While Sony's recent State of Play was confirmed well ahead of time, it managed to take many by surprise by offering up big reveals catering to just about every type of gamer. In just under 30 minutes, Sony revealed a handful of high-profile games like Resident Evil 4, gave updates on some long-awaited sequels, and teased even more projects currently in the pipeline. One of the biggest highlights of this June State of Play was Street Fighter 6, which debuted its first gameplay trailer.
Over the course of the three-minute trailer, fans got their first glimpse at some returning Street Fighter characters like Chun-Li, as well as some fresh new faces who proceeded to get pummeled in a flurry of fists and kicks, showcasing the game's striking new art style. Though only a few brief moments of gameplay were shown, fans now have a better idea of how Street Fighter 6's mechanics are shaping up. Thanks to a PlayStation Blog post, these mechanics have been described in much greater detail, and it looks as though Street Fighter 6 is changing up its gameplay from past entries.
Street Fighter 6's Drive System
One of the biggest gameplay changes coming with Street Fighter 6 is the introduction of the Drive System. This system is essentially Street Fighter's take on Mortal Kombat's meter burn mechanic, whereby players can expend a certain amount of power to perform a special ability or add more power to their attack or defense.
The Drive System gives players access to five distinct special moves, each of which can be used by any character on the Street Fighter roster. The first of these moves is Drive Impact, which is an incredibly powerful strike that delivers big damage to an opponent. While the strike is being performed, it'll absorb any attacks the opponent is using, making it a great defensive move at the same time.
The second move, Drive Parry, sees the player absorb their opponent's attack while taking no damage. This move also refills the player's Drive Gauge, subsequently allowing them to strike back with some powerful attacks. Drive Reversal is another defensive Drive move, absorbing an opponent's attack while also delivering a mean flurry of counter-attacks
Drive Rush sees the player dash across the arena at blinding speed, being the perfect move for closing the gap quickly. The final Drive move is called the Overdrive Art, which functions essentially the same as the franchise's EX Moves, delivering one big, flashy attack. Each character will get their own unique Overdrive Art, fitting in with their style of fighting.
Two Control Schemes
In its PlayStation Blog post, the Street Fighter 6 team expressed a desire to make this entry particularly accessible for newcomers, while still keeping die-hard Street Fighter fans happy. To try and achieve this, Street Fighter 6 is going to feature two distinct control schemes, appropriately called "Classic" and "Modern."
The Classic control scheme features the exact same layout fans have gotten used to over the last four decades or so, with six buttons that remain linked to their usual inputs. The new Modern scheme strips back its controls quite a bit, giving players a designated special move button. To perform different special moves, players will just need to press this button and move the analog stick in a certain direction, with each direction performing a different move. For those who have never been able to pull off Street Fighter's trickier combos, this new Modern control scheme sounds like a good compromise.
Street Fighter 6 will launch in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
