Final Score: Street Fighter 5

It's had its ups and downs over the course of the week, but Street Fighter V has certainly found a home among fighting game diehards. But with a noticeable lack of features, it may be a tough sell for the average combatant. So let's see what the professionals have had to say. We've gathered up the top reviews from around the internet to see what they've had to say about Street Fighter V, but the consensus seems to be that this isn't quite a complete package.

Shacknews 7/10: "Street Fighter V feels like it could be an incredible fighting game in the summer, filled with robust content and numerous game modes for both single-player and online multiplayer. But Street Fighter V isn't coming out this summer. It's coming out in February. The fact that a handful of game modes and features aren't ready for consumer use feels frustrating, especially since the quality of those inclusions can't be judged until they make it into the game. Battle Lounges, Online Lobbies, and Spectator modes could be awesome, but right now, nobody can say for sure. Thankfully, new features are coming down the line and whatever else is released afterwards can be earned through in-game currency, which is a welcome change from the past.

"Fortunately for Capcom, what is available now is a lot of fun. The overall fighting game mechanics feel incredible and a big step up from the Street Fighter IV generation. Even someone eternally in scrub tier, like myself, can feel like they can have a good time and eventually get better. That's why the aforementioned is so frustrating, because Street Fighter V feels like a genuinely great fighting game and it's hard not to want more."

Game Informer 7.25/10: "The gameplay of Street Fighter V is excellent, and no matter what mode you play, the superb mechanics follow. Unfortunately, the content isn’t substantial, and omits several standard offerings that we’ve come to expect from the genre. It’s a shame that the structure presents so many frustrations, because the gameplay itself is entertaining."

IGN 8/10: "It's hard to criticize something that seems like it was tailor-made for a wannabe competitive player like me, but I just can't ignore how little Street Fighter 5 does for the average fighting game player. It sports a wonderful, diverse cast of characters, places a clear emphasis on strong fundamental play, it gives competitive players a great online experience, and it does it all while looking gorgeous. Strictly in terms of mechanics and competitive features, Street Fighter 5 is just about peerless, but it has quite a ways to go before it stacks up against other fighting games - including its own predecessor - in terms of overall content."

EGM 8/10: "I wish this situation hadn't have happened, because it's caused a grey cloud to hang over what is, in so many ways, a fantastic game. From its gorgeous visuals, to its solid 60fps framerate, to its stylish new UI, to its superb soundtrack, to its familiar-yet-fresh gameplay, to its rich character roster, to its robust netcode, to so many other things, Street Fighter V feels like the evolution that the series needed—and that the fans deserved. As it stands, at this moment, we're getting a game that unquestionably feels incomplete. It also, however, feels like just the first step in what's going to be a long and exciting adventure of world-spanning street fighting."

GamesRadar+ 4.5/5: "So Street Fighter 5 is brilliant with caveats, then. But it is, at its core, still brilliant. Being brutally honest, your mileage with it – during the early phase of its life at least – will vary greatly depending on the availability of fight-ready friends in your immediate vicinity. Its pleasures are great and many, but for all of their eagerness to please, you’ll really need to explore them shoulder-to-shoulder with others. That, of course, is why the heart of any great fighting game truly beats, and Street Fighter 5’s beats as hard and loud as that of any you care to mention. As such, it would be a real shame if the curious new players it has so much to offer were turned off by its limited early content."

The Escapist 4.5/5: "Overall, Street Fighter 5 lives up to the legacy of its predecessors, providing the most accessible entry yet, without sacrificing the depth that hardcore fighting game fans have come to expect. With new characters and modes being planned to release every month up until at least September, players in it for the long haul will eventually find a breadth of content to enjoy in Street Fighter 5, especially since DLC characters can actually be earned with in-game Fight Money that is obtained by just playing the game. Frustratingly, that fight money can only be earned while playing online, even in single player, and with consistent connection drops just after launch you can lose that. More casual fans might want to consider waiting on their purchase until at least the story mode drops in June."

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?