'Fantasy Strike' Goes Free-To-Play, Two New Characters Added To Fighting Game Roster

KEY POINTS

Sirlin Games' fighter "Fantasy Strike" goes free-to-play while adding two new characters
David Sirlin, lead designer of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, designed this title
Sirlin says his team worked tirelessly to find a way to maintain the competitive integrity of "Fantasy Strike" that their existing players love while opening it up to an even broader audience

Fighting game “Fantasy Strike” developed and published by Sirlin Games is now a free-to-play title.

Designed by David Sirlin, the lead designer of “Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix,” “Fantasy Strike” was released in 2019 for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, macOS, and Linux.

“Fantasy Strike ” is designed to be less complex than traditional fighting games, having dedicated buttons for every action, including melee, jump/throw, special moves, and a super move says Eurogamer.

The free version of “Fantasy Strike” lets you fight as the entire roster immediately with no grind to unlock. Available modes for free are practice, solo matches versus the AI, online casual and ranked matches, and spectator mode.

Two new characters have been added to coincide with the move to free-to-play: they are Quince, who confuses opponents with illusions, and General Onimaru, a powerful swordsman with an unblockable special attack.

Additional game modes can also be unlocked by new players. These include local versus mode, online matches against friends, Boss Rush mode, Survival mode, and an Arcade mode with illustrated narrative sequences, via the $19.70 Core Pack.

In addition to attacks, players can use blocking to defend against attacks and break through blocks by using throws. A unique feature to “Fantasy Strike” is the "Yomi Counter," which can be performed when not attacking by pressing no buttons at all.

Today, we launched a massive update for #FantasyStrike; there's 2 new characters (free for everyone!), new cosmetics, and we're now free-to-play. There's been a lot of excitement, but we've also heard your feedback about Core Pack players unable to challenge free-to-play players.
— Fantasy Strike (@FantasyStrike) July 22, 2020

When yomi countering, if the character is hit by an opponent’s throw, they won't get hit and instead perform a counter throw, turning the tables.

A subscription option called Fantasy+ gets you double XP, special Master Costumes for each character who reaches level 20, and the Replay Theatre. “Fantasy Strike” veterans get all the access they had before as well as 60 new costume color sets, Eurogamer notes.

"We worked tirelessly to find a way to maintain the competitive integrity of 'Fantasy Strike' that our existing players love while opening it up to an even broader audience," said Sirlin.

"We believe this free-to-play update continues our mission of crafting a fighting game that removes the barrier to being a contender, while also providing excellent value for those who want additional features and to support our work," he said.