Chalgyr's Game RoomChalgyr's Game Room
  • Home
  • About us
    • Staff
    • Cookie Policy (US)
    • Privacy Statement (US)
  • Articles
    • Interviews
    • GamingThoughts
    • Game Of The Year(s)
      • Games of the Year 2021
      • Games of the Year 2020
      • Games of the Year 2019
      • Games of the Decade
      • Games of the Year 2018
      • Games of the Year 2017
      • Games of the Year 2016
      • Games of the Year 2015
      • Games of the Year 2014
    • Jaggy’s Corner
    • Memorable Music
  • Review Database
    • Hardware & Software
    • Retro Reflections
    • Beeps and Beers
  • News
    • News Archives
Search Chalgyr's Game Room
DreamController.com – Affiliate

DreamController Summer Sale
Code SUMMER20

  • Full article feed
  • Contact us
  • Cookie Policy (US)
  • Privacy Statement (US)
© 2022 Chalgyr's Game Room All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] – PS4 Review
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
Patch 1.5 Releasing Soon for Dying Light 2 + New Season Drop
August 9, 2022
Rune Factory 5 Review
August 9, 2022
Logic Pic from Naptime.games is Out on Nintendo Switch!
August 8, 2022
Fantasy School RPG ‘Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent’ is Coming to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam
August 5, 2022
Sword and Fairy: Together Forever Review
August 5, 2022
Aa
Chalgyr's Game RoomChalgyr's Game Room
Aa
Search Chalgyr's Game Room
  • Home
  • About us
    • Staff
    • Cookie Policy (US)
    • Privacy Statement (US)
  • Articles
    • Interviews
    • GamingThoughts
    • Game Of The Year(s)
    • Jaggy’s Corner
    • Memorable Music
  • Review Database
    • Hardware & Software
    • Retro Reflections
    • Beeps and Beers
  • News
    • News Archives
Follow US
  • Full article feed
  • Contact us
  • Cookie Policy (US)
  • Privacy Statement (US)
© Chalgyr's Game Room 2009-2022. All rights reserved.
PlayStation 4ReviewReviews and Previews

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] – PS4 Review

Nick
Nick Published March 11, 2020
Share
8 Min Read
SHARE

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] by developer Arc System Works and publisher PQube Games—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes


Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] is the newest iteration in the franchise, and a respectable if nuanced improvement over the last title in the series. Slick presentation values combine with a frantic paced fighter that is surprisingly accessible to newcomers, even if it does not necessarily bring much innovation to the table.

The last release in the series [st] came out a couple of years ago, and really helped this somewhat lesser-known fighter with its involvement with EVO. At a glance, the Under Night series has a fair amount in common with the more popular BlazBlue series. Both of these games are published by Arc System Works, who admittedly know their stuff when it comes to the fighting genre. The anime-styled visuals with smooth framerates and hard driving music only add to the similarities between these two franchises, capped off with a slant towards fast and aggressive combat.

Despite these similarities, there are still several things that are distinctive about Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]. For starters, we have the story – which is admittedly seldom one of the most important aspects of a fighter, but kudos to the development team for giving it some focus here. The gist is an event called a ‘hollow night’ and the character is confronted by something called a void. If the person is bitten / contaminated by the void, they emerge as an in-birth – a supernaturally powered individual who comprise the characters in this game and have their own motivations going forward.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] gameplay image of fighting

While story is seldom an area of focus in fighting games, one of the modes in Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] is the Chronicle mode, which is basically a series of Visual Novel styled scenes that play out and give further insight into the characters and provides more world building around them. This mode is completely non-interactive except for choosing which story to view in which order (and viewing certain stories unlocks others, so there is a bit of guidance there, but it is somewhat open still as well). All in all, it has a bit of zaniness to it with pleasant anime visuals that makes for a nice diversion within the game’s overall packaging. 

In terms of modes, there is a fair number of them here. Nothing that is all that new or surprising to behold, but pretty much all of the standard variations from training to time attack to survival can be found here, though the core of the action is in the arcade mode where you choose a character who progresses through several levels with some cut scenes in between to flavor things up. You earn currency that allows you to unlock appearance variations for your characters, or buy plates for your name to customize your online appearance, things of that nature. While none of these are reinventing the wheel, there is a decent amount of content here and a good variety of things to do.

As to the core combat, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] is a title that generally favors speed and aggression. There are two different systems at play as you combat your opponent. There is a gauge at the bottom of the screen that fills up over time and can help to power special attacks or slip you into a different state that enhances your abilities. There is also the GRD meter that builds as you block and attack, helping you to build up your special meter and pull off unique attacks for each character. It has a nice element of risk versus reward because of the way it rewards success but punishes failure. Turtling however, is seldom a sustainable option.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] gameplay image of swordplay

I have to say that Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] is one of the more accessible fighters out there. Button mashers can easily progress through the easier difficulties of single player content, simply using the steering system (think of it as an easy combo-linking system). Some characters do this better than others. Hyde is the default choice on the character selection screen for a reason. He has a nice mix of range and speed and easily linkable combo attacks that can be used to plow through much of the game. That might sound like an overpowered character, but there is plenty of nuance to be had here once you start digging into the characters. Like any good fighting game, no single attack or combination can be fully exploited to win any match. All of the characters have a very different look and feel to them, and there are ways to deal with anyone’s tactics with the right approach. However, it does require a bit of investment to learn the nuances of your chosen character(s) so you can make the most out of their abilities.

Now, this game is really something of an update to the prior release, as I mentioned before. If you already owned the prior game, you have options through free and paid DLC to get that version up to snuff without breaking the bank for a whole new game, but I am certain the question is – should you? The new ice-based Londrekia Light character is a welcome addition to the cast and feels unique enough that I enjoyed learning my way around this new combatant. There were some updated songs and environments as well. Where the mileage may vary is in the type of Under Night player you are. If you are someone who plays the game online heavily and really delves into learning what a character can do, memorizing ideal combinations and strikes, then the updated animations will probably be more noticeable to you than someone who played the title for a couple of weeks and has had it mostly in mothballs over the last year. 

By no means does Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] bring anything truly revolutionary to the series or even the fighting genre at this point, but it is slick, stylized and plays wonderfully. Fans of the one-on-one fighting genre should find plenty to like here, and this is about as accessible of a new fighter as you will find that on the market, while still having plenty of depth for those who really want to delve in and learn the characters.

Score: 8 / 10
TAGGED: playstation, PQube, PQube Games, PS4, Sony PlayStation 4, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r], Versus
Nick March 11, 2020
Share this Article
Facebook TwitterEmail
Share
Posted by Nick
Follow:
Owner, Founder, Editor in Chief—Currently a reviewer for Chalgyr's Game Room covering all platforms
Previous Article Broomstick League Available Now on Steam!
Next Article Area 35 Reveals THREE New Announcements for Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe
Member of
Ad imageAd image

DreamController.com – Affiliate

DreamController Summer Sale
Code SUMMER20

AllKeyShop.com (UK) – Affiliate

Our streamers!

Susan "Jagtress" N.
Ad imageAd image
S.M. Carrière
Ad imageAd image
Louis aka Esefine
Ad imageAd image
Marc L. aka Froztea_
Ad imageAd image
Pierre-Yves aka WrathOf314
Ad imageAd image
Mylène aka JynxFatale
Ad imageAd image

You can also check out

Rune Factory 5 Review

21 Min Read

Sword and Fairy: Together Forever Review

12 Min Read

XEL Review

13 Min Read

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 Review

7 Min Read
//

We at CGR are a team from various backgrounds that have come together to bring you what you want to know most about a game. Is it worth it? Or not?

JenEricDesigns – Coffee that ships to the US and Canada

JenEricDesigns Coffee website
Light, Medium and Dark Roast Coffee available.

Renaissance Press

Renaissance Press
Diverse Canadian Voices - Printed, Ebook and Audiobooks available.

Contact us

We try to stay up to date with all gaming news but as you know that can be really hard to do.

So if you think that we could be interested in your title reach out to us at Nick@chalgyr.com!

Chalgyr's Game RoomChalgyr's Game Room
Follow US

© Chalgyr's Game Room 2009-2022. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?