Kill la Kill: IF

Kill la Kill The Game: IF is a unique title for sure. It lacks depth and breadth but makes up for it in wackiness and style. Fans of the anime will likely enjoy it, but fighting game fans in general will most likely pass this one by. There just isn’t enough here to make it stand out among the crowd. One thing I can say about it though is that nothing is ever likely to be as bonkers as far as fighting games go…oh who am I kidding?

KILL la KILL IF has all the visual prowess of an Arc System Works competitive fighter minus the substance that they are usually known for. It doesn’t necessarily handle badly control-wise, it’s just far too simplistic for even the most casual player to get any real longevity or satisfaction from it. Mix that with a horde survival mode tacked on as an afterthought, and you have an unrewarding button-masher masked behind the scribbled down blueprints of a fighting game.

Only for veteran anime fans. A powerful adaptation that has the spirit of Kill la Kill and that all lovers of the fighting genre will like: easy to learn, hard to master.

The alternative story mode will delight the original anime followers; the gameplay is frantic and the talent is appreciated, but the reduced number of characters, modes and scenarios looks to us as a nonsense that strikes down a good fighting game.

A game that will be appealing just for anime fans due to some gameplay issues and a bad pacing at his storytelling. Having only 10 fighters doesn't helps a lot with that.

Kill la Kill the Game: IF has fun gameplay and a very appealing visual style, but it is let down by its inaccessible story mode and lack of content to incentivise prolonged play. The small cast of characters is forgivable because of how unique and fun each one is to play, but it's difficult to justify buying this at the full retail price when it runs so light on content. Nevertheless, the fanservice and unmistakable Kill la Kill flair is likely to delight fans, but aside from a few amusing unlockables in the gallery mode, there is little to sustain them beyond playing online.

Despite some great looking cel-shaded graphics, Kill la Kill The Game: IF feels carelessly put together. With a shallow roster to match its shallow fighting system, it lacks both the breadth and depth to make competitive play interesting, and its story mode that's simultaneously long-winded and brief fails to make up for an overall lack of interesting content.

Kill la Kill: IF has done a lot of work to push the arena fighter genre forward, even if its story mode won’t build up new fans.

Kill la Kill: IF feels like the animation series that it's based on has been transported to a fighting game, right down to its lively characters and plot. The gameplay mechanics are simple to learn, but they can feel rather shallow after a while and the game's lifespan could certainly use some more length but none of that makes Kill la Kill: IF any less of a recommended experience for fans of the series.

Unless you’re a fan of the anime, Kill La Kill: IF is not the game for you. While the story mode is beautifully presented, it’s not as lengthy or engaging as the hours-long experiences offered by other arena fighters. While the potential of an Arc System Works arena fighter sounds promising, this 3D fighting game ends up being a bigger disappointment than many of its contemporaries. The visuals are pristine, the animation is gorgeous, but everything else feels barren. Kill La Kill: IF feels like a budget title – too bad it costs $50.

With TRIGGER’s involvement for the design and Kazuki Nakashima’s involvement for the story, they managed to help deliver the style, music and hype that fans of the anime – such as myself – loved while creating an all-new “what if” story that may have fans returning to the anime.

Arc System Works delivers a great combat system and a fun story mode, but 8 fighters and 6 levels are too few, even if you are a big fan of the anime.