When Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 launched 10 years ago, few of us DB fans could have guessed that it would be a game that would still be getting content a decade later. But all good things must come to an end, and Bandai Namco is finally delivering Xenoverse 3 to the Z-fighters around the globe. Recently at Summer Game Fest’s Play Days, I got a chance to sit in on a behind-closed-doors gameplay demo of the new game and get a glimpse at what’s new, what’s returning, and some intriguing changes that left my Saiyan eyebrow raised.
Initially announced as Project Dragon Ball Age 1000, Xenoverse 3 is set in what is described as an “unknown future” set 1000 years after the series. Similar to the previous Xenoverse games, you play as a custom-created character, picked from a handful of Dragon Ball’s beloved races, including Saiyan, Majin, Namekian, Frieza’s people (seriously, can we get an official name for them), and Human. The last of which was used in the demo.
Your character is a member of the Great Saiyaman Squad – a group of superhero-esque characters based around Gohan, Videl, and Goten’s Great Saiyaman personas. West City looks to serve as the central hub city this time around, with your apartment acting as your home base.
Right from the get-go, I was impressed by the new approach Xeno3 takes to depicting Toriyama’s legendary style. I have always found the more plastic-y shiny look of Xenoverse 2 to be a bit of a turn-off, so when the original AGE 1000 showed off a look more in line with the anime, I was on board. Seeing it all in action, even in this early state, with some harsh shadows and technical glitches happening, I am already on board with the new aesthetic!
Looking to adopt a mission-based structure again, the mission that we were shown featured an icy landscape with mobs of what appeared to be generic Frieza-solider minions, culminating in a fight against Broly from the Dragon Ball Super movie. The battlefield wasn’t just an arena, but you had to fight your way through waves of these mobs, flying around a sort of canyon to progress. Even this quick glance has me excited by the prospect that missions may be a bit more intricate this time around, and the boss fights will be more involved and require more strategy. During the boss fight against Broly, you would have to take cover behind large ice pillars to avoid his rage-infused attacks. Failing to do so meant getting blasted by a devastating attack.
Much of what we were shown was what one could expect from any Dragon Ball game – the signature beam blasts, dynamic dashes around the level, and hard-hitting punches. We even got glimpses of the Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 3 transformations for the created character! Bandai Namco remained tight-lipped about how characters like Vegeta and Trunks appear in this future, but we did get a glimpse at how these sorts of legendary characters will factor into the game’s mechanics.
Before you go on a mission, it appears you will be able to select the “soul” of DBZ favorites with Future Trunks (DBZ) and Vegeta (Saiyan Saga) appearing in the demo. The naming of the characters makes it look that much like Sparking! Zero and other recent DB games have done it, characters will be broken down by arc versions, with each having a different special move set. During combat, the souls you have equipped can either be used as Soul Attacks (basically calling in that character as an assist to use a signature move, such as Vegeta and his Galick Gun, for instance) or Soul Switching. Switching will briefly swap out your created character for the soul, giving you access to the full toolkit of that character. In the demo, the person at the controls became Trunks, hurling his Burning Attack at minions and letting loose brand new combo attack strings.
While the Soul system initially brought another modern Dragon Ball game to mind, what surprised me most was how much Xenoverse 3 may be pulling from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Beyond the action combat, it appears this new game will lean more heavily into RPG mechanics than previous Xenoverse entries. Characters would level up, damage numbers would appear with each attack, and you could further augment stats in various ways, such as equipping accessories. This latest Xenoverse entry seems to be bringing in more RPG elements, including character levels and damage numbers popping up when you connect with an attack. Both mechanics are absent from the first two Xenoverse games.
Out of everything that has been shown so far, this seemingly more RPG-leaning approach has me the most intrigued and excited. I am curious to see how prevalent the RPG aspects are in Xenoverse 3, and while I don’t expect massive skill trees for your character, I certainly wouldn’t be against being able to tailor and customize my playable character a bit more, to a specific style.
Dragon Ball games will always tap straight into my nostalgia, having grown up in the Toonami era when arcs repeated for years at a time. I loved Xenoverse 2 when it came out and have been blown away by the support it has received, continuing even today! The Xenoverse 3 demo we saw did nothing to diminish my excitement for it. 2027 is already shaping up to be jam-packed with killer games, with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 sitting near the top.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 releases next year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.
