Guilty Gear Strive is still a couple of months away, but fans are getting a taste for the game now, with a beta testing phase currently running for PS4 and PS5 players. The open beta for Guilty Gear Strive gives players a chance to spend time in both offline modes as well as in online competition. With a number of big names in the Guilty Gear scene putting the game through its paces, there have been some interesting discoveries made so far.
Strive is the latest game in the Guilty Gear franchise, and the first new entry in the franchise in nearly 4 years, following behind Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator 2nd. In Guilty Gear Strive, developer Arc System Works is taking what worked so well in the Xrd series and elevating it for the next generation of consoles. It will be the first major fighting game to appear on the PS5, and the gorgeous anime-styled presentation of the game will look even better on next-gen hardware.
With players getting their hands on Guilty Gear Strive for the first time during the open beta, trying out movesets and finding useful combos is part of the process. For one player, they seem to have figured out how to lock opponents in an infinite combo using Giovanna. Giovanna is described as a rushdown character, as she gets in close quarters with opponents using speed, quick combos, and her wolf spirit companion, Rei. The infinite combo is a pretty simple-looking juggle that keeps an opponent airborne with a back-and-forth kick flip. Despite it looking routine, the combo's founder, Uri, says it is pretty strict on the timing.
In general, when infinite combos like this are found, slight timing changes to a move are implemented to prevent combos like this from being spammed in competitive play. This combo does damage, but would more likely be used to run out the clock, and as such would make for some very boring matches. With Guilty Gear Strive offering a number of new features, the last thing Arc System Works would want to have is a new character that is so broken the balance of the game is thrown off.
Giovanna was featured in an Arc System Works blog post for the game, giving details on both her and fellow newbie Nagoriyuki. As new characters on the scene, a number of players will likely want to give them a try, as they have in this beta. When the game ships, it is likely this infinite combo will not be around anymore, but for now it's pretty neat.
Guilty Gear Strive will be available on PC, PS4, and PS5 on April 9, with the PS5-exclusive Ultimate Edition launching early on April 6.