Guilty Gear Strive developer blog addresses accusations game is too easy

Guilty Gear Strive developers Arc System Works have been maintaining their transparency regarding their new title coming in early 2021. Appropriately titled the Developer’s Backyard in a nod to the story and lore of Guilty Gear, the devs have touched on a number of subjects fans have been concerned about including the UI, online lobby system, game mechanics as well as presentation.

There has been quite a bit of blowback in the direction of ASW regarding their decision to streamline the basic mechanics of the game in an effort to make the flagship title more accessible to newcomers. In exchange, Development Director Akira Katano and General Director Daisuke Ishiwatari have used a fillable form that was available during the first closed beta test in April to gather data regarding fans’ concerns, gameplay and presentation metrics.

Arc System Works developers answer player concerns in developer update

Fans have been divided once gameplay of Guilty Gear -Strive- was made public during a reveal trailer at EVO 2019. Ishiwatari-san, before divulging any feedback to players' concerns, made note that the vision of Strive was ”not intended to be a continuation of previous titles.” And that “the basis of our development is to create everything to be completely new.”

Concerns made by fans include:

• The damage is too high
• The 3D camera movement disrupts the game pace
• The user interface (UI) during matches
• The online lobby system has errors
• The online lobby’s design
• The UI design

(Picture: Arc System Works)

Arc System Works also made a commitment at the end of the update to let fans know that this is only the first of supposedly many entries into the Developer’s Backyard series. Further information for Guilty Gear Strive was recently revealed at the IGN Summer of Gaming event in which Ramlethal Valentine was announced and at the New Game Plus Expo online this past week in Japan, which focused on new gameplay details for Millia Rage and Zato-1.

• Read more: Guilty Gear Strive: Character guide and tips

Fans of the Guilty Gear franchise can expect to get more information for the upcoming title during the EVO Online event, which will span a series of 5 weekends beginning this Saturday, 5th July in a completely digital space as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can read the full translated Developer’s backyard on Arc System Works’ official English-language site.