the opponent's punch to intercept the attack and unleash one in return. To put it even more simply: Dead or Alive 6 Last Round, in addition to delighting us with its frenzy and the learning of the most enigmatic combos, introduces us to a different vision of fighting games where "throw reversals" are fundamental in the entire game ecosystem.

All of this is very fun, but obviously, you have to like a more reasoned and less "chaotic" combat system. Know that the golden rule always remains the same: randomly pressing all buttons in a fighting game is never a good idea, and even if you win by instinct, you'll never be able to aim for the top and climb the online rankings. 

To enrich the experience, there are devastating blows, which are particularly powerful attacks that become available when the devastation gauge is full: using them at the right moment could completely change the outcome of the match. There are also other fundamental commands in a fighting game with very competitive notes, including the guard break, an attack that bypasses the opponent's defense, inflicting a critical stun that also causes a stagger. 

In short, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round fully reuses all the good things from the previous version and re-proposes it in its entirety, without modifying anything in a system that essentially works well. Furthermore, we particularly appreciated this formula because it demonstrates that a fighting game is convincing even without implementing various aerial attacks (with sometimes annoying opponents jumping all over the screen). And while there are many commands to memorize (with buttons positioned differently from other genre exponents), the DOA mission comes to our aid, a mode where we have to complete three different objectives and earn the corresponding stars: and among the tasks will also be those related to various combat tutorials.

We have always considered this single-player game element to be congenial to the production, as it allows, in a creative way, to master all the characteristics of the combat system and obtain "unlockables" for the various characters: useful and delightful, as they say. Among the returns is also the story mode: we will always find ourselves on a path divided into chapters, for each character, arranged in columns on a specific grid. This mode has never truly excited us because it is particularly incomplete and disorganized: it jumps from one part of the narrative to another, creating confusion in the player's mind at the same time. 

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round also re-proposes the old arcade (in search of the highest score), time challenges, and a survival mode (one-on-one clashes with increasingly lethal opponents). Rounding out the experience is DOA Central, a hub where we can dress our favorite characters in new outfits, view combat records, unlock background music, and read the game's encyclopedia. In short, everything as before.

No real novelties for Dead or Alive 6 Last Round

You're right, we've repeated it more than once during this analysis, but it's an "indicator" that must be considered when a game is re-released in a definitive "next-gen" form and requires a financial investment from the player. This new version is independent, meaning that if you had already purchased the game on PS4 or Xbox One, you will have to repurchase it from scratch: fortunately, save data, DLC costumes, and premium tickets can be transferred.

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round includes all characters, even the five fighters released over time as DLC: Nyotengu, Tamaki, Momiji, Rachel, and Phase 4. Or rather, we correct ourselves, almost all: Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond (from King of Fighters) will have to be purchased separately. And among other things, if we had already added them to the cart in the old version, we won't be able to transfer them to Last Round, but they will inevitably have to be repurchased. A choice that has somewhat puzzled fans, especially those players who have spent tens and tens of hours on Team Ninja's fighting game.

During the time spent on this return, we also spent some in online mode. Unfortunately, we played very few matches because the turnout wasn't very high, having tried it in preview, but we still managed to win a few matches. However, we must take into account two factors that, probably, should no longer be excluded from the competitive fighting game scene in 2026: rollback netcode and crossplay.

We perfectly understand how challenging the implementation of these two features can be, however, we cannot overlook these shortcomings. And if we wanted to turn a blind eye to rollback (which effectively eliminates input lag), we cannot do the same for crossplay, which would have allowed us to clash with many more players on different platforms. 

We found this new version of Dead or Alive 6 a bit lazy, especially on Xbox Series X, a version that detected a conflict with our TV's HDR, as well as some minor graphical bugs in the various menus that suffer from a lower resolution than that offered by the game. We also felt this sensation in the various cutscenes of the story mode, which do not do justice to the Xbox hardware at all.