It’s no secret that Street Fighter V got off to a disastrous start, and despite years of course corrections, its flawed foundation made a comeback difficult. By contrast, Street Fighter 6 is a thorough answer to its predecessor’s shortcomings, boasting well-thought-out central mechanics, impressive single-player offerings, and a wealth of clever choices that make for a powerful opening punch.
Those who are primarily interested in competing against other players have a lot to look forward to; Between the brisk movement and abundance of strategic options, it’s fun to play. The biggest innovation is the new propulsion system, which elegantly combines several mechanics such as boosted special attacks, cancels and defensive maneuvers under a common resource. This meter starts out completely filled and refills automatically, giving you instant access to a large arsenal of options. However, when it’s depleted, you’re vulner able, providing a compelling risk-reward dynamic that changes with every interaction.
Additionally, the game’s pacing feels more deliberate than Street Fighter V, making for some rewarding back-and-forth trading and bringing out the more intellectual elements. In particular, the longer range of normal attacks means careful attack battles are more frequent and attacks are less beneficial when blocked, meaning attackers can’t single-mindedly carry out their offense. The 18-man roster is also a blast, combining returning favorites with cleverly designed newcomers to offer a wide variety of playstyles and levels of complexity. Each boasts a robust move set, and nearly every fighter has a unique game-changing gimmick.
Manon, for example, is a grapple whose command holds deal more damage with each landing, making her an imposing, momentum-based character, while Jamie is a drunken master-style fighter, gaining new moves with every chug. Every major character archetype seems to be well represented here, from zoners to rushdown characters, meaning players shouldn’t have a hard time finding someone to talk to. While only time will tell how the metagame plays out, Street Fighter 6’s grid and core systems provide an excellent platform to build on.
And for those less interested in playing against others, World Tour is the most notable mode. In this long single player story you can explore a semi-open metro city full of hands-on madmen, side quests and RPG Lite advancements. As well as being a fun, oddball adventure, it successfully introduces and tutorials into some of the game’s deeper systems, while offering a largely satisfying series of brawls.
Battles in the World Tour are enticing due to opponents’ unique attack patterns and the fact that each enemy is paired with optional objectives that grant bonus rewards. Best of all, your avatar can learn skills from the main squad, allowing you to combine the best elements of grapplers, zoners, and rushdown characters into one hilariously broken fighter. I was really surprised how much there is in this mode and it took me more than 25 hours to reach the end credits. While the World Tour is far from perfect – some fights felt overly chaotic due to the way they’re wedged between multiple opponents, and the overarching narrative leaves a lot to be desired – it’s a solid entry point for new ones Player who will provide a good start for those who are not interested in who puts their skills to the test online has plenty to do.
In addition, numerous inclusions testify to an impressive degree of polish. There are multiple control schemes for beginners, party settings, a robust training room, an arcade mode, accessibility options, and a fully realized lobby system. Take advantage of a well-implemented rollback netcode, quick rematches, and the ability to queue for online play from almost anywhere, and Street Fighter 6 makes it easy to get started and play.
As the pioneer of the fighting game series, each new Street Fighter brings with it high expectations. Street Fighter 6 lives up to that hype with aplomb, catering to both newcomers and genre veterans alike by offering the deepest range of offline offerings the franchise has ever seen, along with a flexible set of core systems and a diverse cast . With its cohesive aesthetic, wealth of clever features, and clean core gameplay, it’s one of the most impressive entries the genre has seen in a long time.
