The next entry in the iconic Street Fighter franchise was recently revealed, and I had the chance to get some hands-on time to see what’s new for players.
Street Fighter 6 is the next title in one of Capcom’s most successful and longest running franchises; as well as one of its most active competitive gaming scenes. During Summer Game Fest Play Days, I got the chance to get a hands-on look at the newest entry into the franchise…albeit a limited one. I was able to play 1v1 against the CPU and could pick to either play or fight with four characters: Chun-Li, Ryu, Jamie and Luke.
Gameplay capture was available, but no one should have to see me play any fighters (except for Smash Ultimate). That said, I’m happy to share gameplay and commentary by prolific FGC content creator Maximilion Dood.
Here is my up-front disclaimer: I am not knowledgeable enough on the franchise to weigh-in on the particular changes each of the four characters may have gotten between Street Fighter 5 and 6, but I had the chance to speak with a Capcom employee about some of the exciting changes coming to the game.
Cross-Play and Rollback Netcode
Big news is the confirmation that cross-play in Street Fighter 6 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 players. Xbox One is not listed on the platform page of the official game site.
IGN reports that game director Takayuki Nakayama said the game will see the return of rollback netcode, but that it will be different than what was in Street Fighter 5.
“As you know, Street Fighter 5 also had rollback netcode,” Nakayama told IGN. “But in terms of SF6, it will have Rollback netcode, but it will not be the same as what we had in SF5, and this is something that we’re building from scratch.
“There’s a lot of effort being put into the development of the netcode. And it’s not something that only the netcode engineers are involved in. We’re involving the battle team to participate in that development to ensure that the experience is seamless and that it actually feels good. We’re working very hard towards it right now. ”
Fighting Ground
A new game mode is coming to Street Fighter 6: The Fighting Ground. Other game modes confirmed for the game are World Tour and Battle Hub.
The Fighting Ground will include all game modes in Street Fighter 5 as well as a number of new and returning features:
The Street Fighter 6 experience is largely driven by the Drive System, which was the biggest highlight pointed out to me by Capcom staff at Summer Game Fest. The Drive System gives players a full-6 bar Drive meter at the start of the match and that means you can unleash punishing offensive mechanics right out of the gate. The new Drive System allows nearly every interaction to fill the Drive Meter and reports from players seem to indicate the exhaustion state induced by running the meter down is equally as punishing.
Within the Drive System, there are a number of moves that can be used: Drive Impact, Drive Parry, Overdrive, Drive Rush and Drive Reversal.
Modern Control Type
A new control type: Developers described the Modern Control Type as “a new control mode to play without the need to remember difficult command inputs, allowing players to enjoy the flow of battle. Players who are delving into the world of Street Fighter for the first time, or those who haven’t touched a fighting game in years, can jump right into the fray. Of course, the traditional control type of the series is still available for players who enjoy it.”
The Modern Controls remap controller inputs to: Square- Light Attack, X- Medium Attack, Circle- Heavy Attack, Triangle- Special Move, L1- Drive Impact, L2- Throw, R1- Drive Parry, R2- Assist.
Commentary
The Fighting Ground also features pro commentary in player’s real time action.
Developers have revealed two of the Capcom Pro Tour commentators so far: Aru from Japan and Jeremy “Vicious” Lopez from the U.S.
Capcom held a Summer game showcase today, but gave no new news or reveals on the heels of the hand-on demo over the weekend making its waves online.
Street Fighter 6 will release sometime in 2023, which will give developers plenty of time to reveal more details on fighter changes, mode changes and more.
