How Street Fighter 6 is catering to both the casual and competitive gamer

Street Fighter 6 is set to release June 2, 2023 and gamers are ready. Featuring a total of 18 launch characters, that's two more additional characters from Street Fighter V (SV5). Compared to SV5, Capcom aims to fix the "E-Sports" nature of the Street Fighter brand. Previously, in SV5, the game was very competitive by nature. Offering very little single-player variety and catering mostly to E-Sports players and competitors. This is natural for most fighting games as they were built to be played against another player rather than a computer. Let's take a look at the different modes offered in SF6 and how they could be fleshed out in future titles. So, we may have an equilibrium in both the competitive scene and the casual scene instead of a compromise.

Game modes:

Fighting Ground- Continuing the tradition of being a genre leader, the pinnacle of fighting games can be found in this mode. With a highly evolved combat system, experience the stunning innovation for yourself. All of the modes found in Street Fighter V can now be found in Fighting Ground. (Street Fighter 6 Website)

Battle Hub- A hub where players can meet up, have fun and establish unforgettable rivalries. Meet up with fighters from around the world! (Street Fighter 6 Website)

World Tour- An immersive single player story mode. (Street Fighter 6 Website)

Fighting Ground

Fighting Ground is a submenu that offers the basics when is comes to fighting games. The different modes offered are are a versus, online battle, extreme battle, and training menu. Extreme Battle is something new that's gimmicky compared to the more traditional modes offered in Fighting Ground.

Extreme Battle sets the match to different rules and gimmicks that "interrupt" the normal flow of gameplay. As shown in the official YouTube video different gimmicks include charging bulls that knock down the player, an bomb that must be kicked towards your opponent before it explodes, and tesla coils that will shock both players and interrupt the match. Judging from the gameplay video, it would seem that there is more to offer in the mode and certain criteria must be completed to win a match. For example, in the bomb gimmick, you probably have to blow up your opponent a certain number of times or until their health is drained.

Battle Hub

Battle Hub offers a unique twist on a classic online multiplayer experience in fighting games. As the name implies, it's an online mode where you meet up in a hub to fight and chat with other players. This uses the character you presumably create in World Tour and offers it as a vehicle that can be used to walk around the hub.

Entering online matches is quite cinematic compared to more traditional online menus. Since there are no real menus to select "find match", players are tasked to walk up to different arcade machines and sit and wait for another player to sit at your machine. We've seen this in practice in the alpha that went live last October and looks to be in pretty standard condition. There were obviously some bugs with player models that should be fixed by launch. Other than small bugs and maybe the inconvenience of nobody sitting at your specific arcade, it seems to be a welcome fresh coat of paint to a standard online menu system.

World Tour

World Tour is a brand new single player experience that is a first in the Street Fighter series. Normally the single player modes from previous Street Fighter games are just rehashed tower modes that offer small cartoon pages to provide some backstory to whatever character you beat the tower as. World Tour takes notice of other single player modes from different genres of games and offer a new open world to explore.

This open world lets you travel around the world in different hubs (similar to Battle Hub) and lets you interact with NPCs. These NPCs are different "fighters" you may encounter on the street or legacy characters. The legacy characters are introduced as your Master and this can change depending on the different fighting style you learn for your created character. For example, you can master moves from Chun-Li and use it around the world. Also, you can call in these legacy characters for assistance during street fights as you progress through the world. These masters allow you to pick and choose what fighting style you enjoy most and use it in fights.

The avatar system is also a first in the Street Fighter saga. While, this mode doesn't specifically let you play as legacy characters, you can create your own look and use the style of your favorite legacy character. This avatar also follows you into the Battle Hub and will act as your main vehicle to traverse the physical world of SF6.

Street Fighter 6 offers robust gamemodes that fit different levels of play and experience. This title is one that could be remembered as a rebirth of the franchise and I'm excited to see what they do moving forward, in supporting this game for the years to come.

Sources:

• Street fighter 6: Capcom. STREET FIGHTER 6 | CAPCOM. (2023, April 13). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.streetfighter.com/6/en-us/