Capcom has had a flawless streak in recent years. Since the release of Resident Evil VII, the company has given us jewel after jewel. Series like Monster Hunter and Devil May Cry have received new games that have managed to get a lot of recognition. Thus, many expect that one of the great pillars of the company, street-fighter, have your moment to shine. While we wait for the official launch of the sixth numerical installment in this franchise, I recently had the opportunity to test the closed beta that took place a couple of days ago, which blew me away.
Although once Street Fighter 6 hit the market as it should we will have access to different modes, including a single player campaign, during the beta I was only able to try the Battle Hub, a large area where it is not only possible to participate in online battles, but here also several arcades are available Super Street Fighter II, as well as some locales to customize your avatar in this world. While this might be unnecessary for many, and a simple menu might offer the same options, it’s quite charismatic to walk through this hub full of gamers and see their various creations.
The important thing here are the fights. This time Capcom has chosen to create the perfect entry point for all gamers, not forgetting the die-hard fans who grew up with the series. From the first moment you take control, it is clear that Street Fighter 6 It takes all the best elements from the last two numpy installments, and delivers a game that is the very definition of “easy to play, hard to master”. All the characters have the same basics, a weak attack, a medium attack and a strong attack, and depending on the combination of buttons, as well as the movements with the stick, you will be able to use different abilities and create combos that are capable of destroying your opponent.
However, on this occasion a quite simplified version of the control is also offered, by pressing a specific button, which in the case of the PlayStation version is the triangle, you will be able to perform a special movement without carrying out a series of combinations in the control. Along with this, by pressing R2 it is possible to carry out an automatic combo that, depending on your special bar, will carry out a catastrophic finisher.
This does not mean that the game has reduced the difficulty of its combat system. Street Fighter 6 it still requires you to become a master with control to master all the special moves. Along with this, each character feels unique, despite having the same bases, they all carry out different actions. In the same way, this time we are presented with the Drivers system, which are an evolution of the EX that we saw in Street Fighter Vthus giving a new level of complexity to this title.
Drivers not only give us access to overdrives, as EX moves are now known, which are more powerful versions of some normal hits and combinations, but they also allow us to use a special attack and a parry. The first of these is carried out with L1, with which you will perform a devastating blow that leaves your opponent knocked out for a couple of seconds. For its part, the parry is carried out with R1, and in addition to allowing you to cancel any attack from your opponent, as long as you know exactly when to do it, it gives you access to a dash that will also get you out of any jam. However, in case you can’t carry out these two options correctly, you will be the one punished, so you have to know exactly when you can carry this out.
While this all sounds great, it’s the online battles that surprised me the most. Even though this was a close test, and the number of players was limited, I was impressed with how well each of the games ran. While I did experience a bit of extra load moments before starting a match, at no point did I experience any lag or connection issues that would force me to drop out of a round. Thanks to the use of the rollback netcode, Street Fighter 6 offers a fantastic online experience. Along with this, the load times were quite fast, and while waiting for a game I could see other players, or practice against the artificial intelligence.
Sure, it remains to be seen how well the game will run once an open test takes place or arrives. Street Fighter 6 officially. However, the experience on this occasion was almost flawless. Last but not least, in the beta I was also able to try the extreme battles, these are fights where an additional dynamic is introduced, such as fighting while the stage throws a series of dangers. While this probably won’t become as popular, it’s a more than welcome mod that adds more variety to the combat system, and is a great distraction that will likely be a hit with casual audiences.
Street Fighter 6 It has the potential to be one of the best installments in the series, and based on this test alone, it’s clear that Capcom will once again offer us an experience that will be well worth it. Now we just have to wait for the final version, which will be available at some point in 2023 on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X | S and PC.