Guilty Gear Strive continues to be a major success for Arc System Works. While the franchise has never been quite as mainstream as fighting game series like Street Fighter, Guilty Gear Strive appears to be changing that thanks to its gorgeous art style and approachability. Stripping back a number of complicated mechanics, Guilty Gear Strive has not only opened the door for a broader audience, but seems to retain much of the fun and fast gameplay that veterans continue to enjoy as well.
Alongside that success, Arc System Works outlined a schedule for what many expect to be the first season pass. Naturally, the long running Guilty Gear series has plenty of characters to pull from so fan speculation has been running wild with anticipation. The first character, which the developer confirmed would be an all new fighter to the franchise, was scheduled for release sometime in July. Thanks to a late night announcement, Arc System Works has not only revealed the first character, but also gave fans an updated release date schedule for the rest of the first season pass content.
As the numerous Guilty Gear Strive leaks indicated, Arc System Works revealed that the hulking figure known as Goldlewis Dickinson is indeed the first roster addition. Fans who have watched the game's story mode will recognize him as President Vernon's right hand man. His design features cowboy chaps, a brown military-style jacket, and glasses with one side blocked out like a patch. While he doesn't seem to believe in aliens, his most defining feature is a casket with an Area 51 sign on it which he uses like a flail against his enemies.
The gameplay trailer also shows off a number of his moves outside of swinging the alien casket around. The eye patch seems to hide the ability to call in an orbital strike. Using a laser from the eye patch, Dickinson is able to paint an area that calls in a laser beam. He's also able to utilize a minigun, which drew comparisons to the Team Fortress 2 Heavy class by many fans. Additionally, some of his moves use what appears to be a living alien inside of the casket including a number of melee strikes.
Season Pass holders can go hands on with the story mode's support character Goldlewis Dickinson starting next week on July 27, while players can also buy him individually starting on July 30. A quick flash of the Guilty Gear Strive Roadmap was also shown, with two more characters planned for 2021, and then 2 more sometime in 2022. Along with new characters, the first 2022 update will also add a new stage, while the second adds another new stage as well as new story content.
Guilty Gear Strive is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.