The Street Fighter 6 closed beta didn’t have the full 18-character roster but did have several characters, of which most were characters we knew like Ryu, Chun-Li, and Ken but a few new faces were here too, like Luke and Jamie! We loved that there was a nice feeling of selecting a character we know and love, like Ryu, and right away feeling his legendary move-set as if no time had passed between the last title and this “6th” entry. Equally, selecting new faces like Luke felt as if we were new fighters to the scene as we began to learn these new characters and how they changed up the fighting styles for Street Fighter 6. Obviously, there will be more new characters in the full game but the closed beta gave us hope that we can either master who we already love and know or dive into the training facilities and learn someone new with that same amazing feeling only Street Fighter games can deliver.

If you consider yourself knowledgeable in all things Street Fighter 6 then you know already about one of the bigger aspects to be introduced, Drive Impact. With the new Drive Impact system, a new layer of strategy has been implemented in Street Fighter that definitely took some getting used to. Players can use the Drive system both offensively and defensively with varying results. Want to absorb some damage and possibly deal a combo back? Drive Impact will help there. Likewise, if you want to keep an opponent from getting too close constantly, you can unleash Drive Impact for some nice zooming moves. Drive Impact certainly is going to take some time to master and we barely scratched the surface of it while playing. We did notice that more skilled fighters were rapidly using Drive Impact in creative ways so even veterans of Street Fighter will have to learn some new ways to win in Street Fighter 6.

Street Fighter 6 looks and feels like the franchise we know and love which will definitely make explaining our experience with it even easier. The fluid 2D combat hasn’t lost a step in this newest title and we noticed most of the combos from past games have returned more or less. Visually though, Street Fighter 6 is gorgeous. Characters have a surprising level of detail that is FAR superior to Street Fighter V. Backgrounds too, are more detailed than ever before with tons going on which can be a bit distracting if you are really into a match, but we know true fighting game veterans won’t even pay attention to the background. Street Fighter 6 feels next gen and we can’t wait to play the final product!

Stepping aside from the fighting for a moment, let’s talk about another aspect of the closed beta, the game hub. You might be thrown back at first when seeing a character creation page come up when you booted up the closed beta for Street Fighter 6 and we were too. Here, you make an avatar—which can be customized—and when you finish, you’re thrown into a big hub that feels like a mix of an eSports arena and an arcade. Players can versus others by sitting down at an arcade cabinet and then either train until an opposing player comes along or watch others via a big screen in the hub. We can’t wait to see the final version of this hub and what other actions can be taken here.