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Looks so good that you might mistake it for an anime episode | Beta Review - One Punch Man: World

2K View2023-10-19

One Punch Man: World

8.4

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✨Overview

One Punch Man: World delivers an action-adventure gacha experience with the official One Punch Man license, immersing players in the world of Saitama, the unstoppable One Punch Man himself. The game covers the first season of the anime but also includes new original stories involving other side characters for the main quest and game progression. Additionally, it incorporates some extended combat sequences from anime fight scenes, further enhancing the action-oriented gameplay. The game is yet to release, but a closed beta test that started October 18 is now ongoing.

🎨Graphics

The graphics showcase cel-shaded visuals typical of anime video game adaptations, and the overall presentation is executed exceptionally. Many scenes from the anime are faithfully recreated using this graphics engine. It looks so impressive that they could potentially use this engine to generate authentic anime fight sequences. It’s that good that if they just use this to generate Season 3 and beyond, I wouldn’t actually mind and it’ll probably be even better than Season 2. While the voice actors from the anime are returning, I found many of the segments still lack voice-overs, so there is a bit of reading involved during dialogues.

🎮Gameplay

One Punch Man: World adopts a gacha game model with action-oriented gameplay, akin to titles like Genshin Impact and Aether Gazer. Players can assemble a team of up to four heroes, embarking on missions and quests to combat menacing monsters and villains. The gameplay is typical of action games, granting players the freedom to move, dodge/block, and activate three unique abilities for each hero. Additionally, there's an ultimate ability known as "MAX" activated by filling an attack meter, and a Link Attack mechanic that encourages synergistic play among your party members. While all four characters are present simultaneously during battles, you must select a main character to control before the battle commences. No seamless character switching or tagging.

Every hero in One Punch Man: World possesses a distinct ability set, offering varied mechanics to enhance your gameplay experience. Even if with the same heroes, different variants with distinct abilities are available. For example, my SSR Genos can seamlessly switch between melee and ranged attacks as part of his combo attacks, while another Genos variant I used in story missions have a whole different ability set that are more catered to ranged playstyle.

🥊Combat

The combat in One Punch Man: World is an absolute BLAST, mirroring the action-packed feel of the anime. Every strike delivers a satisfying punch, accompanied by stunning visual effects faithful to the magnitude displayed by the Anime. Of course, there needs to be a bit of suspension of disbelief, especially when playing as Saitama in the introduction quest as the enemies don’t die in a single punch, although the incredible stopping power of Saitama is still translated excellently into this hack-and-slash-style gameplay.

📜Progression

After the introduction sequence, the pace slows down as we're introduced to side characters such as Lightning Max, Smile Man, and Golden Ball. We initially follow their stories and activities within the Hero Association. Periodically, we transition to key anime events from the first season, taking control of characters like Saitama and Genos to battle monsters like Vaccine Man and Mosquito Girl.

While we initially control Lightning Max, we can pull new heroes to our roster using the gacha system in place. During this beta, I was able to get an SSR Genos immediately which I used as my main. These heroes can be leveled up, their skills augmented, and enchanced that can also affect their power. Players can also pull “Arms” via the gacha system, which are used to augment characters.

Outside of combat, the game treats us to various side missions and random activities. It even allows players to explore the vibrant and beautiful Z-City at their own leisure. Convenience stores offer meals that provide stat boosts. The arcades are brimming with One Punch Man-inspired versions of classic games, including shooters, racing, VR, and fighting games. However, only one of these is currently playable: Panzer Cyborg, which is a subway surfer-esque platformer where players collect coins.

As of now, the game is generous across the board. It features a stamina/energy system called "Intel" designed to limit playtime, but this restriction wasn't a significant issue during my playthrough. As a gacha game, it incorporates familiar elements like login bonuses, weekly events, grinding game modes, and premium currency. Additionally, it includes idle game elements for resource farming, albeit at the expense of more Intel. While the closed beta test is currently underway with gacha and premium currency in place, the final game model remains to be seen. I'm hopeful that the developers will strike a balance that ensures an enjoyable experience for free-to-play players as well.

📊Beta Technical Performance

The game ran satisfactorily on my system, although I did experience occasional drops in performance during action-packed scenes on my Snapdragon 888 device while running at medium settings. The game supports frame rates of up to 60 and 120 FPS and offers limited controller support, although there are no prompts and navigation still relies on touch controls for certain functions. Since the game is also set to come on PC and judging from some of the game’s early screenshots, Keyboard and Mouse support will also be implemented.

⚖️Beta Conclusion

With its faithful reimagining of iconic anime scenes, and action-oriented gameplay, One Punch Man: World successfully captures the essence of One Punch Man, offering an exciting journey for fans of the popular anime series or even those just experiencing the story for the first time. The combat system provides a satisfying and visually striking experience and beyond that, the game also offers more with the exploration of Z-city and plenty of side activities. The only potential stumbling block that could mar this otherwise promising experience is a poorly implemented gacha mechanics upon its eventual release.

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One Punch Man: World

8.4

RPGActionAnime

Get