The sad truth about fighting games is that much of what makes playing them against others interesting is usually kept obscured. Killer Instinct succeeds enormously at exposing all of that information to players of all skill levels. Not only is its combat system flashy and well thought out, it's well explained too, thanks to its powerful training tools, and what is easily the most complete guide to terminology and tactics ever assembled in a fighting game. Though it lacks an arcade mode or a full-sized character roster, Killer Instinct delivers where it counts.

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Killer Instinct is a budget-priced title that looks better than most next-generation projects we’ve seen so far. Once the rest of the add-ons are actually finished, this could even be one of the best titles in fighting games.

Unfortunately, the weird pricing structure and noticeable depth of features holds back the screaming, rage-filled “Powerthirst” of fighting games from really making a statement. It’s no Street Fighter competitor this time around, but it’s good enough to measure up against the rest.

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Minor nitpicks aside, Killer Instinct is an amazing game for the $20 price tag. The character count leaves a little to be desired, but for the price you can't complain too much. If you opt for the $40 version, you'll get the original arcade classic as well, but no online play for it at the moment. If the game had 24 characters, a Story mode, and was priced at $60, it would be a system seller for the Xbox One. Even as what is essentially an Xbox One Live Arcade game, Killer Instinct is one of the best titles for the Xbox One, and will only be improving as more characters are added. Do yourself a favor and at least try out the free version for an hour. It could be the best decision you make at launch.

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Killer Instinct relies heavily on its origins, with five fighters returning with familiar special moves, plus similar-looking backdrops from past entries. Even the music and announcer voice-over all hit that nostalgic sweet spot. With the spider-like newcomer Sadira, however, Double Helix shows that it can create new content that works within the series' bounds, even if it's unclear how she fits into the universe — given the current lack of story context and all. And while the game initially looks like it could be running on an Xbox 360, the next-gen edge reveals itself through dazzling weather and attack effects that do nothing to tarnish the rock-solid frame rate.

It's just a shame that Killer Instinct feels incomplete, even if it's by design. Microsoft is gambling that the spread-out release approach will only fuel continued excitement and interest in the game, and we're hoping that bet pays off big — no doubt, it's made us anxious for more. Killer Instinct is back, and maybe this time next year, we can add "and better than ever" to that statement.

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Fighting games live or die online nowadays, but Killer Instinct’s business model dictates that Jago will be your most frequent opponent. Double Helix intends to rotate which fighter is offered for free, but that will only go so far with so slender a roster. There’s a fantastic combo system at Killer Instinct’s core, but right now it feels like half a game – one full of promise, certainly, but not an especially next-gen one either. The cascade of particles may not be enough to retain player interest until the rest of the game arrives.

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Killer Instinct is a technically complex fighter, and it's deep despite the shallow pool of characters. It'll definitely appeal to the more hardcore genre fans out there, who'll no doubt benefit from using the arcade stick (which is also set to be released at the same time as the game). For casual fighters there's a significant barrier to entry. If you can overcome the complexity and get to grips with the myriad of combos, breakers and special moves, there's a really good fighting game waiting for you, but it's a big ‘if'. My poor aching thumb is a testament to that. Our advice for casual players: download the one character demo. It's free, and you can see what you're up against if you take the plunge. More serious fighter fans will probably want to take advantage of the try-before-you-buy feature, just because they can, but it's likely that many of them will stick around to carry on the fight.

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In some ways, the lack of a single-player mode is appreciated. After all, most players pick up fighting games to test their skills against human opponents. Unfortunately, the multiplayer offerings aren't much better, only offering no-frills Exhibition and Ranked one-on-one matches. The lack of spectator modes or tournament lobbies for friends makes this package pale in comparison to its contemporaries.

At launch, Killer Instinct serves as a solid foundation for what could eventually become a good fighting game. More characters and stages are coming down the line, but at launch, the game's limited single and multiplayer modes are glaring and will grow stale quickly.

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This makes Killer Instinct a delight to play and a uniquely enticing proposition to fighting aficionados and genre novices alike. And even though it's mostly about big, flashy combos, Killer Instinct doesn't make you feel helpless when you're the one being pummeled.

But as much as Killer Instinct is a sound and inviting fighter mid-battle, it's an experience that ultimately feels hollow everywhere else. Online play – as spare as it is – may present a limitless well of competition to draw from, but with only six fighters to master and very few modes of play, Killer Instinct lacks the value and staying power offered by most other modern fighting games.

With more characters and content on the way, the future might be different. At present, there just isn't enough to do.

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So far I've had a lot of fun exploring the nuances of Killer Instinct's combat system. Its simplified combos free me up to worry more about playing mind games with my opponent and less about running a manual dexterity challenge. Of course, I've still got a lot to learn as I prepare to take the fight online. Be on the lookout for the full review of Killer Instinct on the Xbox One later this week.

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keit4 said:

@eurogamer 1 min
We're waiting to review Killer Instinct until we can play the game against another human, locally or online, which we have yet to manage.

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keit4 said:

@eurogamer 1 min
We're waiting to review Killer Instinct until we can play the game against another human, locally or online, which we have yet to manage.

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Dinskugga said:

+ Visually impressive, intense combat, great training mode

- Small roster of fighters, lack of story mode

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Nightengale said:

Fuck.

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Einbroch said:

So IGN reviewed it without even testing online?

Their review mentions nothing of multiplayer.

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dofry said:

Why so few characters? I haven't followed up the discussion a lot. Scores still seem ok for it.

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Callibretto said:

Er, how come he couldn't play against human locally? Only have 1 controller or something

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Einbroch said:

So IGN reviewed it without even testing online?

Their review mentions nothing of multiplayer.

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The sad truth about fighting games is that much of what makes playing them against others interesting is usually kept obscured. Killer Instinct succeeds enormously at exposing all of that information to players of all skill levels. Not only is its combat system flashy and well thought out, it's well explained too, thanks to its powerful training tools, and what is easily the most complete guide to terminology and tactics ever assembled in a fighting game. Though it lacks an arcade mode or a full-sized character roster, Killer Instinct delivers where it counts.

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MastaToken said:

I guess they only have one controller unless by the rare chance there's no offline versus...which is highly unlikely.

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LTWheels said:

UsGamer - 4/5

http://www.usgamer.net/articles/killer-instinct-review

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Minor nitpicks aside, Killer Instinct is an amazing game for the $20 price tag. The character count leaves a little to be desired, but for the price you can't complain too much. If you opt for the $40 version, you'll get the original arcade classic as well, but no online play for it at the moment. If the game had 24 characters, a Story mode, and was priced at $60, it would be a system seller for the Xbox One. Even as what is essentially an Xbox One Live Arcade game, Killer Instinct is one of the best titles for the Xbox One, and will only be improving as more characters are added. Do yourself a favor and at least try out the free version for an hour. It could be the best decision you make at launch.

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MThanded said:

Yeah that is pretty bad. Should hold the score. If multiplayer is terrible then that will have a big impact on the survivability of the game.

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Opus Angelorum said:

This guy gets it.

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Nightengale said:

Fuck.

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dofry said:

Why so few characters? I haven't followed up the discussion a lot. Scores still seem ok for it.

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MastaToken said:

I guess they only have one controller unless by the rare chance there's no offline versus...which is highly unlikely.

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shandy706 said:

We all (well most of us) know the Story Mode is coming in just a few months.

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