Geek Review: Street Fighter 6

For any series that has lasted, or in this case, survived, for an extended amount of time, the fear is that things get too stagnant, lacking the  freshness that can revitalise the existing fanbase while not being entirely interesting to new players. Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise certainly felt that fatigue in 2016 with Street Fighter 5. But after putting in the hard work, the tides of battle have turned in dramatic fashion with Street Fighter 6, and a truly incredible knockout blow awaits all aspiring combatants.

It’s easy to see just why Street Fighter 6 succeeds on almost every level. There is a robust 18-character roster comprising recognisable, beloved characters and newcomers, an online Battle Hub lobby system that works wonders, and comprehensive training features that will help players develop the fundamental skills on their journey to becoming the best in the world. And did we mention that visually striking new art style that just has everything popping off the screen in the best of ways?

Starting with the fighters, players will have access to 12 familiar characters and six new ones, and everyone feels great to use, thanks to new tweaks and additions. Series stalwarts like Ken and Cammy go beyond their base familiar movesets, allowing players to leverage command runs and charging mechanics to switch things up, making them unpredictable and more fun to play.

Newcomers in Street Fighter 6, like Kimberly and Jamie, are also excellent complements to the old faces. The former brings speed and technique into the mix with her teleportation and throws, whereas the latter is a dangerous powerhouse that brings different levels of danger depending on the number of drinks he’s had.

Trying to master the entire roster will take ages, but thanks to the best training mode seen in fighting games for a while, it will always be a pleasure. Frame and cancel window data are at the players’ fingertips; there are useful guides to consult for each character and even combo trials that can get you up to scratch quickly with bread-and-butter moves, so learning has never been more intuitive or fun.

Once all of that is ingrained in your head, then it’s time to dive deeper into the Drive System in Street Fighter 6. The unique mechanic that undoubtedly defines this new entry, it gives each fighter access to five significant abilities that will utilise the Drive Gauge. When used in the right situations, it can lead to spectacular payoffs or even more glorious failures on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Overdrives essentially replaces EX Special Moves here, and Drive Rush closes the distances between you and your opponent in swift fashion. Drive Reversals can get players out of a tight bind, while Drive Impacts and Drive Parry work in tandem as new ways to deal big damage or negate them based on good timing and use.

The expanded options the Drive System brings in Street Fighter 6 cannot be understated, with a full meter available for use when the bell rings. Aside from the already formidable skill of your opponents, the five new ways in which a fight can unfold make the battles in the game even more exciting and strategic than before.

That said, there is an argument for not overusing one’s Drive Gauge, as it confers a Burnout state on a character. Not only do fighters lose the ability to do any Drive moves, but opponents are also able to deal chip damage, have greater advantages for both blocking and hitting, and the aforementioned Drive Impacts become even more threatening.

For players that find themselves in this state in Street Fighter 6, this is where matches can become much more interesting. While the Drive System remains out of reach, players retain their character’s base characteristics and moves, so there’s still a fighting chance. Flipping the script when faced with such odds is always satisfying, and is a valuable lesson most players will learn during their journey. 

If that all sounds daunting, the game also includes two new control modes, much like what Tekken 8 is doing with its Special Style control scheme. The Modern control scheme eschews all character-specific commands in favour of just buttons and directions, making it easy to pull attacks limited to a pool. And the Dynamic control scheme goes one step further, with just one button needed for the AI to choose the right attack for you, which makes sense why it’s only available offline.

All of that knowledge gained will become integral to your enjoyment of Street Fighter 6, which comes in a few flavours. For starters, the single-player mode, World Tour, lets players embark on an RPG-like experience with an original character, coming face-to-face with esteemed fighters, and picking up skills and fights along the way.

It is certainly a great idea in concept, especially when it is designed to teach players all of the necessary skills to survive through its quests. The carrot of being able to learn all the moves from other fighters to put together an uber-fighter is enticing, but the 20-odd hours spent in World Tour often betray its lack of an engaging story and development both for characters and the world itself.

While the lessons taught are worthwhile, everything surrounding the globetrotting tours is never up to scratch. There should be more than a superficial reason to send your created fighter from one country to the next beyond running errands for the various factions in the mode, even if, ultimately, the World Tour mode is banking on its goofiness to carry things through.

That is one area it does well, and it never gets old being able to fight almost everyone you see on the street and give them an uppercut to kick things off. Need to cross a gap? Make like a human helicopter and use the Spinning Bird Kick. Add to that bouts against refrigerators, robot vacuums, and the classic vehicle destruction, alongside minigames that bestow useful tips, and there is still something in the World Tour grind to take away from. 

The main meat in Street Fighter 6 will be playing against other fighters, and the online Battle Hub is where all the action is at, whether you prefer ranked or unranked play, or just looking for a casual fight from all comers. Lobbies in fighting games are not new, but the way it is presented here should be applauded. 

Beyond its matchmaking abilities, players can also partake in classic Capcom games such as Final Fight on a rotating basis to pass the time. Extreme Battles make room for crazy rules and stipulations to mix things up for a zany time, and Avatar Battles provides an arena for all the crazy created characters to duke it out. Round it all off with a trip to the store, and buy yourself more customisable clothes and the like before the next round. 

The choices are all there, but players can also choose not to get into it all by just using the menus, which makes the inclusion of the Battle Hub even more impressive. It is just something that Capcom knows fans will appreciate. Moreover, our time online in Street Fighter 6 has been smooth and fuss-free, with the netcode holding up even in crossplay scenarios, which bodes well for the community.  

Needless to say, Street Fighter 6 has set a new benchmark for the genre in more ways than one. The new Drive System injects a new sense of depth into an established formula, the roster is more than substantial to keep players busy, and the online netcode allows for true skill to shine through. Other than the slight misstep of the World Tour mode, everything else connects like a well-timed haymaker, and that’s an impressive feat to say the least.

Street Fighter 6 is now available on the PSN Store for $81.05.