The largest fighting game multi-tournament in the world has exceeded our expectations: throughout the entire weekend in which EVO 2023 has been held we have seen epic moments, blind participants kicking assconcerts liveplayers with special reservations and extreme measures when it comes to protect your command from unwanted glances… And what is best of all is that we leave with pockets full of Announcements, news and big surprises.
What news comes to the recently released Street Fighter 6? How many are the new games announced? What are the new fighters of highly anticipated games like Mortal Kombat 1, Tekken 8 or Project L? In LifeExtra We have gathered all the answers in one place and, as you will see, throughout these days absolutely everything has been shown.
Following you will find all games, videos, announcements and dates offered throughout the days in which it has been held at EVO 2023, including surprises, long-held promises and some other novelty that has caught us off guard. In a good way, of course. What a good time to be passionate about fighting video games!
In fact, our starting point could be almost any of the announced games. However, it is best to start with an announcement that we have been waiting for 23 years: the wolf of southtown returns to his disciple.
Fatal Fury City of the Wolves
The long-awaited sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves has been shown for the first time, and it is everything that was expected of it: we are facing the return of the Fatal Fury saga and the continuation of a story that was started in 1999, moving on to become a well-deserved cult classic over the years. The bad? There is no date or platforms announced for Fatal Fury City of the Wolves. For now.
Street Fighter 6
The launch of Street Fighter 6 It has only been the beginning: Capcom has announced a lot of content almost imminently, and although the star novelty has not been a surprise, it has managed to live up to expectations: the fighter HERE, who will debut in this game, has been officially presented and anticipates its arrival in the fall of this year. Without date. Of course, even without throwing a punch it is already intimidating.
AKI is part of the fighters pass (along with Rashid, Ed and Akuma) and not only will he appear in all game modes, but even if we don’t acquire the character we can fight with his style by becoming his disciples in World Tour mode. The key? Sharp claws that promise to leave a mark on opponents.
In addition to AKI, Capcom showed the first designs of the third aspect for Guile, Juri, Marisa and Dee Jay. Some of them we had already seen in the endings of the Arcade mode or the World Tour, while others are completely original.
We know these costumes are coming to Street Fighter 6, but the great unknown is how it will be possible to get hold of them. The first, the classic skins, could be purchased in the store or unlocked in World Tour mode. In the absence of the Osaka company ruling, we only have the first. And speaking of costumes and special content: if you like Ninja Turtles, we have great news.
As of August 8 begins the first special collaboration of Street Fighter 6 with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which translates into a lot of thematic content in which we can dress our character as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michaelangelo and add gestures, backgrounds, stickers and more; and even fight through the Battle Hub and World Tour modes with this look so conchanudo.
Mortal Kombat 1
Not one, not two, but three new fighters and even more kameo fighters were announced for Mortal Kombat 1 in the wildest advance of the entire EVO 2023: the very reptile He joins the party with his metamorphic aspect and with him two classic fighters return, but not forgotten: Ashrah and Havik, reappear with a new look and which were relatively forgotten since the Midway stage.
Of course, in addition to those rescued from mortal kombat deception and Armageddon, we received a good batch of news when it comes to the plot, the lore, the context of the new timeline rewritten by Liu Kang and lots of very, very explicit Fatalities and punchlines. To which must be added new kameos like Sareena who, by the way, is also dispatched at ease in her moment of glory.
tekken 8
tekken 8 reveals his first original character created for this installment, and wants to win fans over with pure charisma and hilarious combat style: lily a fighter comes from Peru, she is completely addicted to coffee and by combining both qualities we have a style that will make any rival who comes before her very nervous.
At the combat level, Azucena combines accurate dodges (in a very similar way to Ultra Instinct) with holds and accurate blows at close range, being a real danger despite the fact that she exudes enormous joy throughout the entire combat. That being said, good news doesn’t come alone.
Along with Azucena, Bandai Namco announced the return of another veteran of the Iron Fist saga: Raven, the afro-ninja, shows the evolution of that incisive style given to confusing the opponent and, in the process, shows us his ultimate technique: a jutsu that seems borrowed from Naruto and that will summon a deadly group of shadow clones. What a danger!
Project L
It doesn’t have a definitive name, but Project L It is strongly imposed as one of the most anticipated next fighting games, and despite the fact that the claim to offer League of Legends characters has a lot to do with it, its playable proposal ends up being the biggest attraction: simple, fun and with lots of good ideas.
Facing EVO 2023, Riot Games offered a pleasant surprise and, taking advantage of it, made the proprietary presentations. Regarding the first, it is already official that Yasuo He will be one of the initial fighters of the title itself, and his style is everything that is expected of him: accurate cuts and great distance that expand his mobility and a samurai attitude that does not go unnoticed.
This leads to the other great presentation: Riot Games has offered a complete review of how the game scheme has been raised to offer an experience that is easy to tackle, but with lots of possibilities and unique mechanics for up to four players to fight in pairs. The result: as much chaos (or more) than the MOBA on which it is based. But this is good.
killer instinct
The celebration of the 10th anniversary since the launch of killer instinct was performed in style at EVO 2023. In addition to occupying the main stage, the fighting game from Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios saved a special announcement: Iron Galaxy will give you a comprehensive update to the game in which it will be optimized for Xbox Series X / S with 4K graphics, the online experience will be improved and an adjustment will be made to all fighters. New life and glory for a great game that refuses to grow old and whose news will arrive this year.
Guilty Gear -Strive-
There are no two without three, and despite the fact that this year we will have lots of brand new fighting games, the best Guilty Gear hit first and will continue to go further: Arc System Works has announced the third season of content for Guilty Gear – Strive- led by one of the favorites of the saga and largely absent so far: officially, Johnny is back.
In fact, Johnny will arrive almost imminently: August 24th It will already be available on all platforms both separately and as part of the Season Pass 3 that will add another three more fighters (one for this year and two for 2024), two new scenarios and more color variants for all fighters including those that are announced. Nothing bad.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising
The EVO 2024 is the high season for a non-stop Arc System Works, and although we knew that the sequel to Granblue Fantasy Versus would arrive this year, now we have three new joys: its launch on PlayStation and Steam is scheduled for the next 30 November and two new fighters brought directly from the original RPG have been shown in action: Nier, along with his ally Death, and a first look at Grimnir.
One of the greatest successes of Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is to expand and the gameplay and online experience of the original while preserving the premise of offering a fighting game accessible to everyone with simple controls. Of course, without giving up the show in the key of manganime brand of the house. In the case of Nier, we also come across a style of play that will make fans of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure smile.
The arrival of Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, in fact, it is a masterpiece: distributed by Cygames, it is expected to serve as an exceptional ambassador for the original game, the MMORPG Granblue Fantasy: ReLink, which will arrive later this year in the West. There is no stitch without thread here.
the king of Fighters
We start our review with the greatest joy of SNK, but the truth is that those from Osaka did not leave us with a simple appetizer of what will come in the future: their commitment to the saga Rey de peleas It has been fully redoubled during EVO 2023.
First of all we have the presentation of the new fighter Najd, which was created and designed through a contest in which fans of the fighting saga participated. Her arrival is scheduled for August 8, as she is the epitome of fanservice in all aspects. And be careful, in autumn a well-known face will return within the king of Fighters: DuoLon.
That said, the first joy for those in love with 2D fighting with traditional animation also have reasons to celebrate in the meantime with three-dimensional modeling: on November 16, The King of Fighters XIII Global Match will be released on PS4 and Switch, a version with an online improved with Rollback Netcode. And what about Xbox? For now we know that the 360 version is backwards compatible and can now be played.
pocket bravery
However, the combats with the most marked pixel art come to us from Pqube: the bet on combats with arcade sensations and retro style -with a chivi touch- from pocket bravery appeared at EVO 2023 showing more than just a generous batch of gameplay: the release date has been set for August 31 on Steam (nothing) and we are told that it will reach all consoles very soon.
Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes
Although if what we are looking for in action and manganime combined, the third appearance of Arc System Works in EVO 2023 is the final blow dealt: officially, Under Night In-Birth will have a new sequel. And it paints amazingly.
Call Under Night In-Birth II Sys: Celes It will be the final chapter and the epic conclusion of the saga that began in 2012. Or, at least, that is what has been promised in its first advance. In any case, whether or not it is a farewell installment, it is expected to arrive in early 2024 on PlayStation, Switch and PC via Steam.
Nickelodeon All Star Brawl 2
We close our review with the most recent title and only representative of the subgenre. Smash (or platform fight) in the absence of the Nintendo or Multiversus saga: presented a matter of days ago, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl 2 He rounds out his repertoire of characters from the cartoon factory with the addition of Plankton.
Of course, the game is much more than a new series of fighters: the gameplay, graphics and many key aspects of the original have been tweaked and improved. Something that we will be able to test relatively soon: its launch is scheduled for October 29, 2023.
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