Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3's Combat Looks A Lot Like Kakarot - Summer Game Fest 2026

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Dragon Ball video games have almost always been some of the best anime games out there. The intense combat, vibrant anime visuals, and new ways of experiencing the world that we have come to know and love with different perspectives and new stories. There are so many that I have fallen in love with, but the one that kept me coming back for more was Xenoverse 2. There was something about the customization, that ever-expanding roster of characters, and the progression that sucked me in. And, as soon as I saw Xenoverse 3, I got that excited feeling in my bones once again.

While I was at Summer Game Fest, I had a chance to check out a hands-off session for the game, which gave us a first look at gameplay, as well as more information about the story. And in the end, I walked away even more excited for the new entry, and a big part of that was the combat.

It feels like a lot was learned from Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, and a good chunk of it found its way into the combat. The camera angle of Xenoverse 2 always reminded me of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, with a slightly lower angle that’s closer to the fighter, with our fighter towards the sides of the screen. However, we have a similar style of the camera angle to Kakarot, where it’s a bit further away with our character towards the center of the screen. We still have the fast-paced movements and action, but the camera has changed ever so slightly that reminds me a lot of Kakarot.

However, I have to say the biggest reason it made me think of Kakarot is the damage numbers. Every time we smack the enemy with an attack, damage numbers appear around them, and that was one of the defining features of Kakarot I loved. All of this combined with the more consistent vertical and horizontal movement got me more interested, because as much as I love the combat of Xenoverse 2, I really loved the RPG-esque style of Kakarot. Xenoverse 3 feels like a good combination of the two.

But that’s not all! Of course, there are new features to go along with these changes, and they can influence a lot of combat and the missions that we take. While taking on missions and playing with our character, we can use Soul Assist to call on well-known characters from the franchise to assist with their own special attacks. And if we really want to dominate the enemy, we can Soul Switch, allowing us to take full control of that character and utilize their moves. The switching out and extra moves could give us an edge in tougher combat situations, and I think it’s awesome.

On top of that, our super attacks and abilities are customizable, with these choices possibly affecting how we can deal with certain missions. Some of these are going to be great for specific enemies, so picking and choosing will give us an edge as we complete missions throughout the world. There’s also more variety with missions, with them being designed to give us different combat situations, including somewhere we will utilize up to three different companions that come with us. These guys will fight on their own and can revive you, which can add a whole other element to the mission.

Now, that’s just combat, but there is a bit more to the game. It takes place in the future, specifically in Age 1000. We will create our own character and roam around the populated city, taking on missions, and figuring out why some of the characters we know and love have started appearing in the future. A big part of the game will be figuring out why these characters are even here, since they definitely aren’t supposed to be. It’s an interesting spin to the story, and I’m curious to see how it will shake up.

I wasn’t able to ask any questions during this, though there are a lot on my mind that I would love to find out. I’m sure we will get the chance leading up to release, but for now, all I can say is I am extremely excited for the full game to release so I can get right back to flying around, going Super Saiyan, and figure out why these characters are here.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 can be wishlisted on Steam right now ahead of its 2027 launch.

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