Cliffhanger

Unreleased Cliffhanger is a new gameplay element that is going to be introduced in the up-coming title, Dead or Alive 5.

Similar to the Danger Zone falls in previous Dead or Alive titles, Cliffhangers are triggered when a fighter is knocked down by empty footing and falls off the platform (e.g. over the edge of a cliff.) However, instead of simply dropping off the edge, the fallen fighter will grab onto the edge, and the player will have the choice to stay hanging, or drop.

If they decide to hang on, they risk being hit or thrown by their attacker, that will send them falling anyway with addtional damage, but they can try block, escape or reverse the attack (by hitting the same button used to launch it) and this will send both fighters falling down to the lower level with minimal damage, sometimes leaving the former attacked with the upper hand. If they decide to drop, they will take fall damage, but avoid the risk of additional damage from their attacker.