Street Fighter V has kept my attention for the past 2 or 3 months with ease.. and that was just the bare bones fighting system with some characters. Now there is a story mode that is actually well put together and entertaining and the ladder matches me with similarly ranked opponents?

This was my first serious fighting game and the community really did a good job at pulling me in. It really has this friendly atmosphere where players are taking jabs at each other one second and then cheering the next. Wednesday Night Fights weekly makes me cheer for russian dudes in their underwear 69ing in the air before getting pounded hard right into the ground.

What I love about the game is it is challenging. You have to think about what your opponent is doing and you have to counter it. You may even play mindgames with your opponent to get them to open up. You have to practice your combos, learn your characters normals, and work your way around problems that other games seem to solve for you. Each fight is exciting.. and the fight after that fight is more exciting because they just figured out what you were doing and you have to change it up or lose the entire set.

Even the fact that my friend beats my ass 70 times a night in a private battle lounge is a good thing because we're both getting better. Sometimes I double down on losses and say if I win, it counts as more.. and then I have 140 losses. This game tears us apart and then glues us together.. and the glue is made of pure hatred. It doesn't matter that during the fight a fire is burning in my chest. It wells up inside of me for hours. I try to sleep and I dream about it. It doesn't matter if I go to work and all I can see is blinding flashes of light as Chun-Li kicks me in the face with her big ass legs. All that matters is that I kill my friend. And I can't kill him while he's sleeping or while his back is turned. It wouldn't be satisfying. I have to crush him from the front, repeatedly. I want to destroy him physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And for that, I need to practice and learn and adapt.

Street Fighter V brings people together.

Street Fighter V has kept my attention for the past 2 or 3 months with ease.. and that was just the bare bones fighting system with some characters. Now there is a story mode that is actually well put together and entertaining and the ladder matches me with similarly ranked opponents? This was my first serious fighting game and the community really did a good job at pulling me in. It really has this friendly atmosphere where players are taking jabs at each other one second and then cheering the next. Wednesday Night Fights weekly makes me cheer for russian dudes in their underwear 69ing in the air before getting pounded hard right into the ground. What I love about the game is it is challenging. You have to think about what your opponent is doing and you have to counter it. You may even play mindgames with your opponent to get them to open up. You have to practice your combos, learn your characters normals, and work your way around problems that other games seem to solve for you. Each fight is exciting.. and the fight after that fight is more exciting because they just figured out what you were doing and you have to change it up or lose the entire set. Even the fact that my friend beats my ass 70 times a night in a private battle lounge is a good thing because we're both getting better. Sometimes I double down on losses and say if I win, it counts as more.. and then I have 140 losses. This game tears us apart and then glues us together.. and the glue is made of pure hatred. It doesn't matter that during the fight a fire is burning in my chest. It wells up inside of me for hours. I try to sleep and I dream about it. It doesn't matter if I go to work and all I can see is blinding flashes of light as Chun-Li kicks me in the face with her big ass legs. All that matters is that I kill my friend. And I can't kill him while he's sleeping or while his back is turned. It wouldn't be satisfying. I have to crush him from the front, repeatedly. I want to destroy him physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And for that, I need to practice and learn and adapt. Street Fighter V brings people together.