I don’t mind the CPU performing optimal combos for situations, as it makes me feel like I’m fighting another person to an extent. Though at times it makes me feel like I’m fighting someone a lot better than the difficulty level would indicate, like when everything I do gets punished for max damage.
But after several hours of play today, I’d say there’s key differences here between optimal combos here and there and constant optimal combos, counter breakers, shadow counters (on single hit moves, no less), constant corner pressure, and reaction time that goes FAR beyond normal human levels.
Trying to fight this AI with Shin Hisako is exceedingly obnoxious. I don’t mind a challenge, but it feels like everything I do gets punished for a long combo, I get poked out of everything on wake up, in her rekka, in any vulnerability window in any of her specials, the computer reacts simultaneously to my button presses, spirit slice is utterly useless on even medium level opponents… Virtually every match is now sucked dry of any nuance or showmanship or fun because I have to figure out how to cheese the AI on anything above easy.
If you wanted higher difficulty on Kyle / Godlike, that’s fine. I have zero issues with that. If you play on that level, then you’re likely looking for a punishing level of difficulty. I’m not looking for that though, especially not in Shadow Lords, which is so resource dependent to begin with. But it would seem as though they buffed every level, including easy and I think they did it significantly. So now I’m burning good resources just to get through hard level matches. I basically have to avoid very hard and impossible matches altogether.
The reaction time in particular bothers me. It’s too “gamey.” That most definitely does NOT make me feel like I’m playing a human opponent, but rather, an AI that has been coded with an unfair advantage, and I despise using the term unfair.
Sorry for the rant. I swear I’m not as salty as I sound here, but I’d ask that IG take a serious look at this again. Keep the highest difficulty the way it is and keep some of the optimal strategy AI, but I’d implore you to get rid of the inhuman level reaction time stuff. Leave that quarter munchy crap back in the 90’s arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 where it belongs.