DNF Duel Release Date – June 28, 2022

Dungeon & Fighter (Or Dungeon Fighter Online) is a game that many are not aware of when it comes to the western gaming market, but it is a game that has a long and successful history.  Despite being one of the most profitable games of all time (in Asia), many western gamers out there have never heard about this franchise. But that all could change very soon, as DNF Duel, a new fighting game developed by Arc System Works, and 8ing are set to take the fighting game world by storm. And there's so much for Neople, the original developers of Dungeon Fighter Online can gain, along with newcomers to the franchise, as Arc System Works has managed to create a fighting game that's appealing to players of all skill levels.

Traditional and accessible gameplay

One of the key features that many players have been praising, especially those who are new to 2D fighting games, is the inclusion of simple inputs for special moves. While traditional inputs for special moves do exist in the game, all special moves can be performed by pressing a direction and a single button together, à la Super Smash Bros. While fighting game veterans could argue that having such inputs would make the game too easy, there is a caveat to using them.

With the game's MP meter system, your MP meter depletes when performing specials, then refills slowly over time when specials aren't in use. If a player performs a special using a simplified input, the MP meter will have a full second delay before refilling, whereas performing a special with a traditional input, your MP will refill almost immediately after the skill is performed. This means that veteran players will be able to perform more specials and longer combos, and give new players an incentive to learn traditional inputs.

Impressive specials

While most fighting games today treat their special moves as just another way to chip away at the opponent's health bar, DNF Duel instead goes in a different direction. A direction that hasn't been seen with fighting games for quite some time, where special moves are a complete and total spectacle to behold. Each special move in the game is super flashy, lasts a noticeably long time on screen, and in the hands of those who are playing, feels very impactful and satisfying to perform. Simply put: Special moves in DNF Duel actually feel… well… special. And fighting game aficionados such as Maximilian Dood agree that this has not been the case for fighting games in a very long time.

Over-the-top action

One of the biggest selling points with Dungeon Fighter Online's gameplay is that it features some of the most insane and crazy combat sequences that one could ever experience in a video game, period. In a typical dungeon run in DFO, players can witness intense attack skills that take up nearly the entire screen, perform juggle combos that can last several minutes and tons of explosions that will make the player's screen burst with every color that's known on the color spectrum.

In DNF Duel, the action from Dungeon Fighter Online has been very faithfully recreated as multiple effects fill the screen with each attack, but without being too straining on the eyes. Performing combos in DNF Duel also feels very close to its DFO counterpart as nearly every special attack can be chained into another special, allowing players to get really creative and expressive with their approach. As players learn the ins and outs of DNF Duel's mechanics, combo paths will most likely become optimized a month after the game's release, but it will be incredibly fun to see what kind of crazy combos players can come up with.

High rewards

With Neople looking to promote and expand the Dungeon Fighter IP to be more recognizable in the western market, their efforts along with Arc System Works and 8ing have been tremendous so far, as not only are they planning to launch the game three months from the time of this article, but they're also hosting a $100,000 tournament alongside another well established fighting game title, Guilty Gear Strive. To think that they are so confident that they would be willing to spotlight the game next to Guilty Gear is noteworthy, as Arc System Works did not bother to give the same amount of exposure for certain other titles that they've worked on, such as Granblue Fantasy Versus.

Having a tournament with such a huge prize pool will be sure to get players interested in joining the fray, and getting more eyes on DNF Duel could potentially translate into having more eyes on the Dungeon & Fighter franchise as a whole. Neople's marketing team has made it clear that they want DNF to become a household name, as they plan to release a ton of new DNF games within the coming years, including a 2.5D sequel of the original DFO, a mobile device port of the original DFO, and a fully 3D spin-off that features gameplay similar to Souls-like games.

Even more so, pre-orders for the Japanese version of the game are now available, and those who pre-order will gain small bonuses that can be used in the Japanese version of Dungeon Fighter Online and have been cross-promoting with Dungeon Fighter Online's YouTube channel nearly every time that a new video for DNF Duel is released.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)

Michael Sagoe ·

DNF Duel Release Date

Franz Christian Irorita ·

Michael Sagoe ·

Gameplay concerns

Despite all the buzz and praise that DNF Duel has been getting, veteran fighting game players have expressed noteworthy concerns about the game. Several players who managed to spend an extended amount of time with the game during the first open beta test have stated that the overall pacing of combat is too slow, as ground movement can feel sluggish when compared to games like Guilty Gear Strive or Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Aerial mobility is also very limited (unless the player is using Dragon Knight), thus the lack of options for moving around your opponent may be a turn-off for some.

There are also concerns that the lack of defensive options such as a burst or parry could be a detriment to competitive play in the long run, as the combo-heavy nature and huge, lingering specials could lead to some frustrating moments. While it may be fun to perform and watch 30-hit combos that could last up to 10 seconds at a time, it would probably not be very fun for the player who has to watch their character getting combo'd or stuck in blockstun if they have no options to counter or escape.

Despite this, many are still holding a lot of interest in the game, and personally hoping that with this upcoming 2nd open beta test, Arc System Works will listen to player feedback and increase the overall gameplay speed by perhaps 20-30%. They've already stated in their patch notes that forward movement speed will be increased, but that may not be enough.

As a game franchise that has never meant much in the western gaming world, DNF Duel has so little to lose and so much to gain, for the Dungeon Fighter IP as a whole, and for fighting game fans everywhere. One can only hope that with the upcoming 2nd beta test and the game's full release this June, DNF Duel will leave a huge mark.

DNF Duel will be released on June 28th, 2022 for Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and PC via Steam.