I’m no stranger to The Under Night series though I haven’t played the previous installment Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st]. I have, however, played Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late. If you’re like me and are wondering what the difference is, that’s a simple answer; there is very little difference. The only significant changes between the two are the addition of a new character Londrekia, who uses a variety of fast pace ice-based moves, as well as some technical and balancing upgrades. Otherwise, it’s the same old game. This is why owners of Late[st] will be able to upgrade to [cl-r] for free (excluding Londrekia). [cl-r] is also available on the Nintendo Switch, which is a first for the series.

Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r], besides being a letter heavy and confusing title, is a 2D fighting game series similar to the likes of BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. It’s the latest update of the original game Under Night In-Birth. Under Night has a variety of game modes despite being a smaller game and will no doubt please fighting game fans. I’ll start with the arcade mode. Similar to a lot of 2D fighting games; the arcade mode is simple. You pick a character you want and fight a variety of ten other characters with some story sprinkled in. I have no qualms with the story aspect, and it isn’t too dialogue-heavy, unlike another mode I’ll get to later. It does an ok job of representing each character’s personality in what seems like a similar scenario for each story.

My actual dissatisfaction would be the underwhelming difficulty. I know some might find it more difficult than others, but in the arcade mode, it starts out slow. The opponents barely moved until the following levels and still didn’t pose much of a threat, especially the final boss of the mode. If you’re versed in the art of fighting games, I’d advise you crank up the difficulty to at least 4 to better enjoy your experience. I should mention that the difficulty is strangely measured in numbers from 1-5 as well. That’s about it. In arcade mode you choose a character, then you fight through ten other characters, and you pick the rest.

The next mode, however, was one I never got the chance to play in my former playthrough of the series, as it was added later on in Late[st]. The chronicle mode is where all the major story of Under Night takes place. It also serves as a prequel to the stories in arcade mode. Unlike the arcade mode where you fight some enemies, then read some story dialogue, this time, it’s all reading and all story.

Though I do think this is a good way for new players joining the fray to understand the story and lore of Under Night, the mode is held back by a massive amount of reading needed to get through the dialogue of every character. Sure, it is fully voiced, which I always liked, but it’s still in Japanese. It also doesn’t help that there’s a small amount of art to go with these scenes, so you’ll be staring at the same background and character sprite for a while.

A lot of these dialogue sections, I found to be unnecessary and it really feels like filler unless you really enjoy a specific character and like seeing them on your screen (like Yuzuriha). It’s not all bad, however, as it is still an important mode in telling the story and lore of Under Night, which I appreciated greatly, and I’m sure a lot of other players will too. Be warned though, if you’re allergic to heavy reading, I’d steer clear if I were you.

Then we have the standard fighting game modes that are the tutorial and mission mode. The tutorial mode is pretty much what it sounds like. It explains the mechanics and gives you an idea of how each character fights. With 179 types of moves designed to give you an idea of how everything works, such as health, shielding, button inputs, jumps, dashes, and more. Mission mode is more character-specific and challenges you to learn each combo for said character. This helps you improve on controlling them, and understanding their basics.

Combat wise, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r] is pretty fast-paced even for a 2D-fighting game. You can easily overwhelm your opponent with quick combos and maneuvers. There are some easy combos and some complicated ones, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed yourself if you aren’t used to the controls, or don’t know how to match your opponents.

Other than those two modes, there’s also the standard Versus mode (both online and offline), the time attack mode; where players are challenged to win fights as fast as possible, and the score attack mode, where you fight the roster and see how many points you can get by the end. Then we have the extra modes where you customize characters, buy opening scenes, and more with points.

So, in conclusion, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r], while not much different from the previous installment, is still a well-rounded and in-depth fighting game with tons of modes to test out your skills; It offers a chance for newcomers to experience the game at it’s best. The more you play it, the more you grow fond of it and it becomes harder to put down. If you’re a fan of the series or own the previous version, it’s definitely worth it to upgrade to this version and maybe try out the new character.

A PlayStation 4 review copy of Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r] was provided by Arc System Works for this review

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

$39.99 USD

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Good amount of content
• Interesting and entertaining characters
• Fun combat system

Cons

• Lack of art and animation variety
• Too much dialogue to go through