Street Fighter 6

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I’m a fan of fighting games. That might be a little bit of an understatement, actually – I play a ton of them. I’m good enough to know how good I’m not, which is better than many and worse than most, but I also suspect that being good isn’t the key to the genre. It’s actually about mashing buttons and unleashing special moves at random. You know Eddy Gordo from Tekken? Apply the strategy you use with him to every game and you’ll be at the top in no time. That said, let’s take a closer look at Street Fighter 6.

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Metro City’s been on its way back up after the retirement of Mayor Mike Haggar, who cleaned it up back in 1991, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell these days. It’s still full of goons looking for a fight, especially the still-kicking Mad Gear gang. That’s why pretty much everyone in Metro City is just as punchy, and now you’re there in the flesh, hoping to learn how to scrap. You’ll meet legendary fighters, learn and adopt their moves and get to the bottom of a good old-fashioned criminal conspiracy. You might also beat up a refrigerator, dodge missiles from attack drones and leap over a raging bull. That’s just how it goes in Metro City.

Street Fighter 6 is, at its core, the Street Fighter you know and love, only modernized with a few new twists. These largely revolve around the Drive system, a replenishing energy bar that can be spent a few different ways. You can enhance special moves using Drive, for instance, rather than spending super meter, and also unleash a variety of Drive-specific attacks. Drive management is of the utmost importance in combat, and it’s fortunate the game is more than happy to help you begin to figure it out.

There’s around 20 characters this time around, with a decent mix of old World Warrior standbys and newcomers alike so there’s a good chance you’ll find someone appealing. The newbies tend to map to previous fan favorites. New protagonist Luke is a clear Ryu analogue, for instance, but he brings a more in-your-face MMA style to the role. Meanwhile, his rival Jamie has Ken energy combined with a unique buff mechanic to spice up his drunken boxing. Other analogues include a Guy-style cheerleader ninja, a supermodel with throws a la Zangief and a power-punching Spartan that has a little Balrog/Bison/Boxer vibe going on.

Heck, maybe you don’t have a favorite. That’s fine. In the World Tour mode, you can make your own character – your Avatar – and send them into Final Fight’s Metro City for an open world adventure packed with both goofy humor and Fighting Games 101 education. It cannot be overstated how fantastic this is, and “it’s a really big tutorial” doesn’t do it justice. Fans of the Yakuza series and Street Fighter lore are well served putting some time into World Tour. You’ll collect gear. You’ll fight thugs. You’ll be attacked by killer Roombas. What’s more, you can customize your Avatar to turn them into a finely honed fighting machine with mix-and-matched special moves from a variety of characters. You can also customize them to look like a hideous monster. You’ll see plenty of those when you play online.

You should, by the way, play online. The Battle Hub is where the heart of the action is, where you’ll meet other fighters and where you’ll really start to learn how much you don’t know. I found notably poor latency to be rare; maybe one match out of twenty had an issue, though your experience could vary based on your connection. There’s a Ranked ladder to climb, Casual matches if you’re less interested in that, a fantastic lobby system where you can set up fights and interact with other Avatars (or even set up Avatar fights if you’re into that) and even a rotating set of Capcom arcade classics set up for free play. You can absolutely play Street Fighter II via Street Fighter 6 if that’s what you’re into.

What if you’d rather not play online? Well, remember how Street Fighter V launched in what can best be described as “a state?” Rest assured, then, that 6 has an arcade mode with story segments for each character. It’s got a survival mode. It’s got Extreme Battles that add in modifiers to mix up the experience. You don’t even have to wait for a post-launch update. Imagine!

Combine some of the refined and polished content ever seen in a fighting game with a rock-solid combat engine and superlative presentation and you’ve got a winner. Street Fighter 6 leans into the urban style of the World Tour mode’s Metro City with a hip-hop soundtrack and graffiti aesthetic. The visuals pop like the first time you saw Street Fighter IV’s calligraphic ink splashes, the soundtrack’s some of the best you’ve heard since Guile’s theme and there’s even an optional commentary track for your matches. It’s a little nuts.

Bottom line, Street Fighter 6 is easily one of the best fighting games ever made. There’s tons of content, it’s accessible without concessions and everything’s just a whole lot of punching, kicking, throwing fun. Local and online play is buttery smooth and the game launched in fine fighting shape. It’s got my highest possible recommendation. Everyone – even fighting game newcomers – ought to do themselves a favor and check out Street Fighter 6.