DNF Duel Reviews
DNF Duel may take it's simplification a step too far, but it's still a flashy and satisfying anime fighter that's approachable for players of all skill levels.
DNF Duel takes a popular but somewhat dated MMORPG and successfully reinvigorates it into a quick to learn but hard to master fighting game.
DNF Duel offers fun and action-packed anime-style combat that's simple enough for new players to jump into without sacrificing too much depth that veterans love. Unfortunately, repetitive single player content with a lack of meaningful unlockables makes the game one that will only retain those who it charms with its flashy fighting.
Overall, DNF Duel is a beautiful anime fighting game that brings together a roster of 16 unique fighters to the arena. While the game is inviting to new players, it doesn’t feel like there is a lot of content for returning players to engage with. While the game is beautiful to look at, there are reasonable questions about how long players will engage with this game.
DNF Duel is an approachable, explosive fighting game. Although it doesn't quite stand out from the crowd in terms of having an instantly recognisable style, it's great fun to actually play. Crazy combos, a cool character roster, and a nice selection of game modes makes for an appealing package. Once we've been able to put the title's online offerings to the test, we'll be updating this review with a score and additional details.
As it stands, DNF:Duel is not a fighter I will continue to play as it’s not the kind of experience I’m looking for in a fighting game. However, that is not to say that I don’t see the value in having a game where bombastic, overtuned characters do dumb things to each other as I don’t believe every fighter needs to be meticulously balanced and brutally deep to have a place in the FGC. All that really means is that I’ll just be watching instead of playing.
DNF Duel adds and subtracts from a variety of fighting game mechanics to create something strangely unique, fundamentally simple, and undeniably fun.
While DNF Duel’s MP system adds a new layer to the fighting game genre, this title plays things far too safe. Fans of Arc System Works’ other fighters will enjoy throwing down as wind wielders and puppet masters, but the studios’ other titles manage to do everything on offer here.
A visually pleasing fighter that is competent in every aspect, but other than being based on a popular MMO and some of the minutiae of its system, other fighters have offered a better experience, some of them even from the same developer.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
DNF Duel is a fun fighting game suitable even for players who are not fans of the genre or do not have much experience with it. But you won't enjoy the story very much and the online gameplay is quite austere. In addition, the Switch version does not support rollback netcode.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
DNF Duel is flashy, easy to get into, and has enough content to keep you entertained. While I feel that the game could use a tad more content beyond Story Mode and a few other challenges that are pretty standard, it's at least a bit more substantial than Guilty Gear Strive's launch version.
The Switch version of DNF Duel is a wild, ridiculous fighter with some neat systems to keep you invested in each battle. It's still the weakest release among all platforms, though.
DNF Duel had the potential to be a great fighting game for beginners, but is far too shallow and unbalanced to be competitive in. Even so, it's good for a more casual and laid back experience with some great visuals.
It’s hard to know what DNF Duel will look like in a year’s time, let alone a few months. Fighting games get huge updates so frequently these days it’s impossible to know what form they’ll take in the long term, whether due to the developers deciding to make massive changes or the meta shifting in such a way that pigeon-holes the greater play dynamics. Right now, though, it’s a ton of fun and relatively easy to hop in and just start pressing buttons. Hopefully it can stay that way for a while because it’s nice to have something to just turn on and get some quick sets in without feeling like I need to actually put in actual work to do anything.
When Nexon first announced that they would be collaborating with Arc System Works to develop a fighting game based on Dungeon Fighter Online, the response was a bit muted. Arc System Works is arguably the best fighting game studio in the industry right now, but working with an IP that has such a niche audience–no matter how huge that IP may be–didn’t set the fighting game community on fire. Fast forward a year and a half later, though, and there’s no doubt that DNF Duel earns its place as one of the more accessible and polished releases the studio has had thus far.
DNF Duel remains a good fighting game in general, but the noticeable drop in graphics quality and the lack of Rollback Netcode makes the Switch version the least successful and appealing.
Review in Italian | Read full review