Street Fighter 6 CPU praised for playing like a human

Capcom has released a demo for Street Fighter 6 on PS4 and PS5 that allows players to experience some of what the game will have to offer. Among what’s available, the game’s strongest Lv8 CPUs have been garnering attention for their human-like play that can serve to show players what high-level play looks like.

When the demo went live, pro gamers were quick to challenge the Lv8 CPUs. Japanese fighting game blog Furious showed off a clip from pro gamer Nemo taking on the CPU and praising its movements which could serve as an example to players. Nemo also stated that players could study character movement by taking on the Lv8 CPU.

Fighting games up to this point, including Street Fighter V, have generally had irrational and one-dimensional CPU opponents when it comes to providing strong foes for players to face. Their strength often came from their inhuman reflexes and input speeds which gave them their own quirks you wouldn’t experience against human opponents. They had an image of moving clumsily while having quick reactions, extremely accurate blocking, and a counter for whatever you threw at it.

Of course, this kind of opponent is difficult, but the super fast response times often felt unnatural. Learning the quirks of the CPU to beat it would make for a fight that’s totally different from playing human opponents.

On the other hand, Street Fighter 6’s CPUs give the impression of human-like play. While you can still see some of the previously mentioned “CPU-ness,” it doesn’t feel absurd or unnatural and is more like playing against a skilled player.

Firstly, the Lv8 CPU maintains spacing and attacks in a variety of ways. Above all else, it felt like it excelled at understanding the character, picking actions based on spacing, combo selection and input accuracy, and understanding the game’s mechanics.

These elements aren’t necessarily particular to a CPUs reaction or input speed, but skills a human player could learn with enough practice. The Lv8 CPU in Street Fighter 6 isn’t simply hard, but gives the impression you’re playing someone who is good at that character.

Additionally, the more absurd side of a CPU always seeming to have a perfectly timed block or counter has been put in check. Of course, if you just jump in, you’re going to eat an anti-air attack, but its accuracy isn’t always 100%. In summary, the Lv8 CPU is extremely tough but in a human-like way. You could say it’s a great way to experience what it’s like to play against a strong player.

With all of the new mechanics and characters coming to Street Fighter 6, using the CPU as an opponent, or a teacher, could be a good way to try learning the game. As an aside, I (the original author of this article) managed to take a round against a Lv8 CPU but still haven’t won a match.

The Street Fighter 6 demo is now available on PS4 and PS5. The demo is scheduled to come to Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam) on April 26. Street Fighter 6 is scheduled to release on June 2.

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-04-22 14:31 JST)