The Dead or Alive series has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. It's over the top story and the ability to pull off flashy combos, are some of my favorite moments to have experienced with the series to date. While I am not very knowledgeable about fighting games by any stretch of the imagination, there's something quite intriguing that keeps me coming back for more.

Running on a new engine, Dead or Alive 6 shows off more dazzling and realistic visual details, including dynamic facial expressions. Characters had very powerful expressions on their faces while landing punches and kicks. Sweat and blood would engulf their body and their clothing would take damage. Kasumi's new tactical outfit seems to have more of a reserved look this time around. But nonetheless, it looked absolutely gorgeous in 4K. It will definitely be interesting to see if some of the classic costumes will make a return, perhaps in the form of DLC.

At its core, not much has changed in terms of gameplay mechanics. With the visuals changing, the biggest draw to the game is introducing beginning players with a new combo and special attack system: Fatal Rush And Break Guage. As you land attacks, the break gauge will fill eventually allowing you to pull off a Fatal Rush, launching a string of animated punches that will make even a new player look like an expert. The player on the other end of the attack can choose to cancel the combo at the cost of their break gauge.

Throughout my time with the game, I found myself using Fatal Rush in a more defensive way, mainly to get out of a combo or if I was cornered, but I never felt like it was something I should spam. Overall these new commands offer up powerful attacks and are a great way of allowing new players to experience the thrill of fighting games without prior experience. For the veteran player, this will add a new layer of strategy to competitive play.

I feel like I have just scratched the surface with Dead or Alive 6. The game is absolutely beautiful to look at and the new Fatal Rush system will be exciting to master. I cannot wait to jump back into the world of Dead or Alive and collect all the different costumes.