RE-REVIEW: Akiba's Trip (PS4)


Title	Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed
Developer	Acquire
Publisher	XSEED Games
Release Date	November 25, 2014
Genre	Adventure, Beat ’em up
Platform	PlayStation 4
Age Rating	ESRB – Mature
Official Website

Having played Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressd on Vita when it released, I found it to be a very interesting game with some technical issues, but I still had fun with it. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love stripping vampires? When the chance arose to review the PS4 version of the game, I was interested to see if the new hardware fixed some of the performance issues in the Vita version, and if any cool features were being added in the game. So, without further ado, let’s see if this release is worth your cash.

Graphically, there is a noticeable improvement on the PS4 over the previous versions. Since this runs at full 1080p now, the models all look a lot clearer, and you can read a lot of signs much more easily. There are still some screen tearing issues, but they are much less noticeable this time around. One of the new features directly impacts the graphics — the visual editor. You can change the color of the character models, the sky, buildings and pretty much everything else. There are tons of options to play with to give the game a custom look of your choice. Below are few examples of what you can do with this editor.

The core game is unchanged from the previous versions. If want to know anything about the core mechanics of this one, check out our own David Fernandes’s review of the PS3 version. There is, however, a new mode that allows players to start with basically every item available to them. This new mode is called Toybox Mode, and, while you will not earn any trophies in this mode, it is a ton of fun to grab up all the best stuff and start kicking Synthister ass.

Some of the other improvements to this version fix two of the major problems I had with the Vita one. One problem I am talking about was missing someone you were looking for because they popped on the screen after you walked by where they were. Thankfully, with the improved loading times, which was my second issue, this doesn’t happen in this version. You will also notice an improved frame rate overall, which is just nice.

The last new feature I want to discuss is Audience Mode. When you are live streaming your viewers can either choose to help you out in battle or make your life a living hell. They can do things like call allies to help you, call the cops to beat the hell out of you or make all bystanders riot. So, depending on who is watching your stream, things can get interesting very quickly.

Though there have been some major improvements to this release there are still some issues remaining. When fighting, you still get those awkward camera angles sometimes, some difficulty spikes during certain quests and it is still hard to find where you’re going at times. While these are not major issues, they are something players should take note of.

All in all, I still think that, despite its flaws, Akiba’s Trip is still a really fun game. If you don’t own a version of the game yet, I would definitely say go with the PS4 one. It is by far the best version out there. If you own the PS3 or Vita version of the game, the choice to upgrade really comes down to how much did you enjoy the game you have. If you really enjoyed it, you may want to consider the upgrade if you have the hardware. Otherwise, at its $39.99 price tag, you would likely want to stick with what you already have.