After the dark mark that Street Fighter V left on the series, even though it did improve quite a lot after a couple of years to become a great game in its own right, Street Fighter 6 has opted to take a lot of things in new directions. I was absolutely ecstatic to see that I was chosen and able to participate in the closed beta.

After spending a weekend with it and trying out everything I wanted to try, I can say with confidence that this is one of, if not the best, beta I’ve taken part in. Barring a few minor technical issues during the first day or two, everything worked perfectly. It’s very obvious that Street Fighter 6 has a strong sense of personality and player enjoyment is the primary focus. Let’s dive in.

You’re first introduced to the three-section main menu: World Tour, Fighting Ground, and Battle Hub. The first is the single-player story mode that follows the player-created avatar, while the second features the typical selection of fighting game modes like training, arcade, and offline versus. Neither of those two was available in the beta, which instead focused on the social lobby-like Battle Hub.

Some might instinctively sigh at this if they’ve played other fighting games with social online lobbies such as those by Arc System Works. Many have criticized these kinds of lobbies for adding an extra step for access to playing against others online. Reception to the Battle Hub in Street Fighter 6 has been positive though, and I’d wager one of the many reasons why is because of the player avatars.

Battle Hub uses the same avatar that players will use in the World Tour mode, and the beta required all players to make one through their Avatar Creator. We had a small preview of it during their Tokyo Game Show presentation, but I’m not sure anyone expected it to be so thorough. To call it in-depth is an understatement. I spent a lot of time tweaking each of the extensive options and likely would have spent more if I hadn’t reminded myself I was playing a limited beta for a fighting game.

What was even more impressive than the variety of options was the range in which they could be customized. As much as someone could create the character of their dreams, they could also create something straight out of their nightmares. For every normal-looking character I ran by there was an inhuman monstrosity that would look right at home in a WWE 2K game. It never failed to make me laugh as I moved around from section to section.

In that sense, it also excelled as being the first time that I’ve felt directly connected to other players in an online lobby. Other fighting games have always felt inherently limited in what you can do within a lobby. They typically have you use a character-based model to move around and emote with. I could be staring at cute characters waving to each other and crowding around areas to play a match, but these lobbies rarely felt like they achieved the social aspect they strived for. Using them as a necessity for certain modes also meant that a lot of players ignored anything social in favor of running to wherever ranked matches were available.

Street Fighter 6 makes it abundantly clear that they want players to enjoy themselves and socialize in the Battle Hub, and it totally works. No matter if they were playing each other at arcade cabinets with a crowd of people in queue or channeling their inner Chun-Li by using a Spinning Bird Kick from the second floor, it’s wholly evident that people were having fun. Being able to chat and interact with a DJ station has little to do with the main attraction, but these elements nail what’s fun in a virtual social setting.

If the giant room filled with people, playing against each other on opposite arcade cabinets isn’t enough to emphasize this is a place for the community, everything else will. One section rotates through classic Capcom arcade games available to play on cabinets. The upstairs areas both feature a photo op to take pictures with. Regularly hosted tournaments can be signed up for. A large screen at the back of the hub displays which players are on a winning streak and might be worth keeping an eye on, as well as who has recently had their streak ended.

Something else that will help the experience when the game releases are that the important means of play won’t be tied to it. All of the core modes in fact will be available through Fighting Ground. Instead of Battle Hub being a forced experience for online players, it’s an optional way to enjoy interacting with others. It’s just as much of a place to walk among the key-clacking arcade cabinets in search of someone using a particular character (they appear above the cabinets) you want more time playing against, as it is to spectate others’ matches or even to answer a curious player’s questions.

I could go on and on about how much fun the Battle Hub itself is, but it’s about time I talk about the actual fighting part of this fighting game. The latest entry in the Street Fighter series feels quite different from what came before it. Each character has been tweaked with new moves and much older returning moves as well. What acts as the centerpiece for what’s unique this time around is the Drive System.

Aside from the Super Art Gauge which appropriately is used for Super Arts, the Drive Gauge is used for many other mechanics. Familiar mechanics include Overdrive Arts taking over as the new name for EX moves and Drive Parry bringing a universal parry option back for the first time since Street Fighter III. Drive Rush acts as a quick sprint to close the gap that can be canceled from a Drive Parry or at a higher cost from normals. Drive Reversal is a counterattack that can push away an opponent as you’re blocking.

Standing far and away as the best option is Drive Impact. It’s one of the most cost-effective uses of the gauge and is quite reminiscent of the Focus Attack from Street Fighter IV. The two-hit armor makes it a great tool to turn the tide, and I can guarantee that most matches were likely won because of it. Some have taken to voice their frustration about it, while others appreciate how it keeps them on their toes. Everyone can agree that the visuals for it and other Drive System mechanics look great though.

With how many mechanics rely on it, resource management is a defining aspect of gameplay. It replenishes automatically and will build up if you’re on the offense, but it’s easier than you think to use too much and enter a burnout state. Burnout is the worst thing that can happen to you as you’ll lose access to all Drive Guage mechanics, are able to further enter a stunned state if hit by a Drive Impact into the corner, and have increased blockstun on all attacks your opponent lands. The key to winning is to keep an eye on the Drive Gauge.

While I’m on the topic of gameplay, I need to mention how satisfyingly fast the game is with loading. Queuing up for casual and ranked matches is easy, and the search can be made as you walk around the hub. After finding and accepting a match, you see a quick splash screen and then a brief VS screen where you can hilariously make funny faces at each other. This lasts a few seconds at most and then you’re in the match together.

Rematches are even quicker. There are no drawn-out currency and experience updates at the end of a match. You see a character victory screen and are presented with the option to rematch or not. Once both players select rematch, it only takes a few seconds before you’re right back at round 1 again. That short length of time between winning a match and playing again is one of my favorite parts of this game.

As much fun as I had with casual and ranked matches, especially with both the rollback netcode and crossplay working flawlessly for me, I did have a lot of fun in Extreme Battle. Each features unique rules and/or gimmicks such as trying to complete a set of challenges before your opponent does. Another involved trying to swing a points-based see-saw by doing more damage, all the while a rampaging bull would run through the stage and potentially swing it to the other side.

The series is no stranger to fun extras with its history of bonus stages. Extreme Battle is a lot more accessible than those though, and I already enjoyed the variety between the three types that I tried out. They’re all outrageous takes on the gameplay and a great way to experience something different than with casual and ranked. I’ve always been a big fan of these types of modes in the Mortal Kombat series, and I’m happy to see the Street Fighter take on it.

Moving on to stuff I typically don’t like but did in this beta, I have to talk about replays. Being able to adjust the speed of the replays is always an appreciated addition, and I was happy to see that I could advance frame by frame or skip back and forth around to certain “scenes” of contact. What took it above and beyond for me was being able to look at attack data and frame data to better perceive what happened during specific exchanges.

The same could be said for spectating. Visiting an arcade cabinet being used by two players allows you to spectate their match from the beginning or fast-forward to watch them live. This spectator mode also allows for attack, input, and frame data to be displayed on the fly, as well as a chat to talk with others spectating. Making it more useful and social goes a long way in making casuals more interested in using the feature.

Even more fun to me was the training mode. It was a little tricky to play it in Battle Hub since it could only be accessed at an arcade cabinet as you wait for someone else to sit down. Thus, I spent a lot of time in uncrowded lobbies in the South American servers waiting to properly sit down in peace.

I say this with no exaggeration, this training mode is the best I have ever played. On top of the expected settings, a selection of Simple Training settings feature templates for different situations such as anti-air practice or defending against Drive Impact. A Frame Meter can also be displayed and show the startup and recovery time of each attack, as well as which frames the hitbox appears or when invincibility ends. Having this information easily available is great for people looking to understand moves better and make their own combos.

Those familiar with the genre will find many examples of innovation. Maps are client-side so that two online players can fight each other with a map they want and preferably not a grid training stage. A no-contest disconnect button is available during the first round where both players can choose to end the match with no penalties if the connection is laggy. I certainly hope the game is recognized for its substantial set of audio settings that also include some wonderful accessibility options such as adding sounds for different attacks or the distance to the opponent.

It would be a disservice to many great titles to say that fighting game sequels are simply small updates. Each one strives to provide fresh experiences for veteran fans and potential new players. That being said, the difference between Street Fighter 6 and its predecessor is monumental. This doesn’t just come across as one of the most content-packed, it feels like the most revolutionary entry yet for the Street Fighter series and fighting games as a whole. We’ll just have to keep an eye on the official Street Fighter Twitter account to see when they’ll announce a release date.