Sokoban for the 20th century.

Sadly all sequels and ports were lacking.

https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2012/09/12/chips-challenge/

I am very torn on sable. It's on the one hand a very pretty game with a fun, meditative quality to its low stakes gameplay but on the other hand it has an inexcusable amount of technical issues. My first playthrough I had to find a way to "cheat" past all the physics puzzles which refused to work. It also doesn't really pay off much of your final choice but it's kind of intentional, "the journey not the destination" etc. The game can also straddle the line between tranquil and boring at times, depending on music and landmark frequency.
The observant among you might have caught however, that I said "first" playthrough i.e I have played it more than once. This is exactly what I mean, clearly I enjoy this game on some level but its flaws keep me from recommending to any but the patient among you

This is how you bring back a franchise

After the abysmal launch and life cycle of SF5 it was no question that most people were worried about the 6th installment. Well, I am happy to say that they completely knocked it out of the park with SF6 this game is simply amazing as well as game changing in certain aspects.

Single player

This section will be kept short as I am not much of a offline mode player when it comes to fighters. However with that being said this game will have you covered if you want good single player content. For example you have your usual arcade mode , versus mode etc etc but SF6 introduces world tour mode. To being with I have nothing but respect for capcom for trying to make a full fledged almost RPG like mode for street fighter. I didn't play it much but I can see it being very fun for people who enjoy this type of content. For example you create a custom character through a very indepth character maker mode. After that you get thrown into the world of SF6 with luke who trains you then sets you off to roam around. The gameplay loop itself seems simple with you fighting enemies on the streets, meeting iconic SF6 characters and training under them giving you their skill set. You are then able to mix and match master skills allowing for very unique playstyles for your avatar. Can't really speak further on world tour I just really hope they continue to improve and add stuff to it for the people who really enjoy it. In the end this game is worth it alone for its single player offerings really giving people a bit of everything.

online modes

This where I spend all my time and my lord they simply NAILED it with SF6. Besides your basic player matches , ranked, Lobbies and then online training mode which is amazing you now have the battle hub which is a social hub. To begin with, the avatar you create gets thrown into a lobby where you can roam and challenge players via arcade cabinets you can sit at. Alongside this they have a section where you can just straight up play classic capcom games like Final fight completely free alongside other games. Next to the classic cabinets are extreme battle stations which I personally haven't dabbled into. In addition you can fully queue for player or ranked matches within this hub if you just want to chat it up with people while waiting. Furthermore, you can as well customize your avatar with new clothes within the battle hub through the multiple ways you can obtain clothes. FINALLY , in the middle of the hub there is a section where you can actually fight with your avatar from world tour. However, there is no equalizing in stats so if you are lvl 20 and go up against a lvl 99..... yes you are going to 100% lose. In addition I never really do avatar battles outside of needing to do it for dailies or weeklies but I can really see that becoming something as people grind out world tour and get the best stats for their avatars. Then after all that it leaves us with the dying question.... is the netcode any good?. To put it simply....yes it is amazing if not one the best netcodes in fighting games period. Alongside an amazing netcode they have given us full crossplay between EVERY platform which instantly will help in keeping the playerbase alive for a LONG time. I really appreciate this as Xbox one is known for usually having lower player counts so having crossplay helps them a lot. In the end the online is god tier in many aspects.

Online Shop

Its no question Street fighter is known for having a lot of costumes to purchase for real money. So it is no surprise they are heading for a very DLC centric shop with a few ways to earn color variations free. In addition SF6 introduces battle passes which seem to controversial amongst players but I for one do not mind it. The battle pass is ONLY cosmetic stuff and 1 classic capcom title you can play. In addition they even stated that the battle pass items would return to the shop in the future in which we have yet to see how they will go about this. The battle pass costs $5 and if you complete the battle pass you actually get all the coins back so if you play the game a lot you pretty much only ever have to spend $5 once. Moving on, costume seem to cost $1 at least for the classic costumes although I hope they keep this pricing for all costumes that will come out in the future. In the end its really hard for me to give my full stance on how I feel about the paid cosmetics as it hasn't been flushed out fully yet. Only time will tell how the shop will be so this section will for sure get updated in the future as the DLC shop gets a lot more items for sale.

Gameplay

This is a huge one for me as coming from 5 I really had no hope as I simply did not find SF5 any fun. In this case I am so happy to say SF6 core gameplay is amazing and I couldn't have been more happy with the outcome of it. Of course there is controversy surrounding 2 new mechanics: Drive rush and Drive impact. A lot of people can't seem to get down punishing times for these skills but I feel like as the game evolves people will find ways around DI and DR. Then what about modern controls which has equally been controversial? well to put simply, it is not bad at all. People need to understand using Modern controls will make characters lose certain moves. Furthermore as well as losing moves, Modern controls won't make a player magically better in neutral because you still have to be good at the game to win. This is crucial because I think the implication of Modern controls is amazing allowing new comers to actually have a chance online to have some fun. However if you are any good at the game you will most likely stomp on players using modern controls unless you are fighting modern control players in Diamond - Masters league. Where does this leave us?, with me once again saying how much damn fun the gameplay is because I genuinely believe its the best playing SF game in a long time.

Character roster

Very solid roster of characters really giving something for everyone. You will be able to find a character for your playstyle no doubt so I really have no complaints about the base roster in this game I think its good.


Graphics

Game looks and runs great. I have no complaints about character models I think all the characters look great.


Additional notes

People please if you want to get good at the game do NOT focus on combo trials. While combo trials can help you learn a few things I highly recommend watching high level play with the character you main. This will help you learn what buttons you should be using and how to play neutral with your character. I keep seeing so many people stay stuck in combo trials when it quite honestly turns into a waste of time as the moment they hit online they get confused why they can't do what they learned in trials. So learn a few combos then go into training mode and practice everything about your character. Furthermore I am stoked for the future of SF6 as well as tournaments for this game. I really couldn't have asked for a better package at launch this game is simply amazing and I highly recommend it to any level fighter game player this is truly a fighting game for everyone.