The simplified two-button control scheme initially has mass appeal, but falls way to complication and confusion. Fighting game fans will enjoy the inside jokes, but this is ultimately a limited experience. In the right environment and with the right people, Divekick offers some fun. But the lack of online lobbies drastically limits those opportunities. Like most novelties, the fun of Divekick is short-lived.
Divekick
Iron Galaxy Studios · Aug 20, 2013
About
Divekick is the world’s first-ever two-button fighting game! It has earned notoriety in the press and fighting game community by not using a stick, yet still retaining the strategic gameplay and spacing techniques employed by professional fighting game players. Now anyone can experience the thrill of fighting games without memorizing complex combos and finger-contorting button presses.
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Critic reviews
- 7.0Divekick is a deep, refreshingly approachable tournament fighter. The unusual control configuration is no gimmick, but rather a functional design choice that helps tear down the barrier of entry for players intimidated by combo breakers and juggling. It is unfortunate that there’s not a better single-player mode, and more unfortunate that Divekick’s cultural insensitivity can be downright cringe-worthy, but it’s still a successful experiment in simplified fighting.
- 4.0Divekick may be designed to promote intense mind games between players, but the inherent promise of that concept is crippled by a lack of basic functionality. Maybe Divekick is the future of fighting games. Maybe the hardcore tournament set really does want a fighter so barebones that it's basically marrow. Everyone else would be better served going elsewhere for their virtual pugilism fix.
- 7.0Divekick is proof positive that you can't judge a game by looks or controls alone. Beyond the simplistic graphics and animation and the incredibly basic control scheme lies a delightfully fun fighter that offers plenty of competitive action on or offline. The $9.99 price gives you both the PS3 and Vita versions in the purchase, and once you're kicking it with friends and headshotting your foes like the pros, you'll be glad you made the investment.
- Divekick is a wacky, off-the-wall reinterpretation of the fighting genre. It takes every moment to poke jokes at the genre and try to give the player a fun, retro gaming experience when playing video games was just about having fun and wasting time. It's worth a look for those five-minute waits for a bus, or in a long line, but if you don’t have a buddy or online partner to play with, then the lack of modes will make playing it highly repetitive and boring.
- While DiveKick does a few things wrong, it also does a few right; smooth and simple online play that’s as fast as it is fun, glorious local player-vs-player matches, an intricate two-button play-style that’s easy to learn, but difficult to master, and occasionally funny characters and inside jokes for the brawler crowd. Unfortunately, even a stable framerate can’t save it from faulty mechanics, kicks that cross players without landing, some iffy visuals and weirdly ’90s animations.
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