Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 – Review

A lot of people had been disappointed at the launch of Street Fighter 5 because it did not have a lot of meat on its bones. Fortunately, Street Fighter 6 is the complete opposite of its predecessor, as it comes with an outstanding roster of 18 characters, which include both returning and new ones. It also has a new art style and an online Battle Hub that you are unlikely to find in any online fighting game.

The abilities

Each character that you come across in Street Fighter 6 boasts five powerful abilities and all of them are governed by the Drive Gauge. These include Drive Rehearsals, Drive Rush, Drive Impact, Overdrive special moves and Drive Parry. Costing two bars, Drive Rehearsals enable you to get an opponent off yourself, while Drive Rush costs one bar and lets you cover the distance between you and the opponent quickly.

This system is amazing for several reasons, but the most important one is that it gives you a lot of options. You can access each of the abilities at the beginning of each round when you have a full meter. You cannot build up the meter and you do not need to worry about how much you will be left with for the next round. You can use it from the get go, or save it for later, as per your preference. Managing the options makes the game even more enjoyable.

The Burnout state

Once you have finished your Drive Meter, you will enter the Burnout state and this is where you cannot use any of the five abilities mentioned above. This means that your opponents will be able to inflict some damage now. Even though this position sounds terrible, it does not mean that you cannot win. Your speed remains unaffected and your attacks and super moves can still inflict substantial damage. These will be intense and fun matches because you have a huge challenge to overcome.

The characters

As mentioned above, there are 18 characters that you will come across in Street Fighter 6 and 12 of these are returning ones, while the remaining 6 are new. But, new quirks have been added to the returning characters as well, which gives them a fresh touch. As far as the new characters are concerned, they are some of the best ones to be added to the Street Fighter roster.

The standout is Kimberly, who boasts a move set that is ninja-inspired. Likewise, Jamie is another powerhouse character who becomes very dangerous after he has had a few drinks. Almost every character archetype is represented in Street Fighter 6, which means it is everything you would want to see in a roster.

The single-player mode, World Tour, is undoubtedly a big step and quite ambitious, but it is the weak point you will find in Street Fighter 6. But, the goofy and fun tone makes up for it.