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Pros:
+New characters offer new combat tactics
+Old Characters somewhat redesigned for the modern era
+Online ranked matching is fun, especially when PC vs. PS4 matches happen

Cons:
-Connectivity issues persist off and on for Capcom Fighters Network
-Lag can cause problems while fighting
-Ranked matches do not go based on skill level unless chosen

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Author’s Note: Due to the game having just released, our review will be getting updated from time to time with the listed changes above the previous review. As the future content is released, that will be added as well as the games lifespan continues.

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Since it’s release in 1987, Capcom’s Street Fighter has been a series that has taken the world by storm. It has brought some of the best players around the world to fight against each other in order to compete for best in the world. The series has also kept true to its formula by keeping the classic arcade button smashing antics alive to this very day, but one thing has changed a lot since 1987 and now. Street Fighter has gone online and even created a ranked matchmaking in order to allow the best of the best to throw some shoryuken’s, hadoukens, and even a few yoga flames at each other, but not all has been smooth with this latest iteration. This time around the game is seeing itself as a PlayStation 4 and PC exclusive, which leaves Xbox fans in the dark. Why’s this? Cross-platform play is all we can assume as PC players and PS4 players are now fighting each other for best in the world.

Much like building a house, games go through the same steps. A solid foundation must be in place, it must be smooth, strong, and supportive of what it does. Something that Street Fighter V has been trying to do since it’s launch last week. The game has seen itself stumble a few times as it begins to stand back up. The problem it’s facing? Online server issues as players begin to storm the servers in order to show down for the best in the world rankings or even take to the casual modes that’ll allow players to throw a few punches into each others faces and shake hands with their console or PC counterparts when done. If there is anything we’ve learned it’s that Capcom has taken on a large task, one that Microsoft did once before with their title Shadowrun. Now? It’s time for Capcom’s debut into the cross-platform arena and for their first attempt, it’s not half bad even though the game is still building its foundation via both fighters and online stability.

For our review the PlayStation 4 version was decided upon since our gaming rig seems to be a bit under the weather, which is quite alright as it serves its purpose when Sussie (the ASUS RoG gaming laptop we use) is up for the task. For now? PlayStation 4 did just fine. Upon our initial connection attempts to the fighting network on launch, Street Fighter V found itself with some trouble both the night before and the day of as servers were down for maintenance, and the problem persisted not just for a few minutes, but for a few hours. Once they were up? It was time to take on the story mode.

“Wait…. Where’s the arcade mode, the story was too short?”

As you might imagine, Street Fighter isn’t a series renown for its stories even though they draw is in, teach us the basics with each character, and even give us a bit of an idea as to why our characters are even in the fighting arena in the first place. Unfortunately this is told through a very short four fights with each character, and you’re done. With only sixteen characters at launch, the story isn’t exactly all that long, and it’s one that was quite easily completed within a matter of an hour. That’s right, you read it, one hour. The nice part about it, however, is that we aren’t stuck with the adventure of a single fighter, but instead all sixteen launch characters. Some of them even having been redesigned to show some aging such as Dhalsim who has gone grey, grown a beard, and still remains annoying as ever with his seemingly unending reach across the screen. Let alone has he seen changes, we also get to see M. Bison having gone grey with age, and even seen families flourish through the years. Ken now has a kid, imagine that, and Ryu is still trying to control the Satsui no Hado as in previous titles.

The troublesome part about this title isn’t that the fighting mechanics for most fighters haven’t changed at all. It’s the fact that the game does not feature an arcade mode for those who don’t want to go online and duke it out a few matches with a random NPC, but instead? They are stuck with a Survival mode, which challenges players to stay alive as long as possible, spend their score on buffs or health, and continue on their way to see how long they can survive. While this mode has difficulties to choose from, it’s just not as satisfying as it would be with a simple arcade mode so that players can choose the fighter they want, when they want them. Though this isn’t where all the troubles do begin, instead we are used to seeing costume swaps in the more recent games, and this game does depart from that in some ways. The new way is we get to unlock color pallets for completing the story mode, and additional ones for meeting certain goals in the games “Survival” mode that was previously mentioned. These colors can be unlocked using the in-game currency known as “Fight Money”. This currency can be earned in several different ways: Playing the story mode, playing ranked matches, survival mode, and even through casual matches. As easy as it sounds to unlock things, that would be completely opposite of the truth, but instead unlocks are a rather painful grind. One that’s even more-so painful than trying to beat Ludwig from Bloodborne’s first DLC on New Game++.

“If players have enough skill, there’s always a chance they’ll show up on Shoryuken..”

But where the game shines is truly the Capcom Fighters Network where players can choose to take on their rivals and duke it out to settle the score or even the ranked match where players who are the best of the best can go head to head. Eventually the best players even have a chance to go to pro tournaments where they will be recognized for their skill and eventually have it tested. We can only assume that they will take on the likes of players like Lupe Fiasco, Momochi, Daigo Umehara, LPN, and even Ricky Ortiz. These players have all been recognized for their skill and natural coordination within these games. This includes beating players into the ground, breaking faces, and taking names in matches that may only last a mere twenty seconds or less. If players have enough skill there’s always a chance they’ll show up on Shoryuken’s ranking website if they enter the tournaments. While online ranked matches may sound as fun as they do, they will test the skill of players across both PlayStation 4 and PC unless the player selects the same platform option. While this option can be utilized, it’s not suggested from personal experience as the movement between both Steam players and PSN players seems about the same in skill, and even the want to slap heads into walls when getting utterly annihilated.

Though there is a small piece of information that may grab players by the ears and will be updated into our review at a later date once it launches. Coming soon to both platforms, players will be able to take the offline Challenge Mode where players will be able to take on daily challenges in order to hone in on their skills and even accomplish tasks for prizes. While that sounds a bit dull, the wait may actually help for those who don’t like playing online, but where the focus of Street Fighter V is, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for those who just want to play offline and practice. For those wanting more story? The cinematic expansion won’t be landing till this June, which might frustrate some players, and even discourage some of the upcoming players as they just might wait out another variant of the game to release, if one does.

Street Fighter V – PC, PlayStation 4 (Reviewed)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Cost: 59.99 USD
Release Date: Now Available

While Street Fighter V has see some rocky bits with its post-launch the days after have gone a bit smoother, lag between matches has seemingly disappeared, and the disconnection issues seem to be almost completely eradicated.  While the roster features mostly new comers with some old timers left, the game hasn’t change much in any means, and even the use of EX abilities seems all, but familiar. Mortal Kombat X’s X-Ray moves anyone? No pun intended, but both work much the same and offer the same amount of usefulness when wanting to put a match to a quick end. Street Fighter V in its new formula seems to be quite the game, feeling a bit empty, but one that will come to fulfill its destiny to bring in a huge experience at a later date.  While Capcom’s newest release is interesting, the players who get bored quickly will find themselves stepping away sooner than later as the focus seems to be on the die-hard online fighters who want to go pro. For the casual fighters, Street Fighter Vs best offering may just be the fact characters will be added in later through the shop that will us the in-game Fight Money in order to make their roster feel whole. Till that does? This latest Street Fighter at times feels a bit empty and a game that could use a bit of polishing in order to keep casual gamers from being bored.

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The Review is based upon a version we purchased ourselves and was completed based on currently available content.  For information about our ethics policy please click here.

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 Final Score: 7 out of 10

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About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.