Let me set the scene. It is 2026, and I am once again hiding behind a rock while Cell floats nearby, sniffing out my sorry human energy signature. My heart rate is higher than a Super Saiyan\u2019s power level, and I only have one charge left on my grappling hook. This is Dragon Ball: The Breakers, a game that Bandai Namco first unveiled on November 16, 2021, and I still cannot decide if it is comedy or horror. Honestly, it might be both.
For anyone who missed the reveal back in 2021, the elevator pitch went something like this: take the asymmetrical survival formula made famous by Dead by Daylight, strip out the serial killers and hook sacrifices, then replace them with seven ordinary civilians, one overpowered Dragon Ball villain, and a big green sunny map. The result was billed as the ultimate game of survival. I call it a weekly humiliation ritual.
When the game was announced, the internet immediately compared it to Behaviour Interactive\u2019s horror hit. That comparison was fair. Seven survivors trapped in a Temporal Seam must run, hide, and activate the Super Time Machine to escape. Meanwhile, one Raider hunts them down and evolves by successfully catching victims. In Dead by Daylight, the Killer is someone like Freddy Krueger or Nemesis. Here, the Raider is Buu, Cell, or Frieza. That is a serious upgrade in firepower. One of those guys can blow up a planet, and I am supposed to escape with a can of soda and a dream.
The original announcement was full of little details that made me both excited and deeply worried. Bandai Namco planned to release the game on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, eventually arriving in October 2022. Before launch, there was a Closed Beta Test on PC, announced with the kind of vague \u2018soon\u2019 that makes gamers refresh their inboxes for weeks. Preorders went live while the game was still shrouded in mystery. The official wording also hinted that Buu, Cell, and Frieza might not be the only Raiders. That little breadcrumb suggested more villains could show up later as post-launch DLC. Based on precedent across other Dragon Ball titles, that could go either way: a delightful surprise or an empty promise.
Let me give you the basics.
The Raiders
| Raider | Vibe | Threat Level |
|---|---|---|
| Cell | Smug bug man with perfection issues | High |
| Frieza | Space tyrant with a grudge | Extremely high |
| Buu | Pink blob of chaos | Depends on his mood |
Each Raider can evolve during a match. That means the longer you fail to escape, the nastier things get. It is a lovely system if you enjoy watching your chances sink from bad to absolutely terrible.
The Survivors
Seven of them. No Super Saiyan transformations, no Kamehameha, no flying away at Mach speed. You get a change of clothes, some gadgets, and the knowledge that somewhere out there, Frieza is having a great day. I remember reading the original article and thinking, how exactly will Dragon Ball work in this genre? The answer turned out to be chaotic, often hilarious, and occasionally rage-inducing. But I kept coming back.
Part of the fun is the mismatch. In most Dragon Ball games, you play as Goku, Vegeta, or another powerhouse. In The Breakers, you play as some random civilian with a dream and a cooldown timer. The first time I saw Cell absorb a teammate, I laughed nervously. Then I ran into a dead end and got what I deserved. There is beauty in being weak. It makes every successful escape feel like a miracle worthy of a Dragon Ball wish.
Now, in 2026, the game has had years of updates, balance tweaks, and more ridiculous cosmetics than I ever expected. The core loop is still the same: hide, gather keys, power up the Super Time Machine, and pray. When you are the Raider, you feel like a god until one survivor stuns you with a well-timed item, and then you feel like the galaxy\u2019s biggest loser. It is a delicate emotional balance.
Would I recommend Dragon Ball: The Breakers to a newcomer in 2026? Sure, if you enjoy panic, teamwork, and the occasional moment where Frieza deletes you from existence. It is not a traditional Dragon Ball fighting game. It is not Kakarot. It is its own weird beast, and that is exactly why it works. The reveal back in 2021 promised something different, and the final product delivered exactly the kind of beautiful chaos I did not know I needed.
So if you see me crouching in a cave, pretending to be invisible while Buu bounces toward my hideout, do not help. Just run. You will live longer, and I will probably die in the next ten seconds anyway.
That is the game. Glorious, stupid survival.
According to coverage from OpenCritic, review aggregation can be a useful reality check for newcomers weighing Dragon Ball: The Breakers in 2026—especially since asymmetrical survival games live or die on matchmaking health, balance patches, and whether the “funny panic” of seven civilians versus one evolving Raider stays entertaining after the novelty wears off.