Info about Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate: Official game description: Follow four cuties who pack a punch—Mikoto, Waka, Itsuki, and Yuzuha—as they hack and slash their way across parallel worlds to rescue Nagi, who has been spirited away by the villainous Phantom. Battling through eight action-packed stages, they take down the legions of Phantom’s minions standing in their way. The game features diverse combat mechanics reminiscent of a fighting game, with strategic action and intense encounters. As players defeat enemies, they level up and earn points to unlock new skills, adding a growth element to the gameplay. Level up both your characters and your skills, rescue Nagi, and return to your world! REVAMPED GAMEPLAY ----------------- Gameplay has been rebuilt from scratch in Unreal Engine 5, giving smoother gameplay, flashier special attacks, and an enhanced online experience. ONLINE CO-OP AND VS MODES ------------------------- Enjoy local multiplayer with up to four players in co-op or versus modes. Online multiplayer allows for up to six players in co-op and up to eight in versus mode. With cross-platform online play, team up with or face off against players from around the world! PLAY AS THE ENEMY ----------------- Take on the role of powerful adversaries from the Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds universe. A total of 38 characters are playable! Unlock them for co-op and versus modes by completing Story Mode and watching the end-roll. From the biggest baddies to minor grunts, a wide variety awaits! REMASTERED SOUNDTRACK --------------------- Players can choose an all-new soundtrack composed by all-girl J-rock band The Phantom Breakers or the classic versions from the original games. STORY ----- Tokyo―the capital of Japan. A mysterious man named Phantom plots to regain his sealed powers. By giving weaponry known as F.A.s (Fu-mension Artifacts) to the young with special abilities, he lures them into battle with the promise of granting the victor their wish. However, unbeknownst to the participants, the violent clashes of F.A.s cause distortions in the fabric of space-time, creating rifts between this world and other parallel worlds― ―rifts that will ultimately compromise the seals binding Phantom's powers. Waka, daughter of the Kumon Family―an ancient clan that has waged war against evils―along with the support of Mikoto, fights to thwart Phantom's evil plan, but despite their combined might, Phantom manages to escape just in time. While fleeing, he kidnaps Waka's younger sister, Nagi Kumon. Itsuki, a maid and self-proclaimed Arbiter of Justice and Yuzuha, a ninja who has resisted Phantom's temptations, join forces with Waka and Mikoto to pursue Phantom and rescue Nagi. Release date: 17 Apr, 2025 Categories: Beat 'em up, Fighting Game, Cooperative Multiplayer, Competitive Multiplayer, Character Progression, Character Collection, Item Management - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Fun, enjoyable, and fresh experience (weight 0.91): The game is considered fun and enjoyable due to fluid combat, appealing visuals, and a fresh experience compared to previous titles. Tweaks and improvements enhance the gameplay, making it a worthwhile experience for both new and returning players. - Large, diverse character roster (weight 0.32): The game features a large roster of playable characters, including those previously offered as paid DLC. Each character offers a distinct playstyle and backstory, adding depth and replayability to the game. - Deep, complex combat mechanics (weight 0.29): The game incorporates complex combat mechanics such as combos, counters, and fighting game elements, adding depth to the gameplay. The combat options stand out, offering a more engaging and strategic experience. - Faithful remake of original (weight 0.29): The game is a faithful remake of the original Phantom Breaker, successfully recapturing its essence. Reviewers who enjoyed the original and its re-releases appreciate this version. - Full Korean language support (weight 0.13): The game offers full Korean language support, including a translated campaign. This caters to a wider audience and enhances accessibility for Korean-speaking players. - Playable truck character (weight 0.07): The game allows players to play as a truck, which some reviewers found amazing. This is a unique and potentially humorous gameplay element. - Cute chibi anime art style (weight 0.06): The game features a cute chibi anime art style with readable animations, even amidst busy visuals. This aesthetic choice enhances the game's overall appeal. - Improved menu navigation (weight 0.05): The game features improved menu navigation compared to previous versions. This enhances the user experience and makes it easier to access in-game items and features. - Akihabara setting in first stage (weight 0.05): The first stage is set in Akihabara, adding a fun and engaging element to the game. This setting provides a unique and recognizable backdrop for the gameplay. Common complaints: - Missing essential PC features (weight 0.66): The game lacks essential PC features and options. There's no in-game exit function, keyboard layout instructions are missing, and PC-specific options like resolution and framerate controls are absent. This shows a lack of polish for the PC platform. - Broken/non-functional multiplayer (weight 0.4): Multiplayer functionality is severely flawed, making it difficult to find and join online matches. Players report issues such as the inability to join games in progress, bugs that prevent readying up, and frequent disconnections. Some reviewers are unable to find any matches at all. - Unfair enemy behavior/placement (weight 0.19): Enemy behavior and placement lead to frustrating player experiences. Players can be easily overwhelmed by groups of enemies, stun-locked, and juggled to death. Unclear enemy positions due to obscured lines and shadows exacerbate these issues. - Too similar to previous versions (weight 0.13): The game feels too similar to previous versions. There are no noticeable balancing or minor changes, and the game feels easier than previous versions. - Game crashes and bugs (weight 0.11): The game suffers from crashes and bugs that disrupt gameplay. Characters disappearing during combat forces players to restart the game, indicating stability issues. - Excessive bloom causes eye-strain (weight 0.11): The game's excessive bloom effect causes visual discomfort. The inability to disable bloom without external tools on PC is a significant drawback, leading to eye strain in some scenes. - Annoying audio issues (weight 0.11): Audio issues detract from the game experience. Music continues to play even when the volume is set to zero, and the sound effect for picking up coins is excessively loud and unpleasant. - Needs more stages/content (weight 0.1): The game is criticized for lacking sufficient content, specifically stages. Reviewers suggest that additional stages, bosses, and PVE content would improve the overall experience and longevity of the game. - Remaster instead of sequel (weight 0.09): The game is criticized for being a remaster instead of a sequel. The story has remained untouched for more than a decade. - Unresponsive controls (weight 0.06): The game's controls feel unresponsive at times. This lack of responsiveness, particularly with actions like turning, negatively impacts the player experience. - Questionable character balance (weight 0.06): Character balance adjustments are questionable. Some characters have been significantly weakened, leading to concerns about overall balance. - Unclear purpose of coins (weight 0.06): The purpose and function of in-game coins are unclear. The lack of explanation for this game mechanic leaves players confused about their utility. - Experience rate too fast (weight 0.06): The experience rate is too fast. Players are reaching high levels very quickly, which may diminish the sense of progression. - Short BG mode matches (weight 0.05): BG mode matches can be too short when characters are fully leveled. This is a specific issue with the BG mode. - Co-op lag/stutter (weight 0.05): Co-op play experienced lag/stutter, but the cause is uncertain. This is a specific issue with the co-op mode. - Poor beat 'em up feel (weight 0.04): The game has a very poor feel as a beat 'em up. This is a general statement without specific details. - Lacks popularity in Taiwan (weight 0.04): The game lacks popularity in Taiwan, which is a drawback. This is a specific issue with the game's popularity in Taiwan. Gameplay feedback: - Beat 'em up, fighting game hybrid (weight 0.45): The game blends beat 'em up gameplay with fighting game mechanics, drawing inspiration from titles like Mad Stalker and Panzer Bandit. This hybrid approach includes elements like just guard, combo escapes and mid-attacks, offering a more complex and engaging combat system. - Character progression and item system (weight 0.26): The game features character progression through leveling, stat improvements, and simplified skill trees. The addition of item drops and equipment, including passive items that provide stat boosts or temporary HP regeneration, enhances character customization and solo play. - Stunlocking leads to death (weight 0.07): Being stunlocked mid-air after being hit can lead to repetitive damage and death. This is a significant flaw that severely impacts the gameplay experience. - Restricted character movement (weight 0.06): The characters are restricted to moving between near and far planes, limiting movement and combat options. This design choice may feel restrictive to players expecting full 3D movement. - Story mode now voice acted (weight 0.05): The story mode now includes voice acting. This addition enhances the narrative experience and character interactions. Performance notes: - Excellent Steam Deck performance (weight 0.23): The game was rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 and runs well on Steam Deck, even in multiplayer. Players report good performance and battery life on the device, indicating a successful port and optimization. - FPS drops during online play (weight 0.07): Some players have experienced low FPS dips during online sessions. This suggests potential optimization issues with the game's netcode or server performance, which could negatively impact the multiplayer experience. - Crash log file on launch (weight 0.06): The game creates a crash log file upon launch, which may indicate a problem with the game's stability. This could be a minor issue or a more serious problem that prevents players from launching the game. - Locked 60 FPS (weight 0.06): The game is locked to 60 FPS. While this may provide a stable experience, some players may prefer an unlocked frame rate to take advantage of higher refresh rate monitors. Recommendations: - Highly recommended, especially for fans (weight 0.71): The game is highly recommended, especially for newcomers and fans of the beat 'em up genre. Reviewers highlight its fun gameplay, suitability for both newcomers and returning fans, and its status as a love letter to the Phantom Breaker series. Some suggest it's best enjoyed with friends in cooperative play. - Questionable value for original owners (weight 0.32): Several reviews suggest the game may not be worth the full price, especially for those who already own the original. They cite minimal changes and express disappointment, recommending waiting for a discount. One review mentions the price feels a bit high, making a recommendation ambiguous. - Desire for gameplay change list (weight 0.06): A reviewer hopes for a comprehensive list of gameplay changes and a fix for the inability to use the level up screen in online mode. This suggests a desire for more transparency and functionality improvements from the developers. - Desire for more similar games (weight 0.06): A reviewer expresses a desire for more games of this type to be released in the future. This indicates a positive overall impression and a hope for similar games to be developed. Other player notes: - Unreal Engine remake (weight 0.1): The game is a remake using the Unreal Engine, which may bring updated visuals and potentially improved performance compared to the original. It is also a remake of a game previously available on Steam. - EXP saved on disconnect (weight 0.07): The game saves EXP even if a disconnect occurs during co-op. This is a positive feature that prevents players from losing progress due to technical issues. - Release date delayed (weight 0.05): The game's release date was delayed shortly before launch. This may have impacted player expectations or created concerns about the game's development status. Emotions: No emotions}