Fighting games live or die by their character rosters. Your gameplay mechanics could be absolutely, positively phenomenal, but if your characters don't have enough... character... to drive the action forward, well, that's not a good time. Thankfully, Street Fighter has never had a problem with shoddy characters and combat systems, and Street Fighter 6, in particular, is an absolute joy to play.

As in-depth as the game might've been on day one, it's certainly good news that Capcom has kept its promise and continued releasing all-new characters, adding to the roster over time. The latest addition is none other than Akuma himself, the legendary demonic combatant from Street Fighter's history, and if we're being honest, this is probably the most fully realized and brutal version of the guy we've seen yet.

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Street Fighter 6 Akuma: Everything You Need to Know

To get a sense of what's what - though veteran SF players will already know - be sure to check out Capcom's official Akuma gameplay trailer, as featured above. This fighter is a veritable monster in combat: extremely versatile and aggressive, Akuma players can grow adept at controlling the neutral situation through the character's fast movement and long-reaching attacks.

The obvious caveat, though, is that Akuma can't really take a punch. The guy folds easily if he lets his opponent bring out the big guns, which makes it absolutely crucial that players learn all of the many (many) tricks he has up his sleeve. This includes aerial tricks, projectiles, and close-quarters grapples, should the enemy close the distance a bit too quickly for comfort.

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How to get Akuma in Street Fighter 6?

First things first, then, it's important to note that Akuma is unfortunately not part of the base Street Fighter 6 roster. Instead, this advanced, hyper-aggressive combatant comes as part of the Year 1 Character Pass, alongside Rashid, AKI, and Ed. If you'd like to wield Akuma in your Street Fighter 6 matches and wouldn't mind checking out the three other fighters, this Character Pass comes highly recommended!

Alternatively, note that the Deluxe and Ultimate versions of Street Fighter 6 include the first year's Character Pass by default. This means that all Deluxe and Ultimate Edition owners already have access to Akuma. Neat!

• Street Fighter 6 Year 1 Character Pass
• Deluxe Edition of the game
• Ultimate Edition of the game

Depending on which version of the game you might've bought, the Character Pass may already have been added to your account, so check out your in-game roster when you catch the time!

What is Akuma like in SF6?

Much as he's ever been, Akuma is a Shoto character in Street Fighter 6 as well. This means he's fairly similar in moment-to-moment gameplay to characters such as Gouken, Ryu, Ken, and Dan, making him a natural choice for some Street Fighter fans. Shoto characters all have ready access to three different moves: a Fireball, a Tatsu, and a Dragon Punch, and this latest version of Akuma is easily the most brutal Shoto we've seen yet.

Akuma is, in some ways, much like Tekken's Yoshimitsu. You get oodles upon oodles (upon oodles!) of options in combat and a way to impose yourself upon the enemy, but you don't get all that much health at your disposal.

Now, Akuma's always been all about flexibility, but we cannot overstate just how immensely satisfying the character is in Street Fighter 6. There's a whole lot of nuance here: thanks to SF6's Drive mechanics, Akuma's hyper-aggressive style of combat is more satisfying and meaningful than ever before.

Broadly, then, expect Akuma to be a veteran-tier combatant: newcomers will likely find the character a tad punishing to make mistakes with, but veterans are bound to enjoy the intricacy of the way his attacks connect with one another. Further, it's easier to appreciate the character's complexity when you already have a good handle on the game's core mechanics and simpler fighters!

Is Akuma a glass cannon in Street Fighter 6?

Indeed, Street Fighter 6's Akuma might be an absolute monster in good, capable hands, but he's still fairly easy to whittle down if you know how to break through his defences. Cammy fighters, for example, might find her moves a particularly good foil to Akuma's high-rise leaps!

If you're unfamiliar with Akuma from prior Street Fighter entries but want to give him a shot now, we recommend playing some other Shoto to get a sense of what's what without having to deal with Akuma's downsides. Once you've got the basics down pat, you can move on to Akuma and appreciate his intricacies that much more!

How to Fight as Akuma in Street Fighter 6

As more casual fans of Street Fighter 6 proper, we're still figuring out the ins and outs of Akuma, who only released just a few days back, on May 22! The community is still hard at work figuring out the character's meta, but some particularly effective strategies have already cropped up.

Fireballs, for example, are extremely useful for Akuma. You can use them to control space across the entire width of the battlefield, forcing your enemies into mid-range combat. Against most combatants, Akuma will excel here due to his longer-range normals. Further, the character's fast walk speed means it's easier to get away if push comes to shove, or to close the distance once the other fighter is already caught up in taking damage or avoiding the fireballs.

Once you've got your enemy reeling from Akuma's fireballs this way or the other, you should try to pull off a combo that ends in a light tatsu leading into a sweep. This results in a situation where your enemy is constantly being pushed back towards the corner of the arena, where Akuma can gun it for repeated throw attacks or try for a secondary, prolonged combo. This can lead to massive damage roundups thanks to Akuma's combo dealing regular damage plus corner damage to top it all off.

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