Whenever I jump into a new , highly awaited fight biz , all I want to see is tight combat . Things were no dissimilar withTekken 8 . Afterinterviewing the secret plan ’s director , Katsuhiro Harada , I expectedTekken 8to wow me mechanically . What I did n’t expect is that I ’d enjoy a fight game story mode in today ’s genre landscape as much as I did whenMortal Kombat 9revolutionized the genre in 2011 . And I certainly did n’t expect that from Tekken .
That ’s whatTekken8is all about : There are surprises around every turning point . character I never cared about ended up being my favourite . Gameplay mechanic I felt might be too overtuned actually institute even more astuteness to the series . And the only matter I can say about its wildly entertaining level is to allow out a incontrovertible , “ bruh . ” Though a few bum modes weigh down the package , Tekken 8is another victory for the long - running series .
Another heavy-hitting home run
Tekken 8is a standard 3D fighting game — and a brilliant one at that . It comply all the common rules of the series . There are two biff buttons , two kicks , a snatch , furore arts , and many complex systems to master . As always , wavedashing , Korean backdashing , and every other deep mechanic that makes it a high - tier competitive secret plan return here . This time , these classic feature article are join by a very welcome summation to the series : the Heat system .
Tekken 8keeps up the serial publication ’ streak of being welcoming to all kind of players .
warmth is broken up into four part : engagers , burst , flair , and bang . Engagers and Bursts are attacks that can trigger Heat mode . Once in Heat ( yes , I get how that sounds ) , attacks can chip through blocks and part can spend it all to execute a sinewy move . They also get access to Heat Dashes , which allow for dash follow - ups to specific attacks , and Heat Smash , a mini - super move similar to Rage Arts .
Together , all of these mechanics put Tekken right back into the simple - to - pick - up , toilsome - to - master category . When I startle into the plot , I thought the implementation of each of these mechanics would feel cut - and - dry out , but that ’s not the event . Like Rage Arts , Heat is only available once per round , meaning the style you use it needs to be perfect unless you want to waste it . Other clock time , you ’ll go out of your direction to use it in what feels like the perfect moment , only to later see a golden opportunity where you could have spent it . longanimity is the most important acquisition you ’ll learn here .
Tekken 8keeps up the series ’ stripe of being welcome to all form of players without alienating anyone . With the addition of Special Styles , an alternate ascendency strategy that can be toggle on with the press of a clit in the heart of a match , histrion can easily perform motorcar - jazz group and access hard to use mechanic . In the same nervure , hard-core players who bonk the mill can snub that in all and look to control each of the present mechanics in a new Tekken experience . It ’s a profits - win .
Final Fantasy in my Tekken
Tekken 8comes with a handful of way outside of its stock brawls , but the highlight here is its consummate story fashion . The tale begin with the heroes of the storey , Jin Kazama and the rest of his allies , search to take down Kazuya Mishima and his G - Force US Army after the man - changing patricide ofTekken 7 . The last we left him , Kazuya ( and the Devil within him ) was continue his search for ultimate power and creation domination . Throughout the brief tarradiddle , we play along the escalation of his corruption , all while watching Jin accept his intimate Devil , preceding sins , and friendly relationship to vote out him .
It ’s a thrilling story filled with godly fights , cameo fans will love , and a mystic new character that adds a whole lot of intrigue to the saga . It ’s a soap opera house crossed with a visually dazzling anime — and I dead jazz it . At clip , it feel more like a Final Fantasy spinoff . Even advantageously , its a telling and coherent narrative ; even player who have no clue what happened in past games can in all likelihood jump in and enjoy the striking story . Should they desire to go chew the fat the past tense , they can go right to the picture gallery and watch retellings of each past biz to catch up . The Tekken squad knows its doing something limited here with its approach path to fight back secret plan narratives and it does n’t require anyone to leave out it .
It ’s a lovingly craft story mood , top to bottom . Battles are perfectly localize between cinematics , evenmore so than in Mortal Kombat . character will occasionally shed a crease of duologue when taking a counter hit , build battles experience like a reactive part of the story rather than something players have to do to get to the next view . There are also a few narrative twists that exchange up the gameplay . A mid - story tournament has player picking different characters in bracket match-up to shake up the gameplay . Best of all is a surprisal baffle ’em up chapter that anticipate back to Tekken Force , a beloved minigame fromTekken 3 .
And that ’s not even the best part . Just make out that this is a story modal value you do n’t desire to miss out on , Tekken fan or not .
The rest is a mixed bag
WhileTekken 8delivers in its two core modes , the rest is run into - and - miss . Other than story modal value , exercise , Arcade musical mode , and your common online play ( which feature unchanging netcode on equality withTekken 7 ) and offline battles , the other let in modes are Character Episodes , Tekken Ball , and Arcade Quest .
Character Episodes are fundamentally mini - arcade mode . You select a character and play through a “ What if ? ” scenario lead up to the next Martin Luther King of Iron Fist Tournament . Upon finishing , you get a attractively animate , and sometimes hysterical , end . If you want a good episode to originate with , taste Kuma ’s for a tale of intergalactic bear love . It ’s a great stand - in for a traditional Arcade mode ; if you ’re not in the mood to play a full arcade run , it ’s great to sit back and toy through this light 5 - match modality for that same thrill .
Tekken Ball is a case of “ What you see is what you get . ” It ’s the yield of the classical volleyball minigame where you use attacks to jounce the testicle back and forth . It ’s harmless fun for friend to goof around with , but there ’s not much to talk on there .
Where Tekken 8 really underdelivers is in its meta Arcade Quest mode . Here , role player create an Xbox 360 - vogue incarnation and campaign tobecome an arcade caption . The mode has players traveling to different arcade around the world and taking down opponents on Tekken cabinets . It ’s a precious idea in hypothesis , especially in the backwash of Zanzibar copal and manga likeHi - Score Girl . In practice , though , it falls flat .
For starter , it ’s an absolute slog in its early hour . This is meant to go as an interactive tutorial mode , so early matches are preceded by farseeing presentment of fighting techniques . I found it much easy to just go into the fare and learn there .
In Arcade Quest , each grease monkey is dissected so slowly that it ’ll put you to sleep . Or , at least it would if your NPC chum would barricade critiquing your shimmer after every catch and telling you what you should have done after lose . I detest when real people do that to me , so why would I require to hear it in a game ? It ’s the only modality that I found zero delectation in , which is a pity think that its the second - biggest piece of the package . There is a great way to do this kind of interactive teaching , as pick up inStreet Fighter 6 . This just is n’t it .
Despite missing on a major mode , Tekken 8is another great incoming in one of the defend musical genre ’s good series . Whether you come for the story or just the meat brawling , the squad at Bandai Namco create trusted there ’s something everyone can enjoy here . It ’s a close package that loads a lot of surprises into every corner and another fighting plot that ’s very much worth your time in a straight golden eld for the music genre .
Tekken 8was reviewed on Xbox Series X.
