Divekick: The Simplified Fighting Game

Divekick is a game that I’ve been looking forward to since I saw some gameplay of it at EVO 2013. The game is incredibly simple on the surface, but there is actually a lot of depth to it. 

Presentation

Divekick is a 2D fighting game and it looks pretty good. It’s not the most amazing art I’ve ever seen, but it is definitely competent. The characters are varied and interesting.

The music is nothing to write home about, but it accents the gameplay nicely. It’s mostly laid back rock tracks. The sound design is fantastic. The sound effects sound like they belong in an arcade. It does a lot to sell the game as a really exciting and fun experience.

Gameplay

This is where Divekick really shines. The game mechanics are incredibly simple on the surface. You have a “dive” button and a “kick” button. The dive button is your jump button. Pressing kick in the air will perform a divekick while pressing kick on the ground will execute a jump back. You have two special attacks (one on the ground and one in the air) that are performed by pressing dive and kick together. Special attacks cost meter that is built by performing divekicks.

Your health meter is incredibly small. If you get hit once, you lose. If you get hit in the head, you will be dizzy in the next round, meaning you can’t jump as high and you fall more slowly.

Each character has different fall speed, kick style, and special moves.

My Thoughts

Divekick is much more than it appears on the surface. A lot of the game is all about mind games and trying to predict what your opponent will do. Since the characters are extremely fragile, it all comes down to understanding what each character is best at and adapting as necessary. The depth comes in understanding how to counter your opponent.

Each match of Divekick is insanely exciting. There is nothing more fun than getting a few friends together for a round or thirty of Divekick. If you like fighting games at all, I highly recommend trying this game out.

Divekick is available for $9.99 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC via Steam.