A fighting game with two buttons
Divekick strips the fighting game down to two inputs and no d-pad movement. Dive sends your character straight up into the air. Kick launches them foot first at a downward angle, and pressing Kick while standing on the ground jumps you away from your opponent. That is the whole control scheme, so there are no input strings to memorize. What is left is spacing, timing, mind games, and quick reactions. The first hit takes the round, and the first player to five round wins takes the match. The roster holds 14+ unique characters, each with their own fighting style and special techniques, plus Fencer from Nidhogg and Johnny Gat from Saints Row as extra playable characters.
Playing together
Local VS puts two players on the same setup, and button reconfiguration is quick, which helps when a room of people all want a different layout. There is also single player to run through on your own. Every character has a story with an intro, an ending, and rival battles. For playing over a distance, the game has ranked and non-ranked online multiplayer powered by GGPO, with ranking boards for each character and an overall board. Remote Play Together is supported, so someone can join your session from their own machine.
Before you start
Because a single hit ends the round, matches move fast and punish hesitation more than execution. Expect to spend the first few rounds learning how far each character's dive and kick travel, and where the safe spots are on the ground. The two-button layout means anyone can pick it up quickly, but the depth comes from reading the opponent rather than from combos. If you plan to play locally, set up each person's buttons before the first match so nobody is fumbling mid-set. Full Steamworks integration includes Big Picture Mode.