A Comprehensive Review
Tennis Fighters is a video game that offers a combination of two completely different, yet fun, genres. It combines a classic tennis game with a fighting game. Rather than having the normal mechanics for a tennis game, this title offers a power bar, health bar, and special shots. The more points you win, the more damage you do to your opponent.
About The Game
This video game was released on January 2 of 2022. The game was developed by TDO Games, and the developers created a unique combination of two completely different genres.
Academy Mode
The game offers various different modes for gameplay. The first game mode that you’ll be thrown into as you start it up, is the academy mode. The academy mode allows users to learn the mechanics of the game through specific lessons on various aspects of the game. I personally enjoyed this mode, as it allowed me to properly learn all of the fundamentals before being thrown into a match. Contrary to what I had expected, I spent a pretty good chunk of my gameplay time in this mode. I think this is due to the uncommon mechanics of the game that make it unique. This was also a great place to change some of my settings, including my camera angle, and some gameplay controls. When I found myself in a comfortable situation with the game, I moved on to the next mode.
World Tour Mode
The World Tour mode is where this game begins to get competitive. Here, players can play against all the fighters in the game. The opponent is selected randomly, and conditions are also random, for example, the court type, and time of day. The objective in this mode is to beat all of your opponents in the least amount of time. If you can accomplish this, you get the title of World Champion. Personally, this game mode was very interesting to me. It was here where I saw more about unconventional attributes such as player health.
Although I enjoyed the unique aspects of this mode, I did find it to be slightly glitchy, and the controls were pretty difficult to use. As I continued to play, I eventually got the controls down, and the game became more fun. A tip I would offer when playing this game is that it’s very important to be patient with the gameplay. At first, the controls will seem intimidating, as they did for me, but over time they become understandable.
Multiplayer Online/Offline Mode
The multiplayer mode was my personal favorite for this game. I felt a great sense of competitiveness, which is something I always enjoy in a video game. As the name explains, you can play this mode either with a friend, offline or with a random player on the online version. As you play online, the objective is to increase your ranking. I didn’t play the offline version, but the online version was enjoyable for me. Again, I encountered some glitches and bugs in the UI, but noting that this game is in early release, it seemed to be manageable.
When I come back to this game, this will definitely be the mode I play. It offers a full experience, including the combination between fighting and tennis, as well as a competitive atmosphere where there is something on the line. I did find that the opponents were quite easy, but this might be due to the fact that all of the players are quite new to the game. As the game progresses, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the skill level jump in this mode.
Training Mode
The final and probably most simple mode is the training mode. Here, players can play out points with AI. I found it nice that I could practice the shots that I wanted to learn in a real-match type experience, yet my opponent was just AI. Knowing that the controls and mechanics of this game are hard to learn, this seems to be a great place for newcomers to grow their bags of tricks and skills. Other than learning new shots, I wouldn’t be spending much time in this mode, however.
Overall Verdict
All in all, I found this game to be a pleasant combination of two different genres. As an avid tennis fan, I have been patiently waiting for a successful tennis video game, and although this title puts a unique twist on tennis, it offers a fun experience. However, I will say that the game contains several glitches that you most probably will encounter in one of the game modes. These glitches never affected the gameplay for me, but they do affect the UI. Hopefully, as the game progresses out of early release, the bugs will be fixed, offering a more polished version of the game.
Will this be a game I come back to in my free time? Occasionally. I did have a good time playing it, but I definitely want to see a larger user base before I become a consistent player of the game. Until then, this game will offer me entertainment occasionally, maybe when I am bored with other titles. As a final verdict, I would give this game an overall rating of 6/10, with a lot of room for improvement. This title has the potential to be the next big game, as it has a new and unique concept. Keep your eyes open for this game to continue to grow!
