Killer Instinct: Chief Thunder Revealed As Playable Character

Killer Instinct is a next-gen fighting game being developed by Double Helix Games exclusively for the Xbox One when it releases this Fall. The game is actually the third installment of the Killer Instinct line of fighting games and is the first game from that series to be developed in 17 years.

Chief Thunder

The character that was revealed today is none other than Chief Thunder who is one of the series most popular fighters. Chief Thunder is a Native American chief that arms himself with dual tomahawks and looks like he means business. The game’s developer has labeled Chief Thunder as a “grappler” which means he will be best used at close-range of the opponent, and his moves allow him to keep as close as possible to his adversary. 

The developer has warned other close-range fighters to not mess up their close-range attacks against Chief Thunder because he will make them pay for any mistakes.  Long-range characters will also be vulnerable to Chief Thunder because one of his special abilities allows him to close on them quickly and he is invulnerable while doing so. 

David Verfaillie, the game’s design director, said

“we wanted the key read immediately to be ‘Hey, this guy is dangerous and you don’t want him up close.”

Thunder’s main reason for fighting in the game’s tournament is to find out what happened to his missing brother in the previous year’s tournament. The developers have said that Thunder knows that his brother is dead and that his brother’s spirit is restless, and this causes Thunder to show the grief that he feels.  Which explains Thunder’s splattered war paint and his ambition to work fight his way through the tournament to find out what happened to his brother.

Looking Ahead

Killer Instinct looks like a solid fighting game and it will be interesting to see how Chief Thunder plays when the game is released. Fighting games are popular in the competitive gaming world so it will be interesting to see if Killer Instinct reaches the competitive arena. And if the game does reach the competitive stage, will players choose Chief Thunder as their main character for competition?

In any regards, Killer Instinct is supposed to be released around the Xbox One release date and should make for an interesting Xbox One exclusive.  If you are a fighting game fan or a prospective Xbox One buyer, keep an eye out for Killer Instinct as it could become a next-gen rival for the other fighting-game franchises.