Our Hands-On Experience with Netmarble’s THE KING OF FIGHTERS AFK

Ah, the arcade – it’s a smorgasbord of sights and sounds unlike any other, where triumphant showboating goes hand-in-hand with wails of defeat that echo into the distance. It’s fun and infuriating at the same time, but can you imagine what it would be like for one wrong rage-quit to transport you right into the fighting game you’re button-mashing with? RPG.

That’s exactly what happens with the unnamed protagonist in THE KING OF FIGHTERS AFK. As the player, you’re no longer restricted to watching the beat-downs unfold on your screen. This time, you’re thrust right into the thick of battle alongside your favourite KOF fighters – retro pixel art and electrifying soundscapes included. Originally revealed at the Tokyo Game Show 2024, the game started its early access this May 2025 and opened for global pre-registrations last month.

Summon iconic fighters from the KOF franchise

Instead of stressing out over calculated controls and perfectly timed punches, however, you’ll simply need to level up your fighters and watch them battle through the chaos on their own. It’s a nice change of pace from the heart-pumping adrenaline rush typical of the fighting game genre, but just because you no longer need to button-mash doesn’t mean the gameplay isn’t as action-packed.

As you summon fighters from the huge lineup in the franchise, you can take advantage of their synergies and build the ultimate team. Each fighter comes with unique synergy, and when you deploy certain fighters with the same synergy type together, you can activate powerful bonus effects that enhance your team’s performance.

And this synergy effect is not limited to fighters – unique and legendary grade pets also carry synergy, making it much easier to complete your perfect synergy lineup! You can switch up your formations and witness the mayhem unfold on the main menu, where your team will automatically go from one stage to the next, bringing on the pain against unwitting foes who dare to stand in their way.

Eventually, you’ll be able to automatically call upon the stage boss before you can progress to the next stage, which is where you can use your fighters’ skills that are presented in retro-inspired visuals reminiscent of the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR. And it’s a rush seeing these familiar faces showing off their moves on screen, especially since fan-faves such as Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Athena Asamiya are all joining the fray.

Utilise the game’s AFK feature to maximise rewards in little time

There are more than a hundred different fighters to add to your collection, and while that might seem overwhelming at first glance, it’s actually not that hard to build your collection simply by playing through the main content. That’s because the rewards are extremely generous – too generous, in fact, that it’s easy to keep progressing and growing your fighters thanks to all the resources you’re provided with.

Case in point: the premium currency here is the precious Ruby, but even these can be hoarded via the daily missions, passes, and event logins. There’s a handy Guide that holds your hand as you go along, too, so whether you need to defeat 3 Attackers or summon 10 fighters, you’ll never feel lost (and the Rubies will keep coming).

There are AFK rewards as well that accumulate even when you’re offline, of course. But what stands out here is the Lucky Ride content, which lets you collect gear with different rarities to boost your stats. And it’s all brought to you by Terry Bogard sporting his iconic outfit and riding an ultra-cool motorbike, so even that is plenty of eye candy as it is.

Face off Boss battles, participate in Raids, and keep Leveling up

The main goal here is to keep levelling up and upgrading your account, which not only comes in the form of the Influence Tier, where you can buff up your ATK, DEF, and HP, but also in the extra content that unlocks at the later stages.

The NESTS Lab, for example, lets you research, say, add a 30% boost to your PEN. Meanwhile, the hilarious Supporter Center lets you manage your supporters using fun little Megaphones for extra buffs. This not only includes different Active Effects, but also actual sprites moving around at the Center (the Cool Guy Referee is awesome, by the way. Can we add him to the fighting lineup?).

That said, you’ve also got your typical Raid content where you can farm resources, take on special bosses, collect EXP and Gold, or train at the Club Dungeon. The City of Vengeance is of particular importance here if you want to collect Fuel for those Lucky Rides, which, in turn, can be leveled up to boost your own Player Level. You wouldn’t want Terry to run out of fuel for his sweet ride, would you?

Of course, all that’s magnified by the official grand launch event, where check-in events are aplenty with up to a total of 3,000 Summon Tokens to be given away. It’s a surefire way to nab one of eight Legendary-grade fighters right from the get-go, so if you’re keen on joining in, why not head on over to the official The King of Fighters AFK website today?

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