Free vtuber fighting game is the perfect Street Fighter 6 stopgap

pcgamesn.com:

Vtuber fighting game Idol Showdown caught me off-guard. With the Street Fighter 6 release date still a little way off, I’ve been hankering to deliver a beatdown, but I’ve already sampled most of the best fighting games on PC. So to stumble across Idol Showdown in the new releases, realise it’s free, and then actually be impressed by just how good this Marvel vs Capcom and Guilty Gear style 2D fighter is has been a real treat today.

Idol Showdown is an unofficial fan-made project based on some of the biggest vtubers (that’s virtual youtubers, or people who stream themselves using an animated avatar) from Hololive, one of the most prominent vtuber agencies. Developer Besto Game Team says that the project has been in the works for two years, and it’s out now as a free Steam game.

Jumping in, I’m already impressed by the game’s catchy pixel art style and soundtrack. I hop into the game’s tutorial mode and am immediately struck by its comprehensive instructions, responsive feel, and overall mechanical depth. While Idol Showdown will feel familiar to Street Fighter fans with its quarter-circle motions and super meters (called the “superchat” meter after the name for donations sent by fans during streams), it bears closer resemblance to the likes of Marvel vs Capcom and Guilty Gear.

You get a light, medium, and heavy attack, along with a special button. Normal moves can be comboed into same-strength or increasingly strong attacks, or into specials. Those who prefer to keep mechanical execution to a minimum can use directional inputs with the specials to pull off the game’s coolest moves, or you can use double-tap and quarter-circle motions along with varying attack strengths to manually dial in the attack you want.

The roster