Dead or Alive 6: Last Round Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

To be fair, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round did its base Dead or Alive 5 justice by adding new characters, costumes, and classic stages from Dead or Alive and its sequel. It wasn’t just a last-minute update but offered fans the definitive way to play the fifth mainline entry in the long-running 3D fighting game series. 

As a result, Dead or Alive 6: Last Round brewed the same expectations within me. I was looking forward to playing through more content. And beyond that, graphical and gameplay improvements that justify switching from my old Dead or Alive 5 copy to the new Last Round one. 

But Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo seem distracted with developing Dead or Alive 7 because whatever Dead or Alive 6: Last Round is is a slap in the face. It’s a disappointing launch that is going for the full price of $39.99. Is it worth buying? My Dead or Alive 6: Last Round review should clear that up real quick.

Same Old, Same Old

Dead or Alive 6: Last Round is Dead or Alive 6. They have the same story mode, as well as DOA quest, arcade, time attack, survival, and Versus mode. In the online multiplayer rounds, you have PvP ranked and unranked modes. 

Meanwhile, you also have training mode, including a tutorial, free training to practice your moves, and Command and Combo Challenge modes for polishing up specific combos and button inputs. 

It’s the bare bones of what you need in a competent fighting game, with Dead or Alive thriving in its martial arts niche. Other fighting games have something special to offer, and Dead or Alive has been at the top with the best of the best, finessing its simple but intuitive and surprisingly deep combat system.

Put simply, you have a strike, throw, and hold move, and these follow a rock-paper-scissors-like system where strikes beat throws, throws beat holds, and holds beat strikes. You can mix and match these three basic moves to come up with slick counters and combo attacks. 

The rock-paper-scissors mechanic means you’ll have a swell time if you can anticipate an opponent’s move, and even more cunning is switching up your move at the last minute. 

Moreover, Dead or Alive 6 adds Fatal Rush and Break Gauge systems, which add more depth and strategy. Meanwhile, environmental hazards and stage transitions keep fights consistently engaging.

As far as I can tell, all of these intuitive systems remain intact in Dead or Alive 6: Last Round. The fast-paced nature of fights remains intact, as does the mind games when anticipating opponents’ moves.

Craving Something More

This isn’t surprising because the “Last Round” versions in the Dead or Alive series have always been updates to the original. They were never meant to change what already works. What I do expect is more content. 

Dead or Alive 6 uses a fighting game system that works just fine. However, its story mode is its weakest link. It feels disconnected when you follow each character’s story paths, and even those paths randomly interchange, leaving you confused about what’s going on.From the little plot threads that you can sew together, it barely entices you to remain engrossed. Characters barely have interesting backgrounds, beyond their fan service. Yes, I refer to the female fighters’ sexualization and jiggle physics. 

Never mind, you have other modes. DOA Quest is the strongest, offering a structured progression path to sharpen your skills. You get specific objectives like completing fights under a time limit, beating an opponent using a specific combo, and so on. As you level up, you unlock more levels, costumes, and hairstyles. 

But even DOA Quest grows repetitive over time, which brings me to arcade mode, which lacks any character-specific stories. Instead, it might as well be like the Versus mode, the time attack like the arcade mode with a time limit, and the survival mode just goes on for a while before you finally succumb. 

Long-distance Rivalry

All of these single-player modes soon grow repetitive, and you’ll find yourself seeking some real competition online. The only problem is that Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo seem hellbent on sticking to the old engine. 

No rollback netcode, I’m afraid, which means that you’ll experience input lags, and those can make all the difference between winning and losing a match. I wish the online modes were also more varied, beyond simply matches against another opponent.

I bet Tag Team mode would have made matches more exciting. Uhm, yeah, Tag Team mode remains MIA since Dead or Alive 5. It’s been over ten years since Tag Tag was removed to conserve memory. I’m certain the current-gen hardware right now and a new engine would have solved any memory issues.

When I’d usually be highlighting what’s new in an update and the improvements to the original, Dead or Alive 6: Last Round seems to have taken a step backwards in both regards. It lacks any crossplay, so you can’t play with gamers on other platforms. Scratch that, you can’t play with gamers who are on Dead or Alive 6.

Pocket Change

This brings me to thinking that Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo’s priorities are focused on Dead or Alive 7. But then, if that were the case, then they could have easily gone without releasing Dead or Alive 6: Last Round. Apparently, there will be post-launch content, including more characters, costumes, and the Oboro lighting system.

Ah, the Oboro lighting system is the only significant change in Dead or Alive 6: Last Round. But before you get too excited, it has only been applied to one stage, which does look sharper with more details. The reflections on the water are certainly beautiful to look at, but that’s it. All the other stages remain the same.

As for any new characters, a brand-new one called Minato is apparently coming soon. Otherwise, the roster includes the post-launch DLC ones from Dead or Alive 6. Something weird is that even though you bought the guest fighters, Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond, in Dead or Alive 6, you’ll have to buy them again in the Last Round version.

I’m now getting frustrated because Dead or Alive 6: Last Round is going for the full price of $39.99. What am I paying for exactly? The new Oboro lighting system, which only applies to one stage. I’m supposed to trust that it will apply to the other stages in the future. 

I’m also supposed to trust that new content is coming, and I’m skeptical about that because I’m almost certain any post-launch DLC will require that I open my wallet. All of these costs may seem like pocket change to Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo, but to me, they are extra expenses I’d rather spend on another game that values my time.

Capture the Moment

I’ve saved the Photo Mode for last. Yes, there is a new Photo Mode, and I couldn’t care too much for it because it feels like a consolation prize. Anyway, the Photo Mode in Dead or Alive 6: Last Round is so damn flexible. 

Beyond freezing a specific moment you want to capture, you can go ahead and move individual characters, angling them in the specific way you want them to pose. I imagine Dead or Alive fans spending way too much time on this. 

You’ll want to pick out the attack animation that makes your heart sing. Then go ahead and alter the finer details of your character, down to their sweat, dirt, and facial expressions. A welcome touch is how you can integrate the Photo Mode with the Oboro lighting system if you want even more realism. It’s the least Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo could do.

Verdict 

Whenever a game still has post-launch content in the pipeline, it makes me hesitate on giving a verdict. Yet, in Dead or Alive 6: Last Round’s case, I’m almost certain any post-launch content won’t make too big a difference in what’s currently on offer.

You might as well think of it as the same game as Dead or Alive 6. Nothing has changed in the core offering, be it the story mode or the time attack, survival, Versus, and online modes. That’s partly fantastic because the fighting system in Dead or Alive 6 is fun and satisfying. However, the original game had a lot of issues that I hoped Last Round would fix.  

Input lag because of a lack of rollback netcode, subpar story mode with character-specific story paths that don’t gel well, and limited online content, to name a few. Dead or Alive 6: Last Round fixes none of these and goes ahead to leave out the fan-requested Tag Team and crossplay. 

I still can’t justify buying Dead or Alive 6: Last Round at full price, let alone buying any post-launch content. For what it offers, you’re better off sticking to the original game and waiting for Dead or Alive 7 when Team Ninja might actually up their game.