Street Fighter 6

After years of waiting, Street Fighter is finally back and stepping onto the latest consoles with Street Fighter 6, and while it doesn't necessarily shout about its newness visually, there are some huge changes under the hood.

With a significantly beefed-up singleplayer section of the game providing better on-ramps than ever, and a new control scheme that could completely rip up established assumptions about skill levels, it feels a bit like a fresh start for the fighting game giant.

This is amazing for learners and newcomers, making the most intimidating part of any fighting game way more trivial until you know enough to kick off the training wheels and take more control.

Street Fighter 6 retains the same basic gameplay seen in Street Fighter V and Street Fighter IV. Characters have a noticeable weight to them compared to older 2D installments, which makes their attacks feel more visceral and impactful. I've been playing these games for three decades so it was easy for me to acclimate to the controls in seconds. Capcom didn't mess with what works, which is great.

The hip-hop-inspired soundtrack is very reminiscent of Street Fighter III. Though I'm more partial to the rock-inspired tracks from older Street Fighter games like Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 6's music fits well with the visuals and gets you pumped during battles.

It takes a lot to reinvent a 30-plus-year-old franchise while keeping step with tradition, but Capcom has succeeded admirably. This is a rare game where losing is still fun, because it all feeds the drive to improve, to find your warrior's path and maybe rack up some sweet wins along the way.