In what is shaping up to be a great year for fans of fighting games, Street Fighter is lacing up its boots to join the fray of iconic combat titles making an appearance in 2023, with their upcoming release Street Fighter 6. In what hopes to be a bounce back from the heavily criticized previous title, fighting fans have been gifted a snippet of what to expect when the game hits the shelves in June.
The new installment to Capcom's famous arcade franchise promises significant improvements in visual sharpness and single-player depth, and it takes another step towards providing a smoother combat experience than ever. From the limited gameplay available in the recently-released demo, Street Fighter 6 is giving fans a reason to get behind the franchise once more.
9 Created Fighter Attributes
For fans of the fight game, both video game and real life, it is well-documented in boxing and mixed martial arts bouts the benefit of having a height and/or reach advantage over an opponent. The premise behind this is simple: longer limbs mean being able to attack from a greater distance while maintaining enough space to avoid incoming offense from the opposition.
Capcom takes this very real consideration from professional fighting and applies it to their latest Street Fighter installment, adding a new and more detailed level of combat experience to the franchise. The game warns that, while having a wide, heavily-muscled brute may look the part to deal some serious damage, they could just be presenting a greater target for the fighter on the other side.
8 Skill Tree
While the full extent of this feature is yet to be explored, the Skill Tree present in Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode shows great promise to provide an opportunity for players to get the best out of their fighting creations. The prospect of up-skilling created fighters provides even more incentive for players to dive into more bouts.
The Skill Tree will no doubt target key areas of the fighting experience, from health to durability and the amount of damage dealt to opponents. It is only fitting that fighters continue to develop new skills and greater fighting abilities as they level up.
7 Items
In addition to the perks included in the Skill Tree, the World Tour mode of Street Fighter 6 also enables players to use a variety of items to give them an edge over their opponents.
The single-use consumables are a new feature to the Street Fighter franchise to coincide with their new expansive single-player experience, and they will look to provide different perks that players can use to get out of sticky situations. Whether it be a slight edge in damage resistance or packing an additional punch themselves, no doubt these items will prevent a few fighters from being on the receiving end of a knock-out blow.
6 Multiple Controller Layouts
One big improvement that will appeal to rookie gamers and seasoned veterans alike is the inclusion of not 2, but 3 different control types, which enable players of all skill levels to get the best out of their gameplay. With the Classic and Modern button layouts returning, it is the inclusion of the new Dynamic control type that is turning heads.
The Dynamic control type in Street Fighter 6 is set to be the most simplistic version of the game's controls to date, which will hopefully attract a greater audience with a more user-friendly option for those who have yet to experience the fighting genre. While the "button-mashers" will be catered for with the Dynamic control type, the fans of the classic franchise will still be able to showcase their skills with the familiar control types of previous titles.
5 Environmental Improvements
While visual improvements are nothing new when a game gets a sequel, Street Fighter 6 has improved its fighting arenas in leaps and bounds to create a more immersive combat experience than ever. In the demo of the title, players are able to experience combat in Genbu Temple, which provides a backdrop of cherry blossoms and Japanese torii, revealing the sacred space upon which the fighters challenge one another.
While providing a sharper and cleaner finish to the battle arena, it is the small touches that take the backgrounds to the next level. In the demo, players observe the shifting flowers as they are blown across the screen during the fights. While the details are subtle, they add a significant element of realism to the game.
4 Artistic Sharpness
The visual improvements in Street Fighter 6 are not just evident in the battle arenas, the game itself has a far more modern touch and a much sharper image that enhances the overall experience. Players will find themselves baffled at the finer details of the fighters, which are clearer than ever, highlighting every scar and bead of sweat on the characters.
Visual improvements are always expected in the subsequent installments of a series, but that's not to say that Capcom doesn't impress with the extent to which it brings its characters to life.
3 Pick A Fight
Street Fighter 6's new single-player experience doesn't just include bouts with the franchise's favorite characters; in fact, you can pick a fight with just about anyone in its open-world experience.
The demo for the game enables players to walk through a part of Metro City, where they will find a multitude of individuals in their surroundings that can be approached for a brief "conversation" with fists. Players are able to pick off lower-level NPCs with ease, or they can challenge themselves to overcome someone of a higher level for a greater reward.
2 Fighter Customization
For those who have imagined a character design fitting of the Street Fighter franchise, now is the time to shine. With their whole new single-player experience, World Tour, players are able to bring their creations to life and put them into battle against the game's toughest combatants.
In addition to being able to create their own likeness, players will also have the opportunity to spend their hard-earned cash on dressing up their character in a variety of garbs, each of which will provide added boosts to fighter attributes. While the demo only provided a pink cap from the shop, players can anticipate there being a realm of possibilities to make their fighters truly unique.
1 World Tour
Learning from the shortcomings of Street Fighter 5, the 6th edition of the series looks to take the bare-bones game that was the previous entry and completely outshine it. One way they intend on doing this is with a brand-new single-player experience, known as World Tour.
The build-up behind the release of SF6 is greatly centered around the inclusion of a single-player experience that is set to delve deeper into the franchise and place more emphasis on the "street" component of the title than ever before. There is a significant amount of interactivity with the player's character and plenty of opportunities to explore and upgrade their character. If the demo is anything to go by, fans of the franchise have plenty to be excited about.
Street Fighter 6 is due out on June 6th 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.