{"rewrite":{"id":"r_35694470229137993445af80","clusterId":"c_f3cff0562f43e2f579b2f069","slug":"dragon-ball-xenoverse-3-hands-on-at-tokyo-game-show-feels-a-decade-behind","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Hands-On at Tokyo Game Show Feels a Decade Behind","summary":"A Tokyo Game Show 2026 hands-on session with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 left the player unimpressed. The demo sent a custom character through a quest from Gamma, first against weak enemies and then against Broly with three CPU allies. Summoning Vegeta and Trunks allowed temporary transformations. Broly powered up, turned invincible, and fired energy balls that required distance or terrain cover. The piece calls the controls clunky, the environments bland, and the graphics no better than Xenoverse 2 on PS4.","whyItMatters":"The hands-on verdict matters because it reports the next mainline Xenoverse releasing in 2027 with combat and presentation that a returning player found no better than the PS4-era entry, which frames the announced release as a question mark rather than a promise.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe demo character starts in his room and takes a quest from Gamma, then fights a swarm of enemies before meeting Broly and three CPU-controlled allies. Combat offers light and strong attacks, Ki power-ups, equippable specials such as the Kamehameha and Kaioken, a lock-on dash button, and summons of Vegeta and Trunks that transform the player for a limited time and heal the normal character off the field. Broly powers up into invincibility, fires energy balls in all directions, and uses an explosion to knock the hero characters out of melee range and stun them, so surviving depends on distance or terrain. The writer still calls the controls clunky and the environments bland, and rates the graphics no higher than Xenoverse 2 on the PS4.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Xenoverse 3's Broly fight needs distance and terrain cover, so the arena matters more than the transformation roster. The bland environments undercut the one mechanic doing real work in the Tokyo Game Show 2026 demo.","twitterPost":"Xenoverse 3's Broly fight leans on distance and terrain cover, so the bland arenas undercut the one mechanic doing real work.","threadsPost":"Xenoverse 3's Broly fight leans on distance and terrain cover, so the bland arenas undercut the one mechanic doing real work. A transformation roster can carry a fight only if the ground beneath it is worth using.","newsletterBlurb":"A Tokyo Game Show 2026 hands-on with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 ended in disappointment. The demo's Broly encounter has mechanics worth watching, but the report describes clunky controls, bland environments, and graphics no better than Xenoverse 2 on the PS4. The game is slated for 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2026/tokyo-game-show/dragon-ball-xenoverse-3-feels-like-a-game-a-decade-out-of-time/.241931\",\"title\":\"Tokyo Game Show 2026: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Feels Like a Game a Decade Out of Time\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4559,"outputTokens":734,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1789742661,"createdAt":"2026-09-18T14:38:29.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-18T14:43:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-18T14:43:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_f3cff0562f43e2f579b2f069","canonicalTitle":"Tokyo Game Show 2026\nDragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Feels Like a Game a Decade Out of Time","representativeArticleId":"a_386442ce8aaaff4ef689d028","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3\",\"Tokyo Game Show 2026\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"review\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-18T13:30:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-18T13:30:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-18T14:43:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2026/tokyo-game-show/dragon-ball-xenoverse-3-feels-like-a-game-a-decade-out-of-time/.241931","title":"Tokyo Game Show 2026\nDragon Ball Xenoverse 3 Feels Like a Game a Decade Out of Time"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3","Tokyo Game Show 2026"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"review","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}