I had the opportunity to partake in Street Fighter 6’s closed beta this past weekend, and I had an excellent time getting wrecked by far more talented players than myself. That’s not sarcasm – the gameplay of Street Fighter 6 is so smooth and satisfying that fighting just felt good, regardless of whether or not I was winning.
One thing I didn’t expect to be so exciting was the atmosphere of the fighting hub. Everybody runs around and hits each other with iconic moves or forms a horde around arcade cabinets to watch prestigious matches. There was a real sense of community, like the kind you’d find in actual arcades. Combine this with the ridiculous customizable avatars, and you have a very silly and fun place to hang between matches.
You’ve likely seen the results of the surprisingly intricate character customizer over Twitter, but it should be emphasized that the amount of options is genuinely ridiculous. From limb length and width to body hair composition and coloring, essentially everything can be customized to the wildest extremes. This means you can make rough approximations of your favorite fictional characters, or wild abominations that could make Cronenberg uncomfortable.
Fighting itself feels great. Though the character selection pool was obviously limited for the beta, the mix of new and old fighters was a good move. Expected veterans like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, and Juri are present, alongside some snazzy new characters. I like this ratio of new-to-old, especially since all of the available characters are incredibly diverse in their movesets and playstyles, as well as a blast to use. The rollback netcode served me well throughout my time with the beta, and it’s a relief to see Capcom embrace rollback with this newest Street Fighter.
There are a few different control schemes, two of which are meant to make Street Fighter 6 more accessible to fighting game newcomers. I’m glad these options are available for newbies, but more experienced players will likely stick to the classic scheme, as playing with special moves mapped to buttons instead of motion inputs doesn’t feel as satisfying.
It seems as though there will be plenty of little rewards for players as well, as avatar items can be purchased at stores in the lobby. The inclusion of classic Capcom arcade games throughout the hub could be very fun, as it means players will be able to mess around and discover old gems while in between matches.
The closed beta left me with an excellent impression of Street Fighter 6. I can see the newest Street Fighter going the distance and becoming one of the most exciting fighting games at modern tournaments. I can’t wait to play the full game, and while it doesn’t currently have a set release day, I’ll continue to eagerly anticipate is launch. Now if we could just get Cody and Dudley in there…
