DreamHack Atlanta 2025 had plenty of surprise moments, but one announcement practically stopped the show floor: Chun-Li joining Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Getting hands on time with her was an instant reminder of why she’s one of the most iconic characters in fighting game history, except this time, SNK rebuilt her with a twist that feels shockingly natural.
From the moment the match starts, Chun-Li carries all the elegance and control that defines her lineage: sharp buttons, crisp spacing, and that overwhelming sense of presence in neutral. But what I needed to confirm right away was if she still has her stance from Street Fighter 6, and luckily she does not. Truly, I couldn’t be happier. Removing it streamlines her entire flow and makes her far more explosive within SNK’s momentum-heavy system.
Another huge shift: Chun-Li is no longer a charge character. Let that sink in, no more back-charge Kikōken. It’s now a straightforward quarter-circle input, putting her in line with traditional shoto-style designs and letting her play more freely in SNK’s offence-driven engine. My muscle memory definitely betrayed me for the first few rounds, but after it clicked, the gameplay opened up immediately. I personally prefer her as a charge character, she always has solid defense following the basic ABC rule, “Always Be Charging”.
The button scheme feels wildly different coming from SF6. Since this is a SNK game, she only gets 2 Punches, and Kicks. However, they were able to still sneak in her normals, and they have been remapped and repurposed. Forcing a complete re-learning of her neutral game. But once I adapted, everything started to make sense. SNK did a great job of copying Chun-Li, and translating her through their own lens, and the results feel surprisingly seamless.
Here’s where the love letter kicks in (For me):
This Chun-Li is the version I wished we got in Street Fighter 6. I’ve been a Chun main for over 30 years, and while SF6 was great, her style felt a bit too much. This Chun-Li brought the spark back almost instantly. I genuinely felt excited to return to my main again.
Her combo routes are unreal, easily some of the flashiest in the entire demo. Long strings, elegant extensions, crazy links, and real expressive freedom. There were moments that outright felt Marvel vs. Capcom–inspired, with her mobility and versatility hitting that same high-energy identity.
If you think about it, SNK got disrespectful, in the best possible way. They put Chun-Li in a game that has feints. These feints are nasty and give her a ridiculous level of pressure, mixups, and delay windows. It almost acts like a cleaner, more aggressive version of her stance cancels from SF6, giving her layers upon layers of creativity in neutral and combos. It’s cruel, honestly. Chun players will immediately understand the potential.
SNK also deserves major credit for their rollout strategy this year. Chun-Li was originally announced for a Winter 2025 release, and I assumed this meant late December. But SNK had other plans, they’ve been on a tear since the first character was released.
Andy Bogard – June 24, 2025 (first DLC character)
Ken Masters – August 3rd
Joe Higashi – October 11th
Chun-Li – officially dropping tomorrow, November 5th, 2025, way earlier than expected
It’s a fast-paced, confident DLC cadence that shows SNK is ending 2025 with style and momentum.
Even with these big system changes, Chun-Li still feels like Chun-Li. The grace, the control, the ability to dictate the match, it’s all here, just remixed through SNK’s signature flavor. This character is a carefully rebuilt, fully integrated version designed to shine in City of the Wolves.
SNK absolutely knocked it out of the park. If this is where the DLC quality is sitting, the game’s future looks insane. And with Chun-Li landing tomorrow, the last piece of the DLC roadmap is already set: Mr. Big, arriving Early 2026, closing out the first wave with a classic fan-favorite.
