Guilty Gear Strive Performs Well on the Switch

I’m always amazed at what Arc System Works can accomplish. I mean, it’s one of the best fighting game developers in the world. Of course the team is capable of taking nuances of systems into account and ensuring they’re at their best on platforms. Guilty Gear Strive is an impressive game, and fittingly enough it seems to remain so even on a Switch.

The important thing to know going in to Guilty Gear Strive on the Switch is that this is the full game. There are no compromises. All the characters are here. The online works well. If you have a Pro Controller or fight stick, it will even control in the same way, though I was picking at it in handheld mode with the Joy-Cons and having a great time. Rollback netcode is still here and works well. We also got the game at launch with 13 Season Pass 1-3 characters and Queen Dizzy, which is extraordinary and more than makes up for the wait.

The first thing that impressed me about Guilty Gear Strive on the Switch is how good it still looked. It’s an incredibly pretty game on other platforms, and it remains so here. Maybe the characters might not look as sharp and crisp, especially if you’re playing in Handheld Mode with its limitations. But it’s still so pretty, with combos that look seamless when pulled off well. I still think Dragon Ball FighterZ is probably the prettiest Arc System Works Switch fighter. Still, this does look amazing. I do feel like there’s a little bit of minor lag between the two. Minor compromises aside, it is impressive. 

I’m also a big fan of Guilty Gear Strive on the Switch because it’s so well-suited for the story. It’s a long one, and I found it so much easier to read through here in handheld mode than when watching it on a TV while playing on the PS5. It’s so much easier to enjoy and go through everything that’s happening in it.

It honestly feels like Guilty Gear Strive is a bit of a deal here. I’ve mentioned already that we’re getting 28 characters here. The base game had 15 fighters on the other platforms at launch. So yes, it’s full price at launch four years after the PlayStation and PC versions debuted. I feel like it made up for it not being as striking as those versions, as well as not having as active an online community. 

Arc System Works tends to work some sort of magic when it comes to making fighting games that also seem to perform admirably on the Switch, and Guilty Gear Strive is no exception. It really feels like a strong port, considering the limitations. While the PS5, Xbox Series X, or PC versions might be the go-to for the title, there’s a lot to be said for getting to play it on the go here. It’s solid, especially considering the first three season passes are here in full too.

Guilty Gear Strive is available for the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.