Street Fighter 6 Review (Yaqoub)
A LONG awaited return to form!
Capcom's fighting games division needed a win, and what they delivered is way beyond that. Street Fighter 6 is an awesome fighting game.
You'll find content catered for you no matter what type of gamer you are; casuals can hit the streets in World Tour mode, learn the ropes through fun activities, mini-games and mild RPG elements. You create an avatar and customize its appearance, then later learn special moves from the Street Fighter characters (masters) and create your own style of fighter.
When you're done and ready to learn proper Street Fighter, you can go to the Fighting Grounds where you'll find all the main SF stuff: VS mode, Team Battle, Practice, Combo Training, etc.
The character roster is fantastic. You get the original World Warriors, then you have some others sprinkled from different SF games. Each character's design was very well thought out. Classic characters show some age since the story line has advanced in the first time since 3rd Strike, while new faces like Luke, Jamie and Kimberly add a younger vibe to the mix. The amount of personality these characters were given is crazy good, you'll find a hard time hating any of them. Lots of details were given to each, even winning a PERFECT round they're given a special win pose. There's so much to seek out in terms of design, personality and gameplay concepts.
Speaking of gameplay...
The main mechanics are very well thought out; the Drive system is fantastic. Drive Impact, Drive Reversal, Drive Parry, OD moves, Drive Rush are all very fun to use and all have ways to counter. Something you'll have to learn as you play as utilizing them properly is key to your survival. Over time you'll find yourself using them correctly and improve your overall skill. Always remember: there is a counter to every mechanic in the game! You have to learn how to react and correctly punish mistakes. Drive Impact & Drive Rush both can be properly punished.
Modern Controls is basically a new control scheme. You get Light, Medium, Heavy and Special buttons which make attacking easier to grasp for beginners. Special moves can be done with a single press of the Special button along with a direction (doing special moves that way incurs a damage penalty) which allow for faster reactions. It's also viable for high level play if you do invest time in learning it, but it's optional.
You can always use the Classic Controls 6-button layout if you prefer and play Street Fighter like you always used to.
There's also Dynamic Controls, which is basically made for casuals to mash buttons and have fun at gatherings and not-so-serious party play.
Take those skills further and go online with the Battle Hub feature, which takes your avatar to a virtual arcade where you can meet other players and challenge them to fights. You can also play some classic Capcom arcade games and Capcom will rotate the games from time to time.
Now, the true improvement and paradigm shift is the online experience. The netcode has been awesome since day 1. IT HAS CROSSPLAY! You can play against anyone on PC, PS5 or even Xbox. Rollback netcode was implemented properly, allowing you to play with players further away than what we used to be able to play compared to older SF games, and even compared to other fighting games. It's awesome. You can actually enjoy playing Ranked matches and learn!
Master rank is where your skill is truly put to the test, where you will be matched with high level players. You'll need to really work hard for your win, and it's really satisfying because the netcode allows you to properly play with more regions and expose yourself to play-styles beyond what you're familiar with at locals.
The visuals are fantastic; characters look great, animations are fluid and attention to detail can be seen everywhere. Audio is great too, voice acting in both EN and JP are very well done. Music is subject to your taste, I like most of it so it doesn't bother me.
The game runs great on a multitude of devices, including the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Perfect for labbing in training mode while on the go!
All in all, I believe this game is one of--if not THE-- best games you can buy these days. A product truly made with love. Mechanics were thought out very well. High level play is extremely satisfying. Online is so good it's very addictive.
It is easily my game of the year, and one of the best games I've ever played.
HIGHLY recommended!