After some mild delays from Arc System Works to handle character quality and some mild character balancing concerns, Venom’s trailer has finally released, as of this writing, just ahead of the Arc World Tour 2024 Finals. The retired member of the Assassin’s Guild turned baker, as of the end of his previous appearance in Guilty Gear Xrd’s After Story B, continues his streak of appearing in every fighting genre edition in the series since his debut in Guilty Gear X, whilst also appearing in the Guilty Gear novel GGX The Butterfly and Her Gale, and a number of Guilty Gear Drama CDs.
This contributor believes he’s only missed the original, due to not creatively existing at that time, Guilty Gear Overture, which was a MOBA-style departure in the series focused almost entirely on the increasingly complex Kiske family and the canon pachinko title of Guilty Gear Vastedge XT. It’s been a very good run for the man, really. That being said, Venom was yet to be playable in Strive ahead of this, only showing up in his role as a baker at the end of Strive’s main story.
Some less familiar with Guilty Gear Strive’s writing may wonder what reason he’d have to fight, and that is actually a very good question as of now. Each character’s story mode- after the base roster’s cast’s… disappointing arcade modes due to budget constraints and after a certain extremely popular character’s return at the start of Strive’s Season Two significantly eased ASW’s financial constraints upon her return- mostly focuses on more personal, and surprisingly complex issues, so it’ll be interesting to see what the pool cue wielding baker turned- …vigilante with idiot robot sidekick… will grapple with upon his return.
Venom returns to Guilty Gear Strive on March 24, 2025, or should be available by the time this article is up. Guilty Strive can be found on PS5, PC, and the Nintendo Switch.
What do you think of Strive, if you play? Have you been looking forward to Venom, and if you’ve played him by the time you see this, what do you think of him? Please, let us know what you think below!