The demo for King of Fighters XIV is out now on the PlayStation store across all regions. Players are already uploading some crazy combo tutorials on YouTube. I was looking forward to this divisive entry to the series myself for quite a while and it does show great potential as a fighter. 

But first, let us address the giant elephant in the room. 

There is much that has been spoken about the game's aesthetics, not all of it terrible, but King of Fighters XIV sorely lacks the visual polish of its peers. A newcomer to a pioneer franchise by all means should have better visuals than its predecessors or the previous entry. Take a glimpse at how far Capcom's Street Fighter V has come, or even Tekken for that matter. Their artworks are, to describe in one word, astounding! King of Fighters XIV may seem to look better while playing due to detailed textures that aren't always apparent while watching online, but the stark reality is that the game looks bland.

Worse, the SNK flavor that is lost in the 3D transition is criminal. For instance, Kyo looks atrocious as his facial features are unrecognizable. 

Moving on, things tend to get better as I delve deep into combat. It's made apparent through a succinct tutorial. A familiar four-button setup, alongside meter-inhibited supers and cancel systems are retained from previous entries.

This is where the game really starts to shine. Indeed, the potential of the combat is so vast that, within mere hours of the demo's release, players across the globe have uncovered the touch-of-death combos. Contrarily, the opposing player can do nothing but watch as their character is beaten to a pulp- sometimes knocked out in a single, unstoppable combo chain. YES! I'm talking about the ceaseless corner juggles, mix ups, cross up setups that enable us to finish the opponent in one. Although the past games also had such monstrous maneuvers, here it is far more balanced. Whether or not this is a good thing remains to be seen but speaking personally, it's not anything new to a KOF entry. One good reason I can think as to why this feature has been implemented is for making great comebacks. After all, it's a 3v3 team battle. If a player is down to his last man while the opponent has 2 or more characters at disposal, the former player would definitely want to eliminate his current opponent in a single combo string provided the opportunity. 

Crucially, the combat feels very good. The combo system is neatly designed; team battles and freshly presented new characters bring exciting possibilities to the table.

Those itching to get a taste of KoF XIV can just download the demo and play. Smattering stages, new characters, and old faces to try out, are just some of the factors that act as incentives for playing the demo. The only other problem with the demo is that it has no online functionality at all. 

Tamim Bin Zakir aka Shwag_Lord(PSN ID) is an enraged individual who seldom thinks of being generous to others. Feel free to devour his tranquility at niloy.tbz@gmail.com