Street Fighter 6 is the polar opposite of its predecessor, Street Fighter 5, which was criticized for its lack of content. Complete with an excellent 18-character roster of both new and returning fighters rendered in a killer new art style, an incredibly ambitious online Battle Hub that puts all other online fighting game lobby systems to shame, and just about everything you could ever ask for when it comes to training tools and systems to help you get better at fighting games, it’s a spectacularly feature-rich fighting game.
The gameplay of every Street Fighter game since Street Fighter 2 can generally be defined by a unique mechanic. Street Fighter 3 had parries, 4 had focus attacks, 5 had the V-System, and now Street Fighter 6 has the Drive System. And for my money, it’s the best the series has ever seen. Every character gains access to five powerful abilities that are all governed by their Drive Gauge: Overdrive special moves, Drive Rush, Drive Parry, Drive Reversals, and Drive Impact.
I love this system for a lot of reasons, but chief among them is that it opens up so many options, and at the start of every round you have a full meter and have access to all of them. There’s no building this meter up or worrying about the amount you’ll have left over for the next round. I could start aggressively by using a Drive Rush right out of the gate to put on pressure; I could save my meter for Overdrive special moves to increase the damage of my combos; or I could fish for a crouching medium kick and then Drive Rush cancel it to convert big damage off of a single hit. Those are just a few of the options, and managing them makes the already extremely cerebral fighting of Street Fighter 6 even more enjoyable.
The way it’s handled when you run out of Drive Meter is also excellent: your character enters a Burnout state where you’re completely unable to use any Drive Meter-related techniques; your opponent’s attacks become more advantageous on both block and hit; you take chip damage, and Drive Impacts are even scarier than before. Being in Burnout is a terrible position, but it is far from an unwinnable situation.
Street Fighter 6 is arguably the best title of this brilliant series, an absolute joy to play with via new control schemes and leaves one breathless in execution. This is a must-have game for fans both old and new to the series, and a crowning achievement in the evolution of the series.
In conclusion, Street Fighter 6 offers an incredibly rich fighting game experience with its diverse character roster, unique mechanics, and feature-rich gameplay. It’s an absolute must-have for any fan of fighting games.
REVIEW : Loop8: Summer of Gods (PC)
