Capcom’s latest installment, Street Fighter 6, brings a much-needed urban flair to its iconic fighting game series. While Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike briefly explored this theme with hip-hop influences, Street Fighter 6 fully embraces the aesthetic.
From its graffiti-inspired logo to the paint-splashed Drive Impact move, the game immerses players in an urban atmosphere. The arcade-style Battle Hub and the Hub Goods Shop, where you can customize your character, further enhance this experience.
However, Street Fighter 6 is not just about style; priced at $59.99, it introduces groundbreaking gameplay mechanics tied to the new Drive Gauge. This innovative feature grants players unprecedented freedom in combat, making it the most fluid and visually stunning Street Fighter game to date.
Available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC, Street Fighter 6 is a testament to the genre’s current golden age. With its strategic depth and extensive features, this game sets the bar for fighting games and deserves a perfect five-star rating, along with our prestigious Editors’ Choice award.
Street Fighter 6’s Character Roster
Street Fighter 6 brings back a roster of familiar faces, including Blanka, Cammy, Chun-Li, Dee Jay, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Guile, Juri, Ken, Luke, Ryu, and Zangief.
These beloved characters have aged in the game’s timeline, as Street Fighter 6 takes place after Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V. Joining them are a set of fresh faces: Jamie, JP, Kimberley, Lily, Manon, and Marisa. With a base lineup of 18 fighters, Street Fighter 6 surpasses the launch roster of Street Fighter V, although it falls short compared to King of Fighters XV’s impressive 39-character core cast.
However, there is another key component that adds depth to the Street Fighter 6 experience—the player-created avatar. This avatar becomes essential in the Battle Hub and World Tour modes, providing further excitement and personalization. Let’s delve into this feature in more detail.
The character builder in Street Fighter 6 offers a range of options to customize your avatar. By default, there are 18 preset faces and bodies available for those who prefer minimal tweaking. However, the customization options go far beyond that, with a staggering number of choices for body types, eyes, hair, noses, and voices. This allows players to create martial artists that are either goofy, imaginative, or realistic.
For instance, the Body Type selection enables you to choose between more traditionally feminine or masculine builds, adding another layer of personalization. Moreover, the Identity option determines your character’s gender, which impacts their behavior and how other characters refer to them. The character’s voice is not limited to predefined male or female options either, granting you the freedom to craft a fighter that truly aligns with your vision. Capcom even provides a body-type recipe list, making it easy to share your unique creations with others.
The character creator in Street Fighter 6 has sparked creativity within the community, resulting in avatars that range from cool and angelic to downright horrific. The possibilities are endless, and players have embraced this feature to produce truly distinct and captivating fighters.
Street Fighter 6 utilizes the impressive power of Capcom’s RE Engine, the same technology that brought the stunning graphics to life in recent Resident Evil games. As a result, the character models in Street Fighter 6 are exceptionally detailed, showcasing intricately rendered clothing, lifelike skin wrinkles, well-defined muscles, and even flowing hair.
Capcom has dedicated considerable effort to enhance the visual aspect of Street Fighter 6, marking a noticeable improvement compared to the graphics and art direction of its predecessor, Street Fighter V. The level of detail and realism achieved in Street Fighter 6’s visuals is truly remarkable, immersing players in a visually captivating experience.
Classic vs. Dynamic vs. Modern Controls in Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6 features three control schemes: Classic, Dynamic, and Modern. They’re designed to give three different player types the tools they need to succeed.
- Classic is the familiar, six-button control scheme that features motion inputs for fireballs, sonic booms, and other special attacks and Critical Arts. It’s for fighting game veterans who want the ultimate in control.
- The new Dynamic option offers super-simple controls that act as a situational auto-combo. It’s for the greenest of the green fighting game players, and cannot be used in online battles.
- Likewise, Modern is a new control scheme with a simplified button layout, but it isn’t as stripped down as Dynamic. It has dedicated buttons for Light Attack, Medium Attack, Heavy Attack, Special Move, Throw, Drive Impact, Drive Parry, and Assist (auto-combo). Surprisingly, Modern Controls is enabled by default; I thought my fight stick had gone bonkers until I realized I was playing with the new control scheme.
To illustrate the differences in execution across control schemes, let’s take Ryu’s dragon punch as an example. With the Classic layout, you need to input a series of directional commands: forward, down, down-forward, and then punch. This can be challenging for newcomers. However, the Modern control scheme simplifies the execution by requiring you to simultaneously press right and the Special Move button. The trade-off, though, is that you won’t have access to Ryu’s full move set, including certain normals and specials.
The Dynamic control scheme takes it a step further, streamlining the combat options to the point where it feels like you’re mainly maneuvering your character and mashing a button. In this example, you won’t be able to use Dynamic Controls to perform a fireball whenever you desire; it will depend on your proximity to the opponent.
In other words, to fully enjoy all the combat options that Street Fighter 6 offers, you’ll need to improve your skills and become proficient with the game mechanics. This is akin to the popular online gaming phrase “git gud,” emphasizing the need to hone your abilities to make the most of the gameplay depth in Street Fighter 6.
Introducing the Drive Gauge
The core of Street Fighter 6’s combat revolves around the utilization of the Drive Gauge, a meter that becomes accessible from the start of each round. This meter empowers you to employ five distinct techniques: Drive Impact, Drive Parry, Drive Reversal, Drive Rush, and Overdrive. Let’s delve into each of these techniques and explore their functionalities.
- Drive Impact: This technique delivers a powerful strike fortified with armor, allowing you to absorb an opponent’s incoming attack. It can be especially effective when the opponent is cornered, causing a wall splat even if they block the attack. Activating Drive Impact consumes one bar of the Drive Gauge.
- Drive Parry: With Drive Parry, you can automatically repel an opponent’s attack, taking no damage in the process. Successfully executing this move also replenishes a portion of your Drive Gauge. If you perform a Perfect Parry by timing the parry just before the opponent’s attack lands, a visually stunning slow-motion effect occurs. This opens up an opportunity for a counterattack that would not normally connect. Drive Parry consumes half a bar of the Drive Gauge.
- Drive Reversal: This technique enables you to execute a counterattack from a blocking position. While the damage dealt by Drive Reversal is relatively low, it serves as a means to alleviate the opponent’s offensive pressure. Activating Drive Reversal requires two bars of the Drive Gauge.
- Drive Rush: Drive Rush allows for a swift dash toward the opponent after performing either a Drive Parry or a cancelable normal attack. Initiating Drive Rush after a Drive Parry consumes one bar of the Drive Gauge, whereas executing it after a normal attack requires three bars of the Drive Gauge.
- Overdrive: By utilizing Overdrive, a special move can be transformed into an Overdrive Art, which is essentially Street Fighter 6’s version of EX Special Moves. Activating Overdrive consumes two bars of the Drive Gauge, enabling you to unleash enhanced versions of your special moves with increased power and effectiveness.
Proper meter management is crucial in Street Fighter 6, as depleting the Drive Gauge will cause your fighter to enter a burnout state. This mechanic adds an essential strategic element to combat, requiring you to balance aggression and conservatism. When your fighter enters burnout, you lose access to any Drive Gauge mechanics until it gradually refills over time.
Entering the burnout state brings additional disadvantages, including increased block stun, heightened vulnerability to becoming dizzy, and the risk of being knocked out by chip damage. It is imperative to avoid reaching burnout at all costs to maintain control and prevent these detrimental consequences from hindering your performance in battle. Mastering the art of meter management becomes vital to ensure you can effectively utilize the Drive Gauge mechanics while avoiding the pitfalls of burnout.
Stellar Gameplay
Street Fighter 6 introduces a level of fluidity and impact in its combat that surpasses previous iterations. Each move carries a weight that imbues every strike with a sense of significance. This is further amplified by the exceptional animation, which effectively conveys the impact of both blocked and landed attacks.
However, it is the inclusion of the Drive Impact and Drive Parry moves that truly sets Street Fighter 6 apart from its predecessors. These techniques add a new layer of depth to the gameplay, allowing for dynamic offensive and defensive maneuvers that elevate the intensity of each fight. With the implementation of these innovative moves, Street Fighter 6 delivers a combat experience that is unparalleled in its fluidity and hard-hitting nature.
Drive Impact introduces a significant shift in Street Fighter 6’s close and midrange metagame. It has the potential to counter a range of attacks, from fireballs to footsies. The key feature of Drive Impact is its armor, allowing it to absorb up to two hits while delivering a powerful blow. As a result, recklessly throwing out random pokes can lead to a punishing counter. When both players activate Drive Impact simultaneously, a captivating slow-motion effect reminiscent of Tekken 7 occurs as the characters exchange blows.
Drive Parry, on the other hand, provides a tempting defensive option that is more accessible than its counterpart in Street Fighter III. Depending on the control scheme, it can be executed by simply holding down the medium punch and kick buttons, eliminating the need for precise timing or directional inputs. However, it’s crucial to exercise caution with Drive Parry.
Holding the parry stance steadily drains your Drive Gauge, which is essential for other Drive-related abilities. Drive Parry has an almost instantaneous startup, allowing you to counter nearly any attack except for throws.
Ideally, you want to time your Drive Parry to deflect an incoming strike just before it lands. This not only deflects the attack but also grants you an opening and refunds the Drive Gauge spent on the parry. However, if your opponent refrains from attacking while you’re in the parry stance, you become vulnerable to significant damage.
As a nice touch, Capcom offers the option to toggle on Battle Damage. This feature adds a touch of realism to the hard-hitting battles by allowing your fighter to visibly accumulate bruises and scratches as they absorb damage throughout the fight. While it may not fundamentally alter gameplay, it contributes to the overall immersive experience of the intense battles in Street Fighter 6.
Player-Friendly Online Ranked Matches
The ranked contests in Street Fighter 6 follow a pyramid scheme with four tiers, and your placement is determined by the accumulation of League Points (LP). There are eight leagues in total. The Rookie league serves as the entry-level for newcomers and less experienced players. Moving up the tiers, you’ll find the Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold categories, which house players who have demonstrated decent fighting skills. Above them are the Platinum and Diamond leagues. At the pinnacle of the pyramid sits the Master League.
Each league consists of five ranks. When you first start, the game assesses your skill level through a 10-match placement series, which helps determine the appropriate placement within the pyramid. In the Rookie league, players do not experience LP loss upon losing matches. This is to prevent novice players from becoming overly frustrated when they see themselves getting ranked down. The intention is to create a more supportive environment for players who are still learning and developing their skills.
Cool, Real-Time Commentary
Capcom aims to bring the electrifying atmosphere of esports tournaments to your regular battles with the introduction of the Real-Time Commentary feature in Street Fighter 6. The feature includes a diverse lineup of play-by-play and color commentators from the fighting game community (FGC), adding excitement and insightful commentary to your matches. In English, you have the dynamic duo of Steve “TastySteve” Scott and Jeremy “Vicious” Lopez, while the Japanese commentators are Aru and Kosuke Hiraiwa. Additionally, there are English color commentators James Chen and Thea Trinidad, along with Japanese color commentators His Excellency Demon Kakka and Hikaru Takahashi.
These real-world FGC members bring their expertise and passion to the commentary, celebrating big combos and intense contests while expressing disappointment if you find yourself in a burnout state or facing pressure against the wall. To cater to individual preferences, you can even customize the announcers to call the action in a neutral manner or give favorable commentary toward you, providing an encouraging boost. This feature exemplifies Street Fighter 6’s dedication to creating a welcoming environment for new players.
Overall, the commentary adds a fun and engaging element to the matches, though it may occasionally become repetitive. However, this repetition could be attributed to my own gameplay tactics not being as mechanically diverse as they should be. Nonetheless, the inclusion of the Real-Time Commentary feature showcases Capcom’s commitment to enhancing the overall experience of Street Fighter 6’s battles.
Fighting Ground, Battle Hub, and World Tour
Street Fighter 6 introduces three distinct modes: Fighting Ground, Battle Hub, and World Tour, each offering unique gameplay experiences.
In Fighting Ground, you’ll find the traditional combat mode where you can train, participate in single-player or multiplayer battles (including new team-based bouts), take on Combo Trials, and engage in casual or ranked online contests. If you’re new to Street Fighter, the Character Guides provide a great starting point, offering insights into each character’s playstyle and valuable gameplay tips. It’s worth noting that there is a minor inconvenience in Arcade mode, as the character models on the select screen may take a few seconds longer to load. However, this issue is expected to be addressed in the confirmed day-one patch.
The Battle Hub serves as an immersive online hangout spot, where you can interact with others using your World Tour avatar. Here, you can engage in multiplayer action with fellow World Warriors, enjoy classic Capcom arcade machines such as Final Fight, Magic Sword, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and customize your avatar with items from the Hub Goods Shop.
World Tour presents an exciting single-player story mode that focuses on your created avatar’s comedic and globetrotting adventures. This mode incorporates elements of exploration, reminiscent of the Yakuza game series, as your character engages in urban rumbles with adversaries, undertakes missions, levels up, and learns new abilities from both new and classic Street Fighter characters.
For those nostalgic for the arcade scene of the 1990s and early 2000s, Battle Hub perfectly captures that vibe, providing an authentic arcade experience. It goes beyond simply playing at an arcade machine, allowing text chat with other players (including exchanging battle tips), spectating matches, shopping for gear, DJing, and even queuing up to battle specific opponents. A noteworthy feature is an ability to view detailed information during spectated matches, including damage data, frame data, and input data, enabling players to learn from each bout. Additionally, you can even pit your avatars against each other in battles within the Battle Hub, providing an alternative to using the main cast of characters such as Ken and Ryu.
With its diverse range of modes, Street Fighter 6 offers a comprehensive and enjoyable gameplay experience for both solo players and those seeking online interactions within the vibrant Street Fighter community.
Unfortunately, the Battle Hub is best navigated with a dual-analog controller. If you enter the Battle Hub with a fight stick or fight pad, the lack of a camera-controlling right-analog stick may prove vexing when you suffer an odd viewing angle. There’s an option to have the camera locked to your back, which makes it a bit easier to look around, but doesn’t completely alleviate the problem. Capcom recommends plugging in a second controller for camera use.
In contrast to the typically ranked matches that limit bouts to best-of-three contests, casual Battle Hub bouts in Street Fighter 6 allow you to rematch opponents as much as you like, provided they accept your requests and there are no other players queued to fight you. The impressive part is that these rematches load in mere seconds, allowing you to quickly dive back into the action after accepting. This feature not only encourages training and exploration of combat mechanics but also sets the stage for what could be the most exceptional lobby system ever created for a fighting game.
Equally impressive is the World Tour mode, which revolves around the growth of your avatar from a humble martial arts student to a formidable fighter. The majority of the mode takes place in Metro City, the iconic setting of the Final Fight games and a substitute for New York City. Here, you engage in street fights against everyday citizens and troublemakers.
While embarking on a narrative that occasionally takes you to other nations to learn new moves from master fighters and address a looming threat, you also undertake odd jobs and wacky side quests. It’s worth noting that as you, the player, navigate this mode, you’re simultaneously learning how to play Street Fighter. For instance, if you take up a job in a pizza shop, the quarter-circle motions required to make the pies parallel the skills needed to execute a fireball in battle, reminiscent of a training scene from The Karate Kid.
In short, World Tour offers a delightful and educational adventure, though it would benefit from longer international journeys. Currently, these segments mainly involve fighting a master-class character from the default roster and concluding the encounter. However, there’s hope that future downloadable content (DLC) will expand upon the comparatively shorter international World Tour maps, enriching the overall experience.
Hard-Hitting Extras
While the essence of Street Fighter 6 lies in its fighting mechanics, the experience goes beyond mere triumph on the battlefield. Engaging in combat allows you to unlock more than just the exhilaration of victory. By participating in fights, you gain access to captivating cutscenes that can be viewed in the Gallery, offering additional story elements to explore.
Moreover, the rewards extend to a plethora of artwork, including contributions from renowned artists such as Akiman and Shinkiro. By playing through the Arcade mode, you’ll unlock a diverse collection of art pieces that span the spectrum of quality, ranging from amusing and lighthearted to truly awe-inspiring and visually stunning. This abundance of artwork further enriches the Street Fighter 6 experience, giving fans and players a chance to appreciate the talent and creativity of celebrated artists within the franchise.
Street Fighter II’s between-match minigames that involved breaking barrels and wrecking a parked car were just as iconic as the fighting action, and gave you an opportunity to practice moves in a non-combat environment (and rack up points). Street Fighter 6 leans into that idea with two minigames that task you with wrecking a huge truck or parrying basketballs an NPC hurls your way. Like their predecessors, these minigames are simple affairs, but provide a nice break in the action.
Street Fighter 6 has a free Fighting Pass, a system that earns you cool monthly rewards simply by playing. Of course, Capcom plans to introduce a paid Premium Course that will let you score even better items. Similar to Fighting Pass, Kudos lets you unlock titles for particular characters.
And then there’s Extreme Battles, a Fighting Ground mode that wildly differs from standard Street Fighter contests. Instead of being tasked with depleting your opponent’s life bar, you must meet a certain number of in-game conditions to achieve victory. In one mode, you must score five knockdowns on your challenger as a rampaging bull crisscrosses the playfield. In another, the first person to complete a list of in-match actions takes the win. Extreme Battles aren’t revolutionary, but they provide a fine diversion from the usual Street Fighter fare.
Overall, Street Fighter 6 is one of the most feature-rich fighting games this side of Mortal Kombat 11.
Battle Hub Goods Shop, Drive Tickets, and Fight Coins
During our review period, the Battle Hub Goods Shop, where you can acquire various items, was not accessible. However, based on early betas, we can provide some insight into how it will function. In this shop, you will utilize two currencies: Drive Tickets (DT) and Fight Coins (FC).
Drive Tickets can be earned by completing challenges, such as participating in a set number of Battle Hub bouts or achieving victories in ranked matches. For instance, engaging in five Battle Hub bouts can earn you 3,000 DT, while winning five ranked matches grants you 6,000 DT. On the other hand, Fight Coins are obtained through real-world purchases and serve as a faster means of acquiring items. For example, a pair of glasses might cost 600 DT, but only 30 FC.
In the World Tour mode, the gear you acquire from the shop will have an impact on your avatar’s offensive and defensive stats, introducing a strategic element to your choices. As you progress, you will have the opportunity to unlock an optional skill that allows you to wear any gear without affecting your stats—an excellent option for those who prioritize personal style over statistical advantages.
This skill empowers players to express themselves visually without compromising their preferred gameplay approach. Although we were unable to explore the Battle Hub Goods Shop extensively in our review, it promises to provide players with a wide range of customization options and the ability to fine-tune their avatars’ appearance and abilities.
I dislike microtransactions in full-price games, so I wish Fight Coins didn’t exist in Street Fighter 6. Worse, some items were only available for a limited time in the betas, which encourages impulse purchases. However, we haven’t seen anything in the store that requires them. If you have the time to grind out matches for a fresh hat, you needn’t spend a dime.
Can Your PC Run Street Fighter 6?
Street Fighter 6 boasts impressive visuals without demanding a high-end gaming PC. The game’s Steam page outlines the minimum system requirements, which include an AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-7500 CPU, an AMD Radeon RX 580 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, 8GB of RAM, at least 60GB of storage, and the Windows 10 operating system. If your computer meets these specifications, you can expect to enjoy a smooth and satisfying gaming experience with Street Fighter 6.
On our test system, which consisted of a PC equipped with a 3.2GHz Intel Core i5-4460 CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPU, and 16GB of RAM, Street Fighter 6 delivered a smooth 60 frames per second during matches. While exploring the 60-person Battle Hub, frame rates ranged between 30fps and 40fps, and in the 20-person Battle Hub, they reached as high as 60fps. In World Tour mode, the frame rate varied between 45fps and 60fps depending on the character density.
Street Fighter 6 offers a range of graphics options, allowing you to customize settings such as antialiasing, bloom, crowd density, and motion blur. You can also choose to lock the frame rate at 30fps, 60fps, 90fps, or 120fps and select from five different pixel settings, ranging from 1,280 by 720 up to 3,840 by 2,160 (4K). It’s worth noting that the game employs the controversial Denuvo anti-piracy technology, as seen in other recent Capcom releases.
In terms of additional features, Street Fighter 6 supports Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards, and over three dozen Steam Achievements. Furthermore, the game is compatible with Valve’s Steam Deck, allowing you to enjoy the action-packed fights on the go. During our testing, we experienced a steady 30fps in World Tour mode and 60fps in online multiplayer matches when playing on the handheld device.
Another highlight is the cross-platform play support between PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms, resulting in a large player pool and making it easy to find opponents. Throughout our time with Street Fighter 6 during the closed beta, open beta, and review periods, we were pleased to find that the game utilizes silky rollback netcode, enabling smooth online matches with players from around the world, largely free from significant lag or interruptions. However, we remain eager to observe how the netcode performs on the game’s official launch day.
Street Fighter Reclaims Its Champion Status
With Street Fighter 6, Capcom has successfully redeemed itself after the missteps of Street Fighter 5. This latest installment in the iconic fighting game series not only meets but surpasses expectations, offering a comprehensive package that caters to both solo and multiplayer experiences. The game showcases thoughtful gameplay that remains true to the franchise’s legacy while introducing exciting new elements.
Furthermore, Street Fighter 6 embraces accessibility with its newcomer-friendly controls, inviting a wider audience to join in the fun. It’s an impressive five-star fighter that goes above and beyond, offering everything that genre fans could desire and even surprising them with unexpected features. As a result, Street Fighter 6 is a must-have title and deserving of our Editors’ Choice recommendation.
To delve deeper into the Street Fighter 6 phenomenon, be sure to read our column on how the game’s hype proves that the franchise extends beyond the realm of fighting games.