KOF XIV was made playable at the PlayStation Experience event this past weekend. Many fans have made the trip to San Francisco to try out the demo and have posted their impressions. Here we have compiled everything we know about the game so far. Many thanks to everyone who have been providing us updates on the game including Team Chaos, Vicio, Kings of CO, Wild Wallace, James Jr., Reiki, and more.

*this post will be updated over time, so check back frequently to see all the info.*

The game:

KOF XIV is a “PS4 console exclusive” set to release sometime in 2016. KOF XIV is developed in partnership with Sony. As a result, it is getting lots of exposure from Sony including main stage announcements, booth space at PSX. Sony is also hosting the official trailer on their YouTube channel, as well as hyping up the game on their twitter feed. SNK is also embracing social media. They put a plaque in front of the demo stations urging fans to tweet about the game using the hashtag #KOFXIV KOF XIV will begin a new chapter for the KOF saga. Kyo, Iori, Andy, Leona, Chang, Kula, Billy, King, Ralf, and Angel are confirmed. There will be new characters (unrevealed) as well. Game modes include online battles and party battles. Development is 70% complete according to producer Yasuyuki Oda. There will be more opportunites to try out the demo in Japan in the future.

System mechanics:

Game play is designed to be less combo heavy compared to XIII to accomodate the wide range of players who play online at home. Ground blow back attacks will cause wall bounce, which you can follow up on. You can just defend/instant block. Though the specifics of how it works is still being tweaked. You can cancel a special move into super move, though the canceling window is small. It requires a bit of execution. It also does not cost any additional resource beyond the meter required for the super move. Drive gauge is gone. New system includes Max mode, which grants access to EX moves. Ex moves can only be performed in Max mode. The length of the timer in Max mode changes depending on your character position. Short for the 1st and long for the 3rd character. Max mode activation freezes the screen, so it’s possible to activate and react to your opponent’s action accordingly. You can cancel a normal move with Max mode activation and continue the combo from there, but Max mode timer will be at 50% if activated this way. New system Rush mode: Pressing light punch repeatedly will give you a unique auto combo similar to Persona 4 Arena. It will also automatically combo into super if you have meter. The damage output from auto combos are lower than regular combos. There are announcements on screen and also from the announcer for counter hits. Climax supers require three bars of power gauge to perform. Normal grabs with HP and HK are different versions, similar to old KOF games. You gain one bar of super meter when you lose a character.

Video demonstration of system mechanics:



High level game play footage featuring Dakou and Xiaohai:

General gameplay impressions:

Despite the issues with animations and graphics, players who tried the demo seem to have positive impressions and are excited to see the final game. The game also looks a lot better in person than from watching videos. The game still feels very much like a typical KOF game, except that jumps are a bit more floaty than the past. Normals feel strong, anti air normals are also strong (unlike in XIII). Iori’s rekka is a bit slower, but his fireball is very fast. He also gets his dp+k move “311 Shiki” from ’98. Kyo’s super “182 Shiki” from ’99 makes a return. His far st.lk from past games is also back. Light rekka follows are fully comboable midscreen. Kyo’s cl.C hits twice now. It’s much easier to cross up. Chang’s ball spin move is much weaker (thank god). It is now slower and he spins it at a downward angle. Kula’s cr.C is much faster and has better recovery. Kula’s counter shell (qcb+p) does not knock down. .

Some video highlights of new game mechanics:

#KOFXIV activating Max Mode freezes the screen which means jumps will be punished just like this… pic.twitter.com/XW4VdGWW5j — Kings of CO (@KingsofCO) December 8, 2015