Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo boasts rich lore, Preecha debut, REV System, and more cover image

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo boasts rich lore, Preecha debut, REV System, and more

Here’s what the exclusive demo involved and details on when the public demo will be available.

While the SNK World Championship 2023 (SWC 2023) tournament took place between March 15 and 17, SNK invited esports.gg to test out the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo inside of the AVALON Hollywood venue in Los Angeles, CA. Read on for details of what the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo involved and what to expect in the upcoming game.

Preecha in Fatal Fury City of the Wolves (Image via SNK)
Preecha in Fatal Fury City of the Wolves (Image via SNK)

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo

The Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo features five playable characters. These include Rock Howard, Terry Bogard, Hotaru Futaba, Tizoc, and Preecha. Preecha, in particular, is new to the franchise.

Hotaru Futaba gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)
Hotaru Futaba gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)

All of the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves characters also have unique introductions and voice lines that hint at their lore. Preecha, for example, is a scientist who investigates spirit energy. Additionally, she is the star pupil of Joe Higashi and fights to further her research.

Hotaru gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)
Hotaru gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)

Meanwhile, Hotaru's voice lines imply that she's in search of her big brother. He disappeared after their mother passed away. Although she ran into someone who looked like her brother, the person denied it. Hotaru hopes to duke it out against the stranger again one day.

Tizoc gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)
Tizoc gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)

Next, Tizoc is returning to battle despite his retirement. This is because he doesn't want to disappoint a young fan. The cheers of his fans also encourage him in every fight.

Rock Howard screenshot (Image via SNK)
Rock Howard screenshot (Image via SNK)

As for Rock Howard, he was raised by Terry Bogard after their encounter with Geese Howard. In Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Rock discovers that his mother might be alive. Meanwhile, Terry and Rock separated due to a fateful tournament. Terry fights it out in the streets before hearing about the "KOF" tournament.

Terry Bogard gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)
Terry Bogard gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves REV System explained

While duking it out in the demo, we noticed that each character uses the brand-new REV System. This toolset grants options such as REV Accel, REV Art, and Rev Guard. REV Blow is an option while S.P.G. is active.

REV Blow screenshot (Image via SNK)
REV Blow screenshot (Image via SNK)

If a character hits the REV Meter's limit through these REV actions or regular blocks, then that overheats the meter and doesn't let the character use REV actions. There's also the bar below a character's health gauge that depletes whenever you block attacks while overheated. If this bar hits zero, then it takes longer to recover from hits.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves REV Meter (Image via SNK)
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves REV Meter (Image via SNK)

Thankfully, you can recover this meter by waiting, landing attacks, using Just Defend successfully, walking or dashing toward your opponent, and more.

Just Defense screenshot (Image via SNK)
Just Defense screenshot (Image via SNK)

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves S.P.G. and more

In addition to the REV System, the classic systems are in the demo as well. For example, these include Combination Attacks, Just Defense, Braking, Dodge Attacks, and Feints. As for when Selective Potential Gear (S.P.G.) can occur, this is determined during the character selection and character customization phase before a match. The options include the beginning, middle, or end areas of a character's health gauge.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves S.P.G. activations (Image via SNK)
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves S.P.G. activations (Image via SNK)

When a character's health reaches the selected S.P.G. location, they can get buffs. The art style of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is visually stunning whenever S.P.G. and REV actions are being put to good use.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves gameplay featuring REV Accel (Image via SNK)
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves gameplay featuring REV Accel (Image via SNK)

Smart Style and Arcade Mode in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

According to SNK, the game welcomes new and veteran players alike with Smart Style and Arcade Mode. Our Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo only featured Arcade Mode, which required technical inputs on a controller. However, according to SNK, Smart Style lets you do flashy moves and combos with ease.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves gameplay screenshot (Image via SNK)

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo at EVO Japan 2024

In terms of the public demo, it will be available at EVO Japan 2024. This fighting game event will take place in Tokyo from April 27 to April 29. Simply visit the SNK booth to test it out yourself.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves news and updates!