TEKKEN 8 has a solid foundation and a lot of potential to impress genre enthusiasts and newcomers to the franchise, but will it surpass Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1?
Last weekend, we had the opportunity to play the closed Beta of this new Bandai Namco title. After stepping into the ring and participating in online battles against other players, we immediately realized that Katsuhiro Harada and his team have something special in their hands.
Related Video: TEKKEN 8 - Release Date Announcement Trailer
TEKKEN 8 Could Be one of the Early Surprises of 2024
Undoubtedly, the fighting game genre is experiencing a new golden age. In 2023 alone, we witnessed the release of the latest installments of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. After playing the closed Beta, we believe that TEKKEN 8 could continue the winning streak and be a must-have for 2024 for the following reasons.
1. A Diverse and Extensive Character Roster
One of the most important elements of any fighting game is the character roster. The Bandai Namco franchise is famous for its quirky and original fighters, so it would be a shame if the new installment dropped the ball in this department. Fortunately, we are looking at a lineup that will meet the expectations of even the most demanding fans.
TEKKEN 8 will launch with 32 fighters, making its base roster much larger than that of Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1. In the closed Beta, there were 19 fighters to choose from, and we were pleased that they all exuded style and charisma.
Beyond personality and design, each fighter enriches the combat system with their unique fighting style. For example, King, the Mexican fighter, specializes in powerful punches and holds, while Leroy Smith, the American martial artist, employs fast attacks inspired by Wing Chun. There's a character for every type of player.
Exploring the roster until we found our "main" was a fun and satisfying process that we greatly enjoyed. Although Raven was the fighter with whom we achieved the best results thanks to his ninja abilities, we confess that our favorite was Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo, the cheerful fighter from Peru who dances and uses feints to complement her martial art.
2. Accessible for Novices
The franchise has a reputation for being too difficult and demanding, especially for newcomers to the genre. While that is still true to some extent, the developers have provided more options to facilitate the learning process and prevent the experience from becoming frustrating. After playing the trial session, we are confident that TEKKEN 8 is the most accessible and user-friendly installment.
This title introduces the "Special Style," a simplified control scheme for executing combos and special attacks with simple button sequences. It is a very useful tool that helped us avoid getting crushed in our early online battles. We also used it when switching characters and trying to get familiar with their style and gameplay rhythm.
It is still too early to say for sure, but we believe that the new scheme is balanced because it only offers a limited set of moves and combos. We can activate it at any time during battles without penalty, making it a viable option to expand our offensive arsenal.
Fortunately, accessibility goes beyond the new control system. To begin with, learning the basics and new mechanics is straightforward thanks to the concise and clear tutorial.
We also appreciated that the move list highlights the attacks that trigger the new Heat mode and those that serve as launchers, allowing us to quickly see our most versatile offensive tools. It is a simple feature, but this design decision makes learning a character more efficient and prevents us from getting lost in a sea of abilities in the pause menu. Finally, combo challenges are very useful for learning devastating sequences that deal a lot of damage.
3. Deep for Experienced Players
It is clear that TEKKEN 8 aims for accessibility, but does that mean it is a casual game that leaves the competitive community behind? Not at all! We are dealing with a deep experience that demands time and dedication.
While it builds on the foundations of the previous installment, this new title introduces some interesting changes that significantly alter the pace of the game. The main addition is the Heat System, a special state that unlocks unique benefits and attacks for a limited time. Using this tool is easy and intuitive, but fully exploiting its potential is challenging.
Furthermore, in keeping with tradition, the characters have massive move lists. To put it bluntly, some fighters have more than 200 attacks and abilities, so we will have to spend many, many hours in training mode if we really want to unlock their full potential.
We must be honest: on the last day of the Beta, online players wiped the floor with us. Instead of getting frustrated, we were surprised by the competitive level of the community, despite the game not being available yet. With each defeat, we became more eager to practice and learn new strategies.
TEKKEN 8 is both user-friendly and deep. We believe this is the right direction: while casual players can easily learn the basics and have a good time, competitive fans can explore all the possibilities to elevate their gameplay.
4. Abundant Customization Options
As in the previous installment, in TEKKEN 8, we can change the outfits and other elements of the characters to give them a unique and fun style. Although customization options were somewhat limited in the Beta, there were three unique designs for each fighter that demonstrate the potential of this system.
In addition to customizing the characters, it is possible to customize an avatar used in the online lobby. There are many options, and we liked that we could change hairstyle, face, clothing, skin color, accessories, and much more. We can even use the coins earned in battles to purchase more items.
We are confident that many players will explore all the possibilities to recreate characters from other franchises and famous personalities from the world of entertainment. We also liked that we could personalize our profile with a variety of cards, titles, backgrounds, and more. There are many ways to express our style.
5. A Next-Generation Game
We said it in the preview we published a few months ago, and we'll say it again: TEKKEN 8 looks spectacular. The developers have taken advantage of the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 and the horsepower of next-generation consoles to create a beautiful experience that runs at a constant 60 frames per second during battles.
The fighters have high-quality textures and look better than ever, with many details on their faces and outfits. Additionally, the particle effects of their attacks and special moves make the battles feel more epic and exciting.
Furthermore, the battle arenas feel alive thanks to the elements in the background, interactive objects, and excellent lighting. We loved the Ortiz Farm, a stage inspired by Peru where adorable llamas walk around as the fight unfolds.
Will TEKKEN 8 Meet Expectations?
TEKKEN 8 is fun due to its refined combat mechanics and characters brimming with style and personality. We enjoyed our time in the closed Beta and admit we were eager to play and explore more fighters. However, we do have a couple of complaints.
While we appreciate being able to customize our avatar, we found the lobby to be a glorified menu that adds little to the experience, at least in the trial session. In the end, the map areas represent an option that could easily be selected from a list without much fanfare. On the other hand, there were noticeable frame drops when many players appeared on the screen.
We also experienced some lag in a few matches, but these connectivity issues might be due to cross-play. The situation is far from severe, and we have confidence that the netcode will improve by the time of the official release.
Despite these minor inconveniences, TEKKEN 8 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting releases in the first half of 2024. We'll have to wait until the final version to deliver a verdict, but the Beta left us with a good impression.
But tell us, are you interested in this Bandai Namco offering? Let us hear from you in the comments.
TEKKEN 8 will be available for Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5 starting January 26, 2024.
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