Street Fighter 6 [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

Capcom are releasing banger after banger after banger at the moment, with Street Fighter 6 the latest proof that anything the team releases is pure gold. Not only is it one of the best fighting games released over the last few years, but I’d even go as far as saying it’s one of the best entries in the series… it’s THAT good.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: the fighting of Street Fighter 6 feels phenomenal. It feels great to flow together combos, the special moves pack some real punch, the super moves absolutely slap, whilst the new Drive Gauge adds an extra element of strategy to the action that can help you overwhelm your enemies or protect yourself from incoming attacks. Everything just feels SO good in-game, whilst the vibrant and stylish visuals ensure everything looks equally impressive – this really is the best-looking Street Fighter you would’ve played, with an eye for detail found in every facet of its design (just look at the muscles in attack animations to see what I mean).

The Drive Gauge is the most pivotal addition to Street Fighter 6’s combat, with players having to manage their Drive Gauge meter in order to pull off some slick manoeuvres that will give them the upper hand over foes – this will recharge naturally when playing, but if you let it empty, you’ll leave your character burnt out and vulnerable. You can spend your Drive Gauge meter to perform varying actions, including the Drive Impact that’ll absorb an enemy’s attack and let you pull off a strike of your own, a Drive Parry that’ll help you evade an incoming attack when timed right, the Drive Reversal that’ll counter an attacking enemy to get you out of a tight spot, the Drive Rush that lets you quickly hone in on your opponent and combo into attacks, and the Overdrive attacks that’ll let you perform one of your character’s special movies with a bit more oomph. Knowing where and when to use these abilities can be the difference between victory and defeat in battle, with their use adding an extra level of excitement to each showdown.

It might sound a little intimidating to fighting game newbies, but Street Fighter 6 offers an in-depth tutorial that goes through the ins-and-outs of its mechanics perfectly, so you’ll never feel overwhelmed by the action. Furthermore, it also offers an accessible ‘Modern’ control scheme that makes pulling off your moves even easier to perform, which makes the experience even more welcoming to new players. I’ll admit, I’ve always been a fan of the stick wiggles and button-mashing that the Street Fighter series has demanded when pulling off your special and super moves, but even I found myself enjoying the new control method a lot more – it just felt more fun, made it easier to learn how to play as new characters, and evened the battlefield when playing with newbies.

“World Tour Mode is an absolute blast for those who want a story-driven experience, whilst the Battle Hub is fully fleshed out to keep competitive players coming back for years on end.”

I could wax lyrical about the fighting of Street Fighter 6 non-stop, but there are plenty of other things that the game does that makes it feel so damn good to play. The biggest addition? The World Tour Mode, which lets players create their own fighter and take them on a journey across a bunch of open environments – all whilst levelling up their abilities, unlocking new moves and gear, and, of course, beating up a bunch of people along the way. I always thought fighters like Mortal Kombat and Soulcalibur outdid Street Fighter when it came to meaningful story-based components in the past, but World Tour is refreshing, addictive, and a joy to play.

It’s packed to the brim with personality too, whether that’s when interacting with the Masters in comical ways (these are made up of the main roster of characters), dressing your character up in absurd fashion, or simply uppercutting some randomer on the street to face off against them in combat. Yep, almost everyone you meet is fair game for a fight, and yep, you can give them a smack in order to challenge them if you prefer. There’s plenty of room for discovery when exploring the world, with the environments offering different quests to complete and items to discover by using the varying abilities you unlock. Whilst Chun-Li’s ‘Spinning Bird Kick’ is useful in combat, you can also use it as a means to travel across distances in World Tour mode… you’ve just got to be creative. You’ll work with different Masters to unlock their moves, and whilst you can only utilise one style of fighting as a main base for your character, you can mix together their special attacks to have a versatile fighter that pulls off as many Hadoukens as they do Sonic Booms.

With plenty of skill trees to fill to boost your stats, Masters to unlock and build relationships with, unique battles to complete, nods to other Capcom franchises, and goals to reach across each area, World Tour is an absolute blast. It’s great to see Capcom putting a lot of love into the single player side of the experience, and, alongside the Arcade Mode which gives each character a short story to see unfold, adds a ton of personality to Street Fighter 6. It’s genuinely engrossing and will make the hours fly by as you lay the smackdown on every poor soul that gets in your way.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Those who are more interested in competitive action will find themselves spending the most time in the Battle Hub, which offers a socially driven experience that re-creates the classic arcade vibe by letting you challenge other players or simply hang around to watch others face off. You can even play some classic arcade titles if you prefer, which really ramps up that nostalgia of spending hours in the arcade. Wanna show off your World Tour character? You can fight with those here too, and believe me, you’ll be shocked at just how creative (or monstrous) other players’ characters can be. What’s most important though is that the online functionality works well, with plenty on offer for players to dive into. Whether you want a traditional fight, to join and club and work with other players, to watch replays of recent matches, or even dive into a tournament, the Battle Hub has something for everyone.

I can’t end this review without mentioning the roster, which features eighteen characters made up of old faces and newcomers. The likes of Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, and Zangief feel as great to use as ever, of course, whilst the likes of Manon, Marisa, and JP bring with them the same outrageous designs and fighting styles that fans of the series have come to love. There’s plenty of diversity to be found, and whilst over half of the roster consists of returning characters, it simply wouldn’t be a Street Fighter game without the fav-favourites. I guess my only real beef is that the eighteen-strong roster feels a little small right now (especially when compared to the gargantuan rosters seen in other fighting games), but that’s something we’ll undoubtedly see grow over the course of the year.

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://www.streetfighter.com/6