Designed to be the most accessible fighting game of all time, Fantasy Strike has dialled up that accessibility even higher following its new free to play update.
Fantasy Strike is now available to download and play without paying any costs across all available platforms, including PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, and Linux (via Steam). It also offers cross-play integration between these five systems.
Taking to the Official PlayStation Blog, Sirlin Games CEO David Sirlin, detailed the major new update at length while also unveiling two new fighters. Sirlin, who was the lead designer on Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, created Fantasy Strike to be mechanically accessible though strategically difficult, making it an ideal gateway into the fighting game genre. Here’s what he says about going free to play:
This is something we wanted to do all along. We know that it’s a huge benefit to the playerbase, not just in that they can play for free, but also in that it attracts a ton more opponents for everyone and helps vastly expand the community. The problem for us was always that in order to make the game free-to-play, we have to develop a bunch of other stuff to actually sell. Well, we did that.
Sirlin and his team have gone about Fantasy Strike’s free to play transition in a good way, making all fighters playable (this includes newcomers Quince and Onimaru) alongside a handful of essential modes.
Bonus modes including Arcade Mode, Survival, Boss Rush, local versus, and online friend matches, can all be unlocked with a one-time purchase of the “Core Pack” priced at £12.99 over on the PlayStation Store. In addition, players can buy Fantasy Strike Gems – a premium currency spent on cosmetic items like costumes and intros.
You can also spend them on a Fantasy Strike+ subscription. This service grants double XP as well as a beefed up replay feature designed for those who are serious about upping their fighting game performance. Exclusive Master costumes will also be tied exclusively to the subscription with prices starting at 500 Gems (£3.24) for one month up to 4,000 Gems (£26.99) for a full year.
Having briefly played this new version of Fantasy Strike, we can definitely see with Sirlin Games are going for. There’s a welcoming simplicity to its fighting controls yet a huge scope for nail-biting tactical play.
Source: Official PlayStation Blog
