'BAKUDO' Preview: Dodgeball With Souls-like Parry Timing
Shueisha Games and Taiwanese studio SAYIL GAMES are bringing 'BAKUDO' to Steam, an action game that reimagines dodgeball as a one-on-one boss rush. The protagonist, Yuria, enrolls at Chekuri Academy to find her missing father and challenges the Eight Stars, the school's ruling warriors, to combat ball matches. Gameplay centers on a real-time deathmatch where the first to deplete the opponent's HP loses, but defense is where the game shines. Players catch blue balls with perfect timing, evade red ones, and toss up orange balls for a spike counterattack. A separate BAKUDO Gauge acts as armor; depleting it triggers a Burnout state, opening opponents to powerful smashes. Previewers at gamescom 2026 fought the new boss Flash, who throws spears and lightning, and praised the satisfaction of learning attack patterns through repeated defeats. The game's demo on Steam includes a tutorial and two bosses, while the gamescom build features a new high-difficulty fight against Seth, who uses a spear-like weapon. 'BAKUDO' is scheduled for release on PC via Steam, with other platforms hinted at.