Dragon Ball: Xenoverse

As a moderate fan of the anime, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed XenoVerse, and I suspect you will be too, provided you have any affinity for the source material.

Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse is no next-gen title but is still fun to play on the PlayStation 4, especially if you're a fan of DBZ!

It's not trying to be another Budokai Tenkaichi, and we admit that its combat system could be smoother, but it's the first Dragonball game that tries something new in a long time, and it works. Balancing woes aside, Xenoverse is fun, addictive, and makes you feel like you're a part of Toriyama's world. A must have for a fan.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse is a parallel universe of innovation, new-gen graphics and customization that renews tradition without loosing its original flavour.

You’ll get about 12-15 good hours out of Dragon Ball XenoVerse’s single-player and co-op missions, but you probably won’t touch it much after that.

It's an OK fighting game, but fans will love the amount of references and new ways to enjoy Dragon Ball that it offers. The camera and some tech issues are there, but it has some spectacular battles too.

Sadly, if you've been holding out for a more traditional Dragon Ball fighter, Dragon Ball XenoVerse isn't it. It is, however, a well realised and refreshing take on Akira Toriyama's universe, which allows fans to appreciate the source material from a whole new angle.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse is a great attempt at refreshing the usual formula with a hybrid gameplay which does not always work as intended.

A great experience for the fans, who will forgive the developers for their poor menu presentations and useless open world ambitions. The gameplay does what it needs to do, which is excel.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a pretty addictive and satisfying entry in the series, despite some noticeable shortcomings.

Even though their gamble with the online connectivity and a few fundamental mechanics fell flat on its face, as a long time fan to the series, I found the experience pretty enjoyable all the same.

The battles you fight in are incredibly fast paced and frenetic, exactly what you would expect and hope for from a Dragon Ball game.

Dragon Ball XenoVerse is, without a doubt, the best Dragon Ball-game in ages. The balanced fighting system and the typical chaotic over-the-top fights fit perfectly together. Making your own Dragon Ball-character to play the alternative story is fun. Unfortunately the game is stymied by unstable servers, camera issues and the compulsory grinding.

Xenoverse stands as one of my favorite Dragon Ball Z video games. I like taking my own custom character into familiar battles from the show, and I enjoy acquiring new equipment as I progress. My character may have looked nothing like me, but I really felt like I was actively participating in the flashy action alongside the familiar cast.

Dragon Ball Z is off to a solid start this generation, with XenoVerse. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but fans are going to find plenty to love with the latest chapter in this long-running saga that tells the same story but with a different spin.

A fresh start for Dragon Ball that mixes elements from Budokai Tenkaichi series and Dragon Ball Online. This creates a sort of Online RPG that manages to retell the same old story in a brand new way. Still, it's not perfect, but it's fun anyway.

A wish granted. Xenoverse has repetitive missions and a battle system which can be improved, but it's one of the best Dragon Ball videogames of the last several years.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is far from being the Definitive Dragon Ball game, but right now it's the title that we need to recover some faith on the future of the franchise. It has some flaws but, sure, but the combat system is solid, the graphics look gorgeous even on PS4/Xbox One and the game has a lot of content to unlock. Finally, a Dragon Ball game that we can recommend to the fans.

Dimps brings back to life a saga that has been stumbling for the last several years. Dragon Ball Xenoverse offers an original, entertaining plot and MMO gameplay mechanics. An interesting game that only has some room for improvement in the battle system and with respect to certain audio issues.

The franchise is finally going in the right direction, and we're definitely looking forward to a possible sequel. It has some disappointing aspects, but overall the feelings are positive, particularly if you're a Dragon Ball fan.

While it’s not really much of a looker, and non-fans won’t find much here besides a series of fights, there’s a ton in here for fans of the series to dig into and enjoy.

For the meantime, Dragon Ball Xenoverse may succeed in building a solid role-playing foundation, but is perhaps at its best when considered at being the champion multiplayer game the popular series so sorely deserves.

XenoVerse gets the MMORPG treatment on next-gen consoles. You can customize your own character and even the plot has changed. And that change is not always for the better: the new features are not developed properly, which makes Xenoverse first and foremost a fighting game like others.

The core gameplay isn't strong enough to reach anyone who isn't a fan, but DBZ fans will be quite happy with the final game, warts and all.

Dragon Ball games have had a steady downward trend for several years now. But with Xenoverse the series makes a great debut on the new consoles, with fun and accessible battles. There is still plenty of room for improvements, but it is a good start nonetheless.

Dragon Ball: XenoVerse may not be the perfect Dragon Ball experience, but it is absolutely the perfect foundation for one. Here's to hoping Dimps makes the right choices for the inevitable follow-up.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a fun and pretty innovative experience for both veteran fans and newcomers. Unfortunately, it's weighed down by some elements like the wonky camera, the fickle lock-on, the dumb companion AI, or the slightly repetitive combat.

It won’t set the world on fire, but Dragon Ball Xenoverse is one of the best DBZ games in a long time.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a solid game but still far from being the best game in the history of the franchise. Its fun and full of fan service. The online capabilities might add several hours of entertainment, sadly, its graphics and controls are still not the best.

Dragon Ball XenoVerse may not have a complex fighting system, but this game is all about fan service!

The RPG elements of the game really do hold it back, as they feel under developed and tacked on, but the solid fighting mechanics and the ability to create something unique is a great draw that may keep me coming back just to be able to go Super Saiyan.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse doesn't offer anything out of the ordinary from a narrative standpoint, but it will please everyone looking for a nice fighting game, especially if played online with some friends.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse serves as good entry point for those who have never played a title in the series, due to efficient tutorials, tons of fan service and an accessible battle system. Now, if what you want is a great fighting game with Goku and his friends, you might as well look somewhere else, because Xenoverse is more of an online RPG game.

Quotation forthcoming.

I'd say for “fans of the genre” but this game simply isn't good for anyone. [May 2015, p75]

A game made by fans for fans, and the amount of love and dedication shown to the source material is palpable. The game looks great, sounds great, and the animation is silky-smooth. While the "what if" scenarios may pique the interest of fans, it will likely disappoint anyone looking for a deeper, richer experience.

Even though its gameplay design looks somehow dated, Xenoverse is a tribute that the "ultra fan" of Dragon Ball will surely appreciate.

It's rich in content, but the shallow battle system and unnecessarily bloated health bars of some foes make this feel more like a hesitant step in the right direction than a true home run for the franchise.

The noticeable uptick in graphical fluidity combined with a unique solo campaign seems to be just what this series needed in order to escape from its lengthy slump of mediocrity.

Inevitably, however, there will be those who simply don’t see the appeal of XenoVerse’s core gameplay, and it ultimately grates as it becomes repetitive no matter how much you enjoy it at first.

Xenoverse is worth a recommendation for diehard Dragon Ball Z fans interested in participating in the story. Seeing your own created character interact with legendary moments from the anime is satisfying, and it’s fun to witness characters like Nappa and Goku become allies. However, the shallow and repetitive gameplay lacks the same impact, and the long grind is a heavy burden.

Limited multiplayer options, an average fighting system and not all that impressive graphics - Dragon Ball: Xenoverse barely rises above the average.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse is a weird game. Fans of the TV show should be very pleased but the game still disappoints in many ways. It suffers from lack of focus. The single player campaign is weak and everything is saved by the multiplayer mode. The consequence is this: solo gamers and fans of typical beat'em up games won't have much to do here.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is not a good fighting game, and not a good MMO either. The title from Dimps clearly hesitates between two genres without never mastering one or the other. The far-too-basic gameplay prevent fighting fans from enjoying the battles, while the painful progression does not offer us an efficient online experience.

The camera is finicky, loading times are long, visuals are scraggy. But underneath all that is a decent game that grows on you once you start to level up your character.

No doubt a dream come true for fans, but with so little innovation in the core gameplay the boast of being an interactive cartoon seems more like a liability than a positive.

Some great moments, but this is far from being everything a fully interactive Dragon Ball Z battle could and should be in 2015.

Fan service galore can't save this one from mediocrity. [Issue#255, p.70]