Impressions from playing Tekken 8

This weekend will see a closed network test of this now traditional fighting series. Tekken is undoubtedly one of the main fighting games and along with Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros is the most popular among gamers. Bandai Namco has included all sixteen characters, several battle arenas, and a single-player mode in this test. This is a ranked multiplayer mode, so all tests are against other players, with no option to practice against the AI. Luckily, while you wait to find an opponent, you have time to practice against a stationary target. With the online test, the creators make it clear that they still plan to push Tekken towards the competitive and tournament play that previous entries did so well.

The gameplay itself in Tekken 8 remains true to the past. Each limb of your chosen fighter is controlled by one of the four buttons on the controller, with the top buttons and triggers used to initiate special functions. There are two of them – for veterans, the old familiar “Fury”, which you initiate by pressing R2 when you are on your last few health points. The latter, in addition to strengthening the fighter, adds access to an extremely powerful attack.

The second is the so-called “Heat” state after pressing R1 (however, it can also be activated by specific attacks), which can be used at any time, but only once per turn. It lasts for ten seconds, the remaining time counter is clearly visible under HP, and with each attack you extend it a little. In the “Heat” state, it is worth being more aggressive, since each attack (even blocked) does at least minimal damage, and some attacks and combos are modified. The fighter also gets access to melee moves and a crushing attack that will remove the character’s heat state, but in exchange for huge damage. The game also brings back the healing system from the Tekken Tag Tournament games, where successful attacks can restore a certain amount of lost HP. So Tekken 8 really pushes players to play a more aggressive style of play and not play as defensively as before.

For absolute beginners, there’s the newly added Special Control style, which lets you launch entire attack combos with a single button press, and instead of having to spend a lot of time training and learning individual moves and how they connect, Tekken is a fast-paced ride that any action game fan can enjoy. It’s certainly a fun way to introduce newcomers to the genre.

Technically, I had a great experience with the game. The music is energetic and there is nothing offensive in the sound department. However, Unreal Engine 5 shows its strengths and it is a joy to watch the action on screen. UE5 is really put to use here as the game is full of special effects, especially the rage and heat attacks that look like they escaped from Street Fighter or Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom. I did not encounter any bugs or connection issues during my testing, and considering all sixteen announced fighters are present, I would say the game is at least in an advanced stage of development, if not close to completion.

Despite the thinned out roster, I think the future of Tekken 8 is bright, and its aggressive playstyle will make the gameplay interesting for beginners, advanced players, and professionals, as well as spectators who just like to watch the fights.

Tekken 8 doesn’t have an announced release date yet, but it will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and will (which is possible in this test, by the way) support cross-platform play.