It’s been years since Dead or Alive 6 first entered the arena but now the game is back for one last round. With Dead or Alive 6 Last Round, Team Ninja brings the fighting game to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC with some extra characters, new costumes, a Photo Mode, and a couple of upgrades for the newer hardware. The original game was already a fun fighter back in 2019 but also one surrounded by a lot of questionable choices. So, is this Last Round the version fans were waiting for? Let’s find out!
The tournament continues
Dead or Alive 6 Last Round doesn’t change the story or the main modes in a big way. If you played the original game before, you already know what to expect here. The story mode is still the same strange collection of short scenes and fights, jumping between characters without ever becoming truly interesting. It’s not the reason why you’ll play this game, and it never really was. The real reason to play Dead or Alive is still the fighting itself. Once you’re in the arena, the game is a lot more convincing. Dead or Alive 6 remains a very fast and accessible 3D fighter where punches, kicks, throws, and counters follow each other at a high pace. It’s easy to understand in the beginning, but there’s still enough depth if you want to get better. If you keep attacking in the same way, a good opponent will counter you without any problem. If you know when to strike, throw, or hold, the game becomes a lot more exciting.
That’s still the best part of Dead or Alive 6. The fights are quick, responsive and fun to watch. Characters hit hard, stages add some chaos and the game still has that typical Dead or Alive feeling that makes it different from Tekken or Virtua Fighter.
A better roster
The roster is probably the easiest win here. Last Round includes the 24 original fighters and adds Nyotengu, Phase 4, Tamaki, Momiji, and Rachel from the start. That brings the total to 29 characters, which simply feels a lot better than the original release. Especially if you skipped the DLC back then, this version gives you a cleaner starting point. There’s a good amount of variety between the characters. Kasumi and Ayane remain fast and fun to play, Hayabusa is still a powerful fan-favorite and characters like Marie Rose, Honoka and NiCO give the roster a different kind of energy. Some characters are easier to use than others but that’s part of the fun. You can quickly find somebody who fits your style and start learning from there.
The combat itself still feels good. The Break Gauge returns and gives you some powerful options during fights, while the stages still make battles feel more dynamic than in a lot of other fighting games. Smashing your opponent into the environment never really gets old and it gives every fight a bit of extra spectacle.
New extras
Last Round also adds five new costumes for Kasumi, Ayane, Marie Rose, Honoka and NiCO. It’s not the kind of extra that sells the game on its own, but costumes have always been part of Dead or Alive, so I get why they’re here. The best new addition is Photo Mode. It might sound like a small extra but it fits Dead or Alive perfectly. This is a game filled with flashy moves, dramatic poses and detailed character models, so being able to move characters around, change poses and take screenshots is a lot more fun than expected. It’s not going to change your opinion on the game but it’s a nice feature to have and one that feels right at home in this series.
Visually, Last Round also looks better on PlayStation 5. Don’t expect a completely different game but everything looks sharper and cleaner. Dead or Alive 6 was already a good-looking fighting game, so this newer version doesn’t need to reinvent anything. It simply looks like a more modern version of the same game. Some stages use ray tracing now, too but it’s not that big of a difference to be completely honest.
Still not perfect
Sadly, Last Round also brings back some of the problems of the original release. The story mode still isn’t good, the single-player modes are mostly what you expect. This version does include more content from the start, but it still doesn’t feel like the clean and complete edition it could have been. It’s also a shame there’s no crossplay between platforms. Even worse, players of Dead or Alive 6 can’t play online with players of Dead or Alive 6 Last Round. For a fighting game, that’s a strange choice. These games need active communities and splitting players across different versions doesn’t really help. This doesn’t ruin the game but it does make the release feel less exciting than it should. The fighting is still strong, but the things around it could have been handled a lot better.
Conclusion
Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is still a fun fighting game. The combat is fast, the roster is better than before and the new Photo Mode is a great little addition for fans of the series. If you never played Dead or Alive 6 before, this is easily the best version to start with. For returning players, it’s a lot harder to recommend. The new costumes and Photo Mode are nice, but not enough to make this feel like a huge upgrade. The lack of crossplay is disappointing, and the game still carries some of the same problems as before. Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is a better version of a good fighter, but not the perfect final round it could have been.