The Reviews are In: Street Fighter 6 Is a Knockout
Street Fighter 6 is coming in just a matter of days and the hype is building at an incredible momentum thanks to some early reviews of the highly anticipated fighting game. Is Street Fighter 6 living up to expectations?
Street Fighter 5 was an underwhelming launch and left the FGC disappointed due to its unfinished state. But Street Fighter 6 has largely positive reviews thus far thanks to its numerous game modes, new fighting techniques, friendliness to new players, and dynamic roster of fighters — both old and new.
World Tour and Welcoming New Players
Fighting games are sometimes a bit overwhelming for newcomers due to the complexity of the mind games and strategies as well as the difficulty of pulling off combos and memorizing attack sequences. And while Street Fighter 6 is full of opportunities for competitive players to improve, it also is welcoming to new players and button mashers.
Polygon noted the usefulness of the World Tour game mode in its review. In this extensive game mode, you create your own avatar, level them up, and unlock new moves as you make your way through Street Fighter’s colorful universe. While it’s a story mode, Polygon added that it feels very much like a tutorial.
But Kenneth Shepherd also wrote that the combat in World Tour was not his favorite. It focuses more on the RPG aspect than the FGC, he noted.
Still, as you practice fights and complete mini-games, you start to really get a hang of all Street Fighter 6’s mechanics, starting from the basics and eventually mastering more advanced techniques. Then you can head to training mode, trials, and guides to continue utilizing what you’ve learned in World Tour.
Once you feel ready to take on real people, you can enter the Battle Hub. Online fights feel smooth and efficient, making it quite enjoyable — at least during the beta.
New Mechanics For Pros and Newbies Alike
While you will have no problem picking up Street Fighter 6 if you’ve played previous Street Fighter games — or fighting games in general — most reviews mentioned a new control system. The Guardian claimed the simplified controls were perfect for beginners.
Wrote Patrick Lum: “Newer players and veterans alike can execute special moves faster and more consistently at the press of a button, with slightly reduced damage a decent tradeoff for ease of use. For my taste, though, assisted combos (where holding down a trigger as you mash buttons automatically produces a stylish and often inescapable set of attacks, as long as the first hit lands) go a bit too far.”
Polygon agreed, stating that reducing the six-button layout to three — with a special and assist button as well — is very simple and made the controls a lot more streamlined. New players will be able to learn new characters a lot easier and won’t need to rely on dexterity to perform more powerful moves.
Still, this doesn’t mean Street Fighter 6 is easy and basic. IGN outlined a new mechanic called the Drive Gauge, which gains access to five different abilities for each character, including Overdrive special moves. These are “the new EX Special Moves,” said Mitchell Saltzman in his review.
He went on to say that the Drive Gauge system opened up a lot more options, especially because you start each round with a full meter. This allows you to start out aggressively if you so wish or save for powerful combos later on. Managing your Drive Gauge and its special abilities is an entirely new beast.
Satlzman’s favorite part of the system is Drive Impact. He said: “Drive Impact only costs one bar of drive meter to use, it has super armor that can absorb up to two hits, and if it hits while your opponent is in the middle of their own attack they will be knocked into a crumpled state, giving you a full combo. And that’s not at all! Even if they block it they get blown back and lose half a bar of Drive Meter, and if they get backed into the corner you get to follow it up with a combo.”
On top of that, Drive Impact is “scary” when you’re in burnout because if you block a Drive Impact you can still get stunned if near a wall. This makes it the “most powerful” mechanic in the entirety of fighting games.
The Ever-Growing Street Fighter 6 Roster
When Capcom was sharing showcases for each character before the game’s launch, the overall consensus was that each fighter felt like it had potential. Reimagined classic characters, as well as new characters, felt evenly matched, bringing their own unique brand of fighting to the table in a big, impactful way.
Kotaku said that the entire roster were all “forces to be reckoned with.” He pointed out Manon’s grappler moveset was “complimented” by a mechanic that made her grabs more powerful than ever. Meanwhile, Kimberly is “vicious and agile.” Main villain JP has moves focused on space manipulation and uses “incomprehensible magic” to attack from surprising angles.
You will find a character with a style and moveset that works perfectly with your preferences since all of them specialize in something so different. But reviewers urge players to definitely check out the new roster additions, some of the most exciting in the history of Street Fighter.
With seamless online play, dynamic yet inviting mechanics, and a colorful roster, Street Fighter 6 is getting rave reviews from the FGC thus far. The hype is real.
