Street Fighter 6 Final Beta Impressions – Last Bouts Before Launch

The release of Street Fighter 6 is right around the corner, and Capcom fans are excited to get their hands on the full game. But just before the next entry of the Street Fighter series drops onto consoles and PC on June 2^nd, Capcom allowed everyone to try out the online multiplayer once again. The final online beta for the game was public to all who had access to a Capcom ID and any of the platforms the game would release on. Was it satisfying to hop into the Battle Lobby for some sets of Street Fighter 6 online? The simple answer is yes, but there’s more to all of it.

The final open beta for Street Fighter 6 once again allowed players to get online with Capcom’s servers and duke it out with a selection of characters from the final roster. Players were able to use Ryu, Ken, Guile, Chun-Li, Juri, Luke, Kimberly, and Jamie. Anyone who was able to be part of the previous closed and open beta sessions of the game was retreading familiar territory, with a few exceptions here and there. Every character had their full move sets available, with all of the mechanics featured in Street Fighter 6 at their disposal. The beta allowed players eagerly awaiting the game’s release to get in more game time with these characters and find out many of the key strategies and combos to use against others online.

Like previous sessions of the beta, progress won’t carry over into the full release. This includes rankings in the online leaderboards, high scores in any of the modes within the Battle Lobby, and the design and unlockable options for custom avatars. If you played a ton of the beta when sessions were open, you’ll still have to start over completely with everything once the full game is out. For some, this might be a drag, especially after earning multiple avatar items that are harder to get, but everyone will be on an equal playing field when the game is officially out for all platforms.

Some of the new additions to the final beta were the rotation of games in the Game Center, featuring a variety of classic Capcom arcade titles. During the time of the final open beta, players could head over to play games like Final Fight and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, as well as others that were switched out at different times. Unfortunately, you couldn’t play any of the games in versus or co-op multiplayer, which is a drag for anyone that wanted to dive into Super Turbo matches with others in the battle lobby. At the same time, the classic games are only around for so long and will change when you least expect it. You don’t get to choose from a selection of classic games, you can only play what is offered at that given time.

But what about the rest of Street Fighter 6 online? Matches with the characters available in the beta were very similar to before. Playing in matches against different players felt as if small things were tweaked, specifically with the spacing or damage dealt with attacks. More balance changes will come with time after release, especially when the fighting game community discovers more aspects of Street Fighter 6 that will need to be adjusted for balance. Getting to know the ins and outs of any character will definitely take time, especially when you need to learn how to adopt many of Street Fighter 6’s new mechanics into each matchup.

Speaking of new mechanics, a lot of the struggle for space in matches will heavily rely on one’s ability to utilize the Drive System. Learning when to parry at the right time, executing a Drive Impact right when you need to or using a Drive Rush to keep on the pressure is essential. Each character will use these tools differently in varying strategies, with some being more useful than others in certain matchups. A lot of these techniques for the Drive System may eventually get adjusted as well after the final version of the game releases, especially if exploits or broken characteristics of them get discovered. With more Street Fighter games, new mechanics always change and end up somewhat differently long after they’re introduced.

Customization is still a big factor for your personal avatar when roaming the battle lobby. There are plenty of clothing items and accessories to purchase from the shop and show off to everyone online. Some of these items could be applied to a character in the World Tour Mode of Street Fighter 6, but that wasn’t included in the final beta. How or what exactly can be done between both Battle Lobby and World Tour will be revealed in the final version of the game. It’s safe to guess that much of what you unlock will be used in multiple spots, especially if you end up using the same avatar for each mode.

This is also complimented by the Missions you have open for completion, which rewards you with fight money to spend at the shop. There are daily missions and ongoing missions that range from completing a set number of matches to interacting with different game modes for rewards. If you want to end up getting some of the more elaborate items for your avatar, you’ll want to complete as many of these as possible.

Street Fighter 6 still looks and plays great in this final beta session before the official release. The dynamics of online multiplayer matches will definitely change once everyone has access to the full roster, as well as downloadable fighters who will come later. Whether you’re looking forward to hopping online with your friends, or if you’re ready to dive into the World Tour mode, you’ll have a lot to explore when Street Fighter 6 releases for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on June 2^nd.

Are you going to pick up Street Fighter 6 for your console? What character are you going to play with online, or will you try out the other game modes first? Tell us everything down below in the comments!