Guilty Gear Strive on Switch is sturdy, but lacks crossplay

Unfortunately, while it plays surprisingly well, the Switch version of Guilty Gear Strive doesn't get to play with the other platforms.

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If you’d told me I’d be playing Guilty Gear Strive on Nintendo Switch back in 2021 when it came out, I might have laughed. It’s not that I thought it was impossible, but Arc System Works had never moved any of its games past Guilty Gear XX Accent Core R onto the Switch before. Xrd isn’t even there. Lo and behold, here we are with a version of Guilty Gear Strive on Switch that not only plays, but handles quite well in pretty much all capacities. There’s only one thing that bugs me about all of this: The Nintendo Switch version doesn’t have crossplay, so while it might be good for travel, it won’t get you into many matches with your fellow players.

All of the Gear is here

This version of Guilty Gear Strive is a complete one. It has everything Arc System Works has released for the game, up to and including Queen Dizzy. That includes the post-launch stages, music, all characters from Seasons 1 to 3, and features like the Digital Figure diorama mode and the extended Story Mode. It’s all here, so you at least won’t be missing out on anything Guilty Gear Strive has to offer content-wise.

The gameplay is shockingly on par with other platforms as well. I’ll say this from the start, Joy-Cons are not great for playing this game. I ended up using my PDP Rematch controller, which is an inexpensive option, but provides a Pro Controller layout and felt good with the way Guilty Gear Strive plays. It wasn’t long before I was back on Johnny, whipping out cards, and unleashing Mist Finers a-plenty. The other characters control smoothly as well. For my experience, Ky, Anji, Axl, Baiken, Bridget, and Slayer played just as good as their PS5 counterparts.

Johnny slashing low against Sin in Guilty Gear Strive

One of the few noticeable changes is the UI. This game was made for TV or handheld mode, so some of the display has changed. Life bars are fatter and more prominent on the top of the screen. Moreover, it looks like certain effects, like the wall-cracking when you’re about to send someone through the stage, look a little lower quality from the other platforms. That said, the characters animate and move as crisp and smoothly as anywhere else I’ve played.

Top to bottom, this is a decent version of Guilty Gear Strive in terms of gameplay and features. Everything I would expect to be here is here, all the way up to Season 4 of the game.

But what about online?

Giovanna countering Johnny with a kick in Guilty Gear Strive

Online play is where I have serious issues with Guilty Gear Strive on Switch. Don’t get me wrong. It has the same rollback netcode that the other versions have. If you get into a match, it will be ridiculously smooth at most levels of ping without too much, if any, lag. I was able to get a few matches in the game’s ranked Towers system and from 70 ping up to 200 ping, the matches ran as surprisingly clean as they have anywhere else.

The problem is getting those matches. For all of the good Arc System Works packed into the Switch version of Guilty Gear Strive, this version does not have crossplay. That means you are confined to playing online only with other Switch players. This feels like a massive concession that really harms this version of the game more than anything. Yes, Guilty Gear Strive with up to Season 4 content has a lot of things to do, but ultimately when you’re done with that stuff, online play should have been there waiting for us. Unfortunately, that means we’re at the mercy of other fans picking up this version of the game and jumping into the Towers or Player Match lobbies.

Everything but one of the most important things

Ky slashing Sol in Guilty Gear Strive

It’s a damn shame that Arc System Works opted not to bring crossplay over to the Switch version of Guilty Gear Strive because it really is a fun way to play the game, right along with the benefit of being able to take it wherever you want to go. That said, if you can’t engage at all with most of the player base, which is playing on PS5, Xbox, and Steam, then you don’t get to have much of an online experience here, even if it works quite well. And given the fact that this game is already playable on Steam Deck where you can play with other platforms… well… Guilty Gear Strive on Switch is still functionally good and portable, so maybe it’ll do as a good training tool when we’re on the road and feel like going a few rounds with Sol, Ky, and the rest of the cast.


These impressions are based on a digital Nintendo Switch version provided by the publisher. Guilty Gear Strive is out now on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.

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