Fantasy Strike is designed to be so "radically accessible" (without sacrificing depth of strategy) that even non-fighting-gamers can enjoy the genre. It's also a way to unite fighting gamers; when two friends each play a different traditional fighting game, it's tough for them to have a good match in either game, but they can both get up to speed in Fantasy Strike in minutes.

Fantasy Strike is an accessible fighting game from Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix designer David Sirlin, who has launched a Fig crowdfunding campaign seeking up to $2 million in investment.

Fantasy Strike's diverse roster of combatants includes a painter, a watchmaker, a flame archer, a dragon-man, and more. It's fifth and latest battle arena debuts in today's release: the beautiful Morningstar Sanctuary-the in-world location of the Fantasy Strike tournament itself. A full set of game modes are also available, including arcade, practice, local versus, and online play with the best-in-class GGPO networking technology to minimize online lag.

The Steam Early Access release ($19.99) also unveils many new graphical improvements to cel-shading and visual effects as well as a new "Friend Match" feature. True to Fantasy Strike's mission to be as approachable as possible, Friend Match allows players to challenge friends online without the hassle of creating lobbies or bothering with external Steam menus. To play a friend, you simply highlight their name in your in-game Steam friends list, click challenge, then you and your friend are presented with the same flow as if you were playing the local versus mode together in the same room.

"Whether you're an expert at fighting games or new to the genre, there's a big hump you have to get over in any new fighting game before you can 'play for real'," said David Sirlin, President, Sirlin Games. "Before you get to the juicy part where it's all about your decisions, you have to be able to actually do all the moves, do the basic combos, know your entire move list, and so on. From its inception, Fantasy Strike has been about launching experts and new players past the usual training mode drudgery as fast as possible. We want you enjoying the intricate dance of fighting games in minutes, not in weeks or months."

Fantasy Strike has been in development for two years. The team has cultivated the game's cell-shaded look and labored over the integration of GGPO networking, the best-in-class form of online play in fighting games.

Fantasy Strike will simultaneously come to PS4 when it exits early access and officially launches in 2018.