Want to see Street Fighter 6 at its best? Check out this dev gameplay

It’s nice to have flashy trailers that really show off an art style, or that really dig deep into an aesthetic. But to really understand a fighting game – I mean, really know how it’ll actually feel on the stick – you need to watch people that know what they’re doing have a fight.

Often, with fighting games, the really decent players won’t necessarily be the flashiest. If you watch a high-level Tekken game, for example, it’s a lot of footsie work and backdashing followed up by some impressively long (but not that over-the-top) combo work. The same goes for Street Fighter 6, it seems: the character trailers we’ve seen to date revel in big bombastic moves, flashy supers, and jaunty camera angles that show off new and returning cast members – but an actual fight between two devs? That’s the real deal.

In the video above, you’ll clock veteran Brit Cammy battling it out with French newcomer Manon. Cammy players will recognise some signature moves in the mix (Spiral Arrow, Cannon Spike, and Hooligan Combination), combined with some interesting new techniques realised via her Super Arts. Manon, very much into her dance and catwalking, forces Cammy to go along with her footwork (where we see Manège Doré, Renversé, and Pas de Deux in action), ending one combo in a great super that sees both do a routine before the Brit is unceremoniously tripped up, faceplanting the concrete.

This video, taking the form of a quick three-round format, and made with direct capture footage taken directly by the developers, has got me more hyped for Street Fighter 6 than any of the other videos I’ve seen so far. Why? Because this looks like the game I’ll be playing when it comes out – no hyperactive cuts will take me from move-to-move, no zoomed in supers, no stylish pans to a taunt. Just good, honest fighting.

And, my God, does it look good. The little delays you can feed into Cammy’s moves to play mind games with your opponents, the wonderful artstyle that really comes to life with the fluidity of battle behind it, that glorious soundtrack? Forgot your expensive marketing plan, Capcom, and just give me more dev fights.

Want to see more Street Fighter 6 in action? This Street Fighter 6 trailer features new gameplay footage of Cammy, Zangief, and Lily, and you can read Alex’s early Street Fighter 6 preview at the link.

NB: I’ve been asked to add that Alex, a Cammy main, thinks she looks amazing but is sobbing at the sorry state of her backdash.