DOA5LR is honestly one of the best in the series—easily up there with DOA2. The combat system strikes that perfect balance between being super accessible and surprisingly deep. You can jump in and mash buttons, sure, but there’s a lot to master if you want to go full tryhard. Matches feel fast, fluid, and chaotic in the best way. The roster is huge, with a ton of returning characters and even a few guest fighters thrown in. Visually, it still holds up decently well, and the training mode is actually one of the better ones out there. Now, on PC... it’s a bit of a mess. It launched without online play, the Soft Engine isn’t really implemented, and it kinda feels like a PS3 port in some areas. Still no Steam Cloud, either, which sucks if you play on multiple machines. Controller support is spotty, and there are bugs and crashes that never fully went away. Also, there's alot of fan service here, and for some folks, that’s either a plus or a cringe-fest. The story mode? Not great. But hey, the real focus here is the fighting. There’s a lot of DLC—some of it ridiculously overpriced—but let’s just say if you’re on PC, there are ways to unlock everything without spending a dime 😉. And with the modding community doing its thing, there’s plenty to mess around with. If you're into fighting games, this one’s worth checking out—flawed but still a banger.

★★★★☆

DOA5LR is honestly one of the best in the series—easily up there with DOA2. The combat system strikes that perfect balance between being super accessible and surprisingly deep. You can jump in and mash buttons, sure, but there’s a lot to master if you want to go full tryhard. Matches feel fast, fluid, and chaotic in the best way. The roster is huge, with a ton of returning characters and even a few guest fighters thrown in. Visually, it still holds up decently well, and the training mode is actually one of the better ones out there. Now, on PC... it’s a bit of a mess. It launched without online play, the Soft Engine isn’t really implemented, and it kinda feels like a PS3 port in some areas. Still no Steam Cloud, either, which sucks if you play on multiple machines. Controller support is spotty, and there are bugs and crashes that never fully went away. Also, there's alot of fan service here, and for some folks, that’s either a plus or a cringe-fest. The story mode? Not great. But hey, the real focus here is the fighting. There’s a lot of DLC—some of it ridiculously overpriced—but let’s just say if you’re on PC, there are ways to unlock everything without spending a dime 😉. And with the modding community doing its thing, there’s plenty to mess around with. If you're into fighting games, this one’s worth checking out—flawed but still a banger. ★★★★☆