An incredibly underrated fighting game, DNF Duel, is currently free-to-own on the Epic Games Store right now. It may not have many players now, but I still think it is worth playing.
It is being offered alongside CYGNI: All Guns Blazing, a visually intriguing shoot ’em up, and the Conduit Free Unlock Bundle for Apex Legends, which grants you the Legend Conduit for free, plus a skin. They are all free-to-own forever, as long as you claim them before August 15 at 4 pm BST / 11 am ET/ 8 am PT.
But why should you play DNF Duel (besides that it’s free)? Sit down and let me tell you.
It’s actually published by Arc System Works, makers of Guilty Gear, so of course it has an awesome anime art style with a deep fighting system. I enjoy ArcSys games, so I picked it up back when it came out in 2022 and loved the heck out of it.
One of the main mechanics of the game is being able to use simple direction inputs for moves – think Super Smash Bros. However, if you prefer traditional fighting game controls, those are available as well, and will even reward you with more damage. It’s an input style that’s become more popular in recent years, expanding across a bunch of different fighting games including Street Fighter 6.
We here at Destructoid thought it was an easy-to-learn hard-to-master fighting game, but worried about its longevity. And while its online servers aren’t super populated right now, it still has a niche community and had a community tournament at EVO 2024.
I still highly recommend trying it out if you are a newcomer to fighting games. Maybe just find a Discord or group that plays together, if you are planning on playing online. Plus, if you enjoy it, there are five DLC characters that are also on sale for 50% right now to expand the roster.
Published: Aug 9, 2024 02:41 pm