Review for Kill the Kill the Game: IF. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 25/07/2019
If you loved the crazy studio anime trigger, you can't help but love too Kill the Kill the Game: IF, its videogame incarnation ready to land on ours PC, PlayStation 4 e Nintendo Switch. Who does not know the world of Kill la Kill, know that it is talking about a story of fighting and revenge, all very Japanese style, but characterized by nonsense elements definitely over the top, often insane comedy and a lot of good fanservice, however always brought to the screen in a very intelligent and never vulgar way.
Wanting to summarize the plot as much as possible, so as not to spoil the surprise for those unfamiliar with the work, we can say that we are in a Japanese student environment that is not exactly normal, where the social status (not just school) is given by the type of uniform worn, from the most common to climbing more and more in the pyramid, to get to those worn by Satsuki Kiryuin, President of the Student Committee and her direct minions, the presidents of school clubs, who more than uniforms wear real artifacts that give superpowers. To undermine the totalitarian regime of the beautiful and tyrannical Satsuki, we think the disturbing Ryuko Matoi, mysterious student appeared out of nowhere who, armed with a giant sword in the shape of a half scissor (!) And a sentient uniform (!!) , tries to shed light on the death of his father.
You will therefore have understood the type of narrative register that permeates the entire series and which, to the great pleasure of all those who have enjoyed the anime, is transposed on a par in Kill la Kill The Game: IF.
Kill la Kill The Game: IF, distributed by Arc System Works, is basically a fighting game with a strong narrative component. The Story Mode presents two different narrative arcs, one from the point of view of Ryuko and that of President Satsuki, with real episodes of the anime interspersed with parts played (obviously the fights) in the role of one of the two protagonists. The story told differs from that of the TV series, giving life to a sort of alternative plot (hence the IF of the title) exclusive to the video game, but equally crazy and engaging.
The clashes that we will be called to face will not be resolved only with the classic one on one, but we will often also find ourselves having to face several opponents at the same time, depending on the situation. It will also happen that we will have to face characters who until a few bars before were our allies, in order to confront the whole roster of fighters. However, these will also be usable by the player in Versus mode, where we will be able to engage in single matches both against the CPU, and against an opponent in the flesh, both locally and obviously online.
The number of characters presented, however, constitutes one of the major flaws of Kill la Kill The Game: IF. In fact, the roster of fighters is limited to only eight characters, ten counting the variants (with different move set) of Ryuko and Satsuki. Definitely a bit too thin for a game devoted entirely to fighting. A free DLC will be released shortly after the title's release, introducing two more fighters, bringing the total number of selectable characters to twelve. Still a little too little compared to the standards to which other titles of the same type have accustomed us, one above all the recent one Senran Kagura Burst Re: Newal.
The lack of variety unfortunately also affects the rest of the content in this Kill la Kill The Game: IF. In addition to the aforementioned Story Mode and Versus, we will have the opportunity to practice and access a gallery where we can review the anime parts of the narrative mode and where we will be able to build nice dioramas with the characters and elements that we will unlock during the game. Nothing more, unfortunately.
On the technical side, Kill la Kill The Game: IF looks really good, with amazing, detailed and clean cel shaded graphics, an excellent sound sector and a more than excellent gameplay.
The control system, although not as deep and inspired as that of other fighting games, is extremely practical and intuitive, perfect for making the most of one of the strengths of the game: the spectacular. Every combo or special move will be accompanied by a superb and impactful animation, making every fight look like something straight out of the original anime. The excellent characterization of the characters, both visually and as a park moves, then, adds value to the whole.
Kill la Kill The Game: IF can easily be considered a more than good fighting game, almost excellent if you are a fan of the anime, of which it captures and re-proposes all the atmosphere and situations in a superb way. Unfortunately, the scarce amount of content seriously undermines its longevity: it won't take long to see all that Kill la Kill The Game: IF has to offer, thus waning interest very soon. Therefore especially recommended to fans of the beautiful Ryuko, hoping that other elements will be added in the future, in order to do more justice to a game that technically does its duty without missing a beat.
► Kill la Kill the Game: IF is a fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works for Nintendo Switch, PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 25/07/2019
