Guilty Gear Strive

Guilty Gear Strive sets the gold standard for visual polish in fighting games, with Arc System Works’ 2021 entry boasting 3D character models that look hand-animated—a feat that earned it a 93% critic score on OpenCritic. Its streamlined mechanics, while divisive among veterans, lowered the execution barrier, helping it surpass series records by selling over 1.5 million copies within two years. This accessibility brings in hundreds of thousands of new players, outperforming #6 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in attracting a modern audience despite that title's decade-long tournament dominance.