4 out of 5 stars.

Street Fighter is a massive series. The popular fighting game has seen years of changes, new characters, controversies, and most of all, players. Thousands of players populate many of the most recent titles; Even now, load up Street Fighter IV and you should have no trouble finding a match. While other titles, such as Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat, have all been around for an equal amount of time and deliver satisfying combat, Street Fighter has always had a unique flair to it that draws players in and keeps them fighting. Street Fighter V realizes the success of its predecessors, but sometimes forgets a key component that made the series what it is today.

Street Fighter has over two decades of experience in the industry to hone their combat mechanics.

V introduces a new mechanic: the aptly named V-Skills. V-Skills vary per character, and provide each with a unique ability to enhance their chances in combat. As usual, each character feels perfectly unique and looks great. The animations look smooth enough, and the game’s heavy focus on pokes means that characters will be interacting at close range fairly often.

Who could forget the cast? Part of the appeal of any fighting game is its colorful cast of fighters, and Street Fighter holds no punches in this regard. Four series classics make a comeback, from the controversial and powerful R. Mika, to the formidable Charlie Nash. In addition, the series mainstays are back and every bit as powerful as before, and new characters add the necessary spice to the mix.

The game has a heavy focus on older fighting techniques.

Hard knockdowns are infrequent and can be recovered from almost immediately when they occur. Whiffs and miscalculations are met with swift and brutal punishment; despite its somewhat faster pace than IV, each move feels like it carries much more weight as V-Skills and the stun meter apply pressure.

While the refined combat is definitely smooth enough to play for hours, it ends up feeling empty.

The game doesn’t cater to new or casual players too well, but it doesn’t seem competitive enough to appeal to the higher levels of play much more. Overall, V feels tailored to the middleground players, players who may know a few bits of fighting game jargon and have a preferred character, players who are able to perform competently without having to worry about higher level strategy, while still caring about their W/L ratio to an extent.

Don’t be fooled, though, Street Fighter V is just as enjoyable as its predecessors and makes up for its slight lacking in fulfilling content with great visuals and an honestly decent soundtrack to keep with the pace of the speedy combat. No match feels like a drag, and it’s hard to get angry at any of the characters, no matter how many times they beat you up and down the scenic locales the battles take place it.