Generally, when it comes to asymmetrical games, the design of the game is meant to be set up in a way that it is possible for all survivors to manage an escape. However, it seems Dimps Corporation and Bandai Namco took it a different way when they designed DragonBall: The Breakers. I have yet to encounter a game where all survivors manage to escape, even when the villain player is really bad at their role. Then again, most asymmetrical games are smaller in team size so perhaps having so many survivors was their attempt to balance the odds. Overall, this game is fun for a few rounds, but how regularly would you want to play? Let’s dig into the details.

Story

A tear in the time rift keeps sprouting up random black holes that are sucking in survivors and throwing them into a moment between time lines! In order to get back onto your timeline, you will need to find the power keys in the area to charge up the time capsule ship. But look out! It seems some of DragonBall’s most notorious villains are getting stuck here too and they can’t wait to toy with you as you try to leave.

Gameplay

Before getting into the game itself, there is an overworld hub that acts as your lobby. Here you can buy cosmetics and neat power-ups for your character. Whatever abilities you decide to get, be sure to go into your character settings and actually equip them as well. If you are trying to team up with a specific player, the invite system is a little weird but workable. You simply go to start a game, picking the type. It will put you in a lobby with the option to begin searching for a game, but before you do that you can invite your friends to join your lobby. You can even use a lobby code to have other search for it if you don’t have them on your friends list. Once they are in the lobby, you would then search for a game and it will just fill in the empty spots, keeping you both in the same game.

This asymmetrical title puts 7 survivors against 1 villain. Whether you choose to be Cell, Frieza, or Buu, the villain role is pretty easy and straightforward. Your goal is to take out as many as you can, preventing them from escaping, and destroying the land. As the game goes on, you can literally destroy whole junks of the current map, making it harder for the survivors to move around and power up their escape option. As a being that is much stronger than the survivors, you can take them out swiftly, but you will have to power up a bit first. To do this, you need to take out a few of the NPC survivors that are pretty much just humans that also got stuck in this mess. You also gain more power from defeating players, so the more you kill the stronger you get - just like in the show!

As a survivor, there is a bit more to do. You can work together with the other players, but teamwork only goes so far in this game. Everybody starts the game in a random spawn point and split up. The first goal is to gather energy for yourself to power up and to find the power keys that will charge the machine from this section of land. If everybody is fast enough and can get enough lands charging at the same time, the time machine will arrive early enough to get everybody who grabs on out.

However, most of the time, a few areas would manage to get the charge and the villain would target those sections of the map to destroy and break that connection. Doing this really hinders the progress for survivors, but the scavaging continues. You can find a variety of items and energy, all of which can be used to defend yourself from the villain. While the tools are either a handy radar or a weapon, such as Vegeta’s Gloves that shoot a Galick Gun, the energy is definitely better. If you can charge yourself up enough, you can use a hero’s power to fight for a short amount of time. You can set your character powers up in the lobby before the match so it is the character you would prefer.

While you are scavaging, you may run into those NPC survivors as well. This gives you a chance to rescue them, thus taking away a quick, but small, power-up charge for the villain. You may also find a few dragon balls, which are neat. If you can find all 7 dragon balls and bring them to the Shenron shrine, you can use them to make a wish. These wish options are a bit limited, but can come in clutch if used properly at the right time.

After all the scavaging, hiding, and maybe even fighting back, if you find yourself as a living survivor toward the end of the match then you will get a radio transmission from Trunks. He tells you to find the blue beacon where he has sent the time machine for you to get out of there, regardless of how well the survivors worked together to use power keys and get the time machine out quickly. If you can get the time machine and hop in it, then you can get out of there and actually survive the event. You can also bring other survivors with you on the ship, so make sure your revive any nearby friendlies that you can before leaving.

As a survivor, if you leave in the time machine, it is considered a win. If you die and other players leave in the time machine, it is considered a loss. Pretty much, if you are anywhere but in, or on, the time machine when it leaves, it will count as a loss for you. This is where they drive the hammer to the nail that this game is a free-for-all disguised as a teamwork thriving title.

At least, if you manage to get a whole lobby of survivors looking to win the hard way, they could all just search for energy to power themselves up and then strategically fight the villain. That short burst of energy where you have the powers of the heroes from the series can be used to actually deplete the villain’s health all the way. It will take a lot of work and the strategy will need to be there to pull it off, but it can be pulled off.

Audio and Visual

Credit is definitely due in this section of the review because they did a great job making the game look like the anime and sound like it too. Bringing in the original voice actors to do a few lines and drawing up the environments to hold iconic symbols from the show, even if they aren’t placed in a proper location for them (look at that Cell Arena on a cliffside especially here), it is cool to see them bring these things into the environment. From the music to the sound effects and from the characters to the environment, they did a great job with the aesthetic’s of this game!

Replayability

As an online-based game where you can load up as either the survivor or the villain, there is definitely replayability. Just like any other asymmetrical title out there, if you are having fun and there are other players online still, you can always play this game again. Changing your presets and abilities might even be helpful to change up the gameplay enough.

What It Could Have Done Better

The overall design of this game just doesn’t give off the comraderie that the general asymmetrical game does. Usually, in these types of games I would feel like I am working with other survivors in whatever situation we are in. In this game, I just hope that I’m not spotted first so I have a chance to be one of the few to actually escape this game. At least there was perspective on this from the developers as they give you the option to leave the game the moment you are unable to be revived so you aren’t just waiting for the game to end, but this lack of ‘strive to work together’ kind of makes this game mismatch with the genre it was built for.

There definitely is an issue with the game’s general balance as well. Perhaps this is the main factor that gives the free-for-all energy, but I don’t see it being possible for all survivors to make it out of the game and I think it was built for that to be true. In fact, I would believe that they didn’t expect more than four survivors to ever make it out together.

Verdict

DragonBall: The Breakers is a fun game that needs to work on its balancing. Everytime I load up into a new match, my initial concern is simply not getting caught first and hoping I load up away from where the villain does so I have time to scavange and maybe even escaping. If I am caught first, it almost always ends up with me being taken out before the first key even gets powered up. I’d suggest waiting for this one to go on sale before getting it, but definitely recommend getting it at some point.

DragonBall: The Breakers is available now on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.