Game review: Dead or Alive 6 Last Round (Xbox Series X)

The Dead or Alive series used to be a 3D fighting game powerhouse back in the early '00s. I remember the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 had Dead or Alive 3 and 4 as exclusives, and they were bangers back in the day.

Sadly, the series started to die down after the release of Dead or Alive 5, due to competition from Tekken 7, as well as unfair treatment from some members of society, labelling the franchise as 'gooner bait'.

The release of Dead or Alive 6 in 2019 seemed like it was the end of the series because developer Team Ninja started to concentrate more on Nioh, and that iteration underwhelmed in terms of raw sales.

Thankfully, Team Ninja has somewhat revived the DOA series this year by re-releasing the game as Dead or Alive 6 Last Round. Not to mention, a seventh Dead or Alive game is currently in development. Is this new version of Dead or Alive 6 worth it? Find out in our full review.

Visuals and performance

One of the things you will notice straight away is that Dead or Alive 6 Last Round on Xbox Series X looks and plays way better than the 2019 version of the game on a base PS4. If you owned the game on PS4, it maxed out at only 1080p. With the Last Round re-release, you can finally play the game in glorious 4K.

Even though the PS4 version of the game targeted 60fps, you may have noticed some frame drops when characters crashed through walls and debris. Well, the frame rate is stable on Xbox Series X, no matter how heavy the action is.

Another small improvement over the game's performance is that the loading times are much faster this time around. I remember the load times on PS4 being kind of slow, but you don't have to wait too long getting into the action on Xbox Series X.

New features

Since Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is a re-release, you can expect this version to come with some new features. One of the cool things about Last Round is that most of the DLC characters from the base game are now free. See below the characters you get without paying extra for them.

• Nyotengu
• Phase 4
• Momiji
• Rachel
• Tamaki

Momiji and Rachel are from the Ninja Gaiden series, while Tamaki is featured in Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation. Nyotengu and Phase 4 are from Dead or Alive 5 Last Round.

Sadly, Dead or Alive Last Round still forces you to pay extra for Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond. If you know these characters, they are from The King of Fighters series.

The other new feature of the game is a much-improved Photo Mode. You can pick two fighters, choose a location, and pause the gameplay to take any photo you wish.

If you want to save the photo, you can do so by using the share button on your controller, and it should be stored on your console's hard drive. I would have liked a proper photo mode where the character posed like supermodels instead, but I guess this is better than nothing.

What is still missing?

Sadly, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is still missing some crucial features that would have made the game better. Most mainline Dead or Alive games had a fun tag team mode, but alas, it's still missing here in Dead or Alive 6 Last Round.

Online players will be annoyed, too, because this version of the game still has no rollback netcode. This means when you play online, your gameplay is likely to lag, which is frustrating.

Another frustrating thing about this release is that there is no crossplay either. This means Xbox players can only play against Xbox players, and PlayStation players can only play against PlayStation players. In other modern fighting games, everyone can play against each other regardless of the platform.

Despite the game featuring many unlockable costumes for each character, a ton of other costumes are still locked behind a paywall. If you bought DLC costumes for the base game, you don't have to buy them again. Still, I was hoping more costumes were available for Last Round owners since other re-releases usually have all content unlocked for free!

Gameplay still kicks butt

Even though the game has missing features, the best part about Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is arguably its fun gameplay. I've always preferred playing Dead or Alive games over Tekken, mainly because it's easier to perform combos, and the reversal system allows you to counterattack aggressive players.

The controls of the game are also much easier on my fingers and thumbs compared to other fighting games. You don't have to worry too much about rotating the sticks in weird directions like in Street Fighter games, and the moves are easier to execute than in Tekken, in my opinion.

Overall thoughts

If you have never played Dead or Alive 6 before, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is definitely worth buying. Not only are the graphics beautiful to look at, but the gameplay is fast and satisfying. Not to mention, you get more fighters in this re-release compared to the original game.

The game is probably not worth buying, though, if you already own Dead or Alive 6 and most of its DLC. If you are part of this camp, it might be better to wait for Dead or Alive 7 instead.

Verdict: 7.5/10