Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. Review

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. marks the PC release of the iconic Virtua Fighter 5 title, celebrating its 30th anniversary in the fighting game scene. Developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA’s AM2 Team, this release continues the legacy of a series that revolutionized fighting games in the 90s.

Kicking off the 30th anniversary celebrations, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. was announced during The Game Awards 2024 and is now available on Steam. With this release, SEGA aims to solidify its standing in the esports fighting arena alongside renowned titles such as Street Fighter and Tekken and hopes that future installments will bring this long-running franchise back into relevance.

Are you ready to rumble? Put on your gloves (or take them off) because we’re diving back into the action with Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.!

A Storied History

While fans enjoyed the console edition of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Edition back in 2022, those familiar with the game will find that Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. offers no surprises. The beloved fighting game has been meticulously preserved in this iteration, retaining the same core experience as its predecessors but with some very welcome upgrades.

For a fighting game, it’s almost a mortal sin to launch without rollback netcode, and to the dismay of many, the Ultimate Edition did just that, and just as easily as it took off, it found its wings clipped due to its use of an inferior delay-based solution. Even if some matches were tolerable, it wasn’t the most elegant solution.

Enter Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. with its rollback netcode, and it’s just such an upgrade compared to before that makes you wonder why SEGA never used it in the first place. Matches against opponents from across the globe were more than decent, and even a couple of weeks after launch, our experience was pretty stable and painless. Add some balance changes in and some slight visual upgrades and you’ve got a nice set of features that separate it from the previous release.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is not your typical fighter. It’s quite technical with a very high skill ceiling despite its three-button setup, as it leans towards a more realistic presentation with a heavy dependence on a rock-paper-scissor system. While some characters are easy to learn, like Pai-Chan, who is a more string-based fighter, others are extremely tough and execution-based, like Akira. The difficulty spread among characters is quite nice, and there are 19 to choose from and learn.

The game also has the standard trappings of most fighting games like ring outs and walls, with round times defaulting to 45 seconds. You may adjust it to 60, but 45 seemed to encourage faster and more aggressive gameplay that result in intense matches. Some combos in the game deal massive damage; if you’re not careful, matches can conclude in the blink of an eye.

With the addition of rollback netcode, it’s clear to see that Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. has aimed its sights at online play. Fighting games live or die by their online modes, and this one has enough to satisfy. Casuals and sweaty players can enjoy a lobby and ranked mode, and so far, looking for matches did not take too long, indicating a somewhat healthy online following.

Despite this, the same issues found in Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown persist in Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., which is the lack of offline single-player options for players who want to play the game casually. The story isn’t all that great either, compared to something like Tekken, which has its story at the forefront of its installments. The package feels a bit lacking, which is ironic considering this is the “ultimate” edition of the game, so take caution in this regard.

30th Anniversary Swag

The 30th Anniversary pack for Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. includes several exciting extras. In addition to the standard soundtrack collection, featuring iconic music that will delight every Virtua Fighter fan, and a Digital Artbook detailing the storied history of this iconic fighting game, several fun costume packs add a new dimension to the game.

The bonus packs include Classic Virtua Fighter skins, Swimsuit Edition, and The Yakuza Pack. It’s quite enjoyable to see your favorite fighter in their classic polygon skin suits or, for fans of Like A Dragon, to see certain Virtua Fighter characters resembling their Yakuza personas. Although the attempt with Jacky as Shun Akiyama is debatable, they certainly tried.

However, the costume packs feel like a missed opportunity because you cannot mix and match costume types with the character customization feature. Giving your characters polygon arms or certain Yakuza threads would have been enjoyable.

Take It Outside!

We played Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. on the PC, here’s the system we used to play with:

• Ryzen 5 5600x, 16 GB DDR4 3600 RAM, NVIDIA 4070 Super, 1TB NVMe SSD
• Steam Deck OLED

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. locks gameplay to a rock-solid 60fps, even when playing at the highest graphical settings without DLSS or frame generation. We experienced no slowdowns or hitches, and playing it at max settings was silky smooth. Strangely, there seemed to be no way to uncap the frame rates; playing at a steady 60fps was more than enough for a smooth experience.

If you want to take the fight to the streets, playing Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. on the Steam Deck OLED was a good time. The game defaults to a custom preset dedicated to the handheld, which is a nice sight to see. This locks gameplay to a solid 60fps without the TDP limit, also defaulting to use FSR 3 on quality mode, and battery life lasting about 2 hours. These are pretty good stats, all things considered, and while there are some jagged edges in the character models, especially with their hair, it’s a small gripe amidst a great performing game.

Verdict: Wait For It…

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. faithfully preserves the technical prowess of the 2006 title, now making it accessible to PC players eager to dive into the action. While the 30th Anniversary edition includes a plethora of additional content, those opting for the base version may find limited offerings for offline single-player mode.

Nonetheless, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. caters to players seeking online competition against fellow enthusiasts, whether at home or on the go with the Steam Deck. The addition of rollback netcode is the biggest upgrade for this version, and it really does shine in online play.

While the next entry in the series may be some time away, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. provides an excellent opportunity for newcomers to get started and for veterans to revisit the classic fighting game.

*Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. was reviewed on a PC and Steam Deck with a review code provided by the publisher.