Players will take on the roles of the cast of Dead or Alive fighters in an intense, action-packed brawler set in visually striking locations from around the world, with each stage featuring backdrops that change and interact with players. With a sensual yet realistic style, characters are rendered in incredibly lifelike detail. New touch controls bring a completely new experience to fighting games. Simple taps, swipes, and pinches on your opponent trigger a variety of devastating moves.

Using the Vita’s motion sensor, you can even play vertically for a first-person, full-screen view of your opponent. Both novice and expert players will also find even more ways to up their game with new training-focused modes and a new display of advanced frame data that reveals twice the amount of information for each move compared to previous versions. Tournament players will spend hours analyzing the best moves for their fights.

The intuitive “Touch Fight” mode, newly created for Dead or Alive 5 Plus, lets players attack opponents with simple taps or swipes of the touchscreen, offering a second fighting mode alongside traditional button-based control. In this mode, combat is shown from a first-person perspective to put players in the middle of the action for the most intuitive DOA fighting experience to date. Players can hold the PS Vita horizontally for a full widescreen view of the interactive battle stage, or vertically to enjoy a close-up view of the opposing character.

A range of attacks are available via touch and swipe, and landing a five-hit combo will trigger a Critical Burst, leaving an opponent open for even more punishment. Characters will react based on where they are touched or attacked, combining the realistic feel of a first-person view with full player control. Swiping in different directions unleashes different moves. For instance, swipe upward to launch your opponent flying into the air, opening up the opportunity to perform an air combo. Pinching the touchscreen will result in a hold if your opponent is striking or a throw if your opponent is guarding, standing, or executing a hold. When a throw or Power Blow is executed, the screen perspective changes to a cinematic view so players can enjoy watching their character dish out the punishment.

To help players master the intense martial arts techniques available in Dead or Alive 5 Plus, the game includes several new training modes. In “Free Training” mode, players can choose exactly which moves and combos they want to practice. Serious fighters can to take their skills to the next level by isolating their weak points and drilling them to perfection. In “Command Training”, players practice the moves of each character until they become second nature, advancing to the next move only after they master the previous one—but if they get stuck they can watch move demos to help master it. “Tutorial” mode gives players a solid grounding from basic moves to advanced combos and fighting strategy, with both lesson and mission segments to learn and then test the moves in action. Finally, “Combo Challenge” allows players to select a character they truly want to master and then practice that character’s key moves and combos until they can be summoned instinctively without hesitation.