Tekken 8 review – A curse-breaking successor that takes the series to new heights

With Tekken 7 being almost 10 years old at this point, a sequel has been long overdue. But does Tekken 8 deliver an experience that can stand up to the years of refinement and iteration that made its predecessor so special?

The Tekken series has a reputation for being really strong every other entry. Tekken 3, 5 Dark Resurrection, and 7 have been monumental achievements for the franchise, while Tekken 2, 4, and 6 have all had their share of issues and haven’t been looked upon fondly as the years have passed by.

Tekken 8 has a curse to break that has stretched across arguably every mainline entry for the series – so, does it?

Ultimately, yes. Tekken 8 is a resounding success for the franchise, a game that builds upon the lessons learned from Tekken 7’s development and refines them into what is, from a gameplay standpoint, the best game in the franchise. While we have a few hang-ups with the way it continues the Mishima saga, this is the absolute best jumping-on point the Tekken series has ever had, and a title that’s sure to create unforgettable experiences for casual players and pros alike.

Tekken 8 – Key details

• Price: $69.99/£69.99
• Developer: Bandai Namco
• Release Date: January 26, 2024
• Platforms:  PS5, Xbox Series X|S, & PC

Building upon a decade of excellence

Though Tekken 7 has a nearly decade-long history that’s been forged by the passion of dedicated fans who’ve kept the game alive, it isn’t a flawless game. The gameplay itself has always been good, but it was graphically dated even when it came out. However, with time, it’s grown into something exceptionally well-rounded.

Many features like a more in-depth training mode and new moves for existing fighters were added over time, making Tekken 7 a game that gained momentum rather than being its best form upon release. As such, many fans coming over to Tekken 8 will be expecting that level of excellence out of the gate.

Fortunately, the core mechanics and presentation of Tekken 8 are near-flawless. Training tools that put other titles within the genre to shame, fantastic music, graphics that are better than the vast majority of recent releases, a massive roster of fighters, and a variety of modes for players to enjoy all come together to make it something that excels. Tekken 8 really is the full package, and it’s easy to tell that the devs have learned from their years working with the franchise from the moment you pick it up.

Fits like a glove

When watching Tekken 7 and Tekken 8 side-by-side, they look similar from a gameplay standpoint. There’s a clear step up graphically, sure, but the mechanical flow looks like it functions much the same.

But, once you get Tekken 8 in your hands, it becomes clear how much they’ve improved upon the core mechanics with their learnings from the past 10 years. ‘Game feel’ is a difficult thing to put into words, but it just feels better than its predecessor, and, by extension, pretty much any other fighting game on the market. The immense impact behind each hit makes a fight between any two characters feel like a clash of gods.

Moreover, Tekken 7’s Rage Drives being replaced by Heat and its various enhancements is an outright improvement. The versatility of the Heat system makes the mechanic engaging at all points in the match, and it scales across all levels of play. Lower-level players are likely to gravitate toward flashy Heat Smash moves that only take one button press, while higher-level players will get a lot of mileage out of Heat Dashing and character-specific Heat-enhanced moves.

Heat aside, there aren’t many huge leaps forward for Tekken’s combat system. If you already liked what Tekken’s been doing since Tekken 5, you’ll feel right at home. The series won’t be winning over anyone who wasn’t sold on its 3D combat before, but, considering Tekken’s at the top of the genre, it’s hard to blame the devs for not wanting to fix what isn’t broken.

Creating new roads for aspiring Tekken players

Tekken 8 may have the best training mode and new player onboarding path in any fighting game, ever. Finding a way to get new players into a series that has such an intimidating amount of legacy knowledge may seem a nigh-impossible task, but the devs may have done just that.

There are games like Killer Instinct, Street Fighter 6, and even Tekken 7 that have objectively good practice modes with a ton of options and tools for players to get to grips. But here’s the thing: those are training modes with tools that you have to know how to use. To improve consistently, players often have to be willing to spend hours practicing. It’s one of, if not the biggest barriers to entry for fighting games.

Tekken 8 succeeds at creating a natural path for players to improve without having to head straight into training mode. The process of learning this isn’t about just hopping into practice and hitting a punching bag. Instead, players have more of a road up to that point by being shown what their gameplay can look like if they invest time into improving.

First up is the game’s incredibly well-designed Arcade Quest. This short campaign brings you through a variety of Arcades, each of which helps players learn new mechanics from basic stuff like how to use the Heat system and how to guard highs and lows. There are also more complex mechanics like Power Crushes sprinkled in there, and the Arcade Quest introduces players to mechanics gradually and in a way that incentivizes you to actually learn how to use them.

In other fighting games, new players will often get past a combo challenge or tutorial once and forget what they learned immediately, focusing more on the goal of “beating” it than the lesson itself. Some people jive with learning via repetition, but others have to see these mechanics in action and understand why they’re useful to remember they should be using them.

Tekken 8 forces players to learn these mechanics on the fly in real fights and rewards you for repeatedly executing them, making it much easier for the average player to retain that knowledge and seek mastery. Combo challenges and drills for certain mechanics are great and all, but not every player wants to learn that way. Tekken 8 understands that, but also provides a number of combo and punish challenges for those who prefer a more traditional and pointed experience with learning their character.

It’s a bit of a shame the mode doesn’t go even further and give more options for mid-level Tekken players looking to polish more complex mechanics. For instance, the timing on the KBD (Korean Back Dash) is much tighter than it was in Tekken 7, and it would have been nice to have some sort of tutorial to get the hang of it. Not to mention players wholly unfamiliar with the concept will likely be left wondering how their opponent is moving twice as fast as they are against some of the harder CPU opponents.

Nonetheless, all of these options are great for players looking to learn the game. And Tekken 8 has one more trick up its sleeve to help you improve.

Ghost in the machine

One of Tekken 8’s most innovative features is introduced through the Arcade Quest: Super Ghost Battles. Players can fight a ghost based on their own habits and patterns, as well as download ghosts from other players, or choose from a massive set of CPU ghosts.

These CPU ghosts are head and shoulders above any of the challenges posed by standard CPU opponents, and will be the first time many new players see complex mechanics in action. They’ll move faster than you, carry you to the wall, duck your moves, whiff punish, and take out most of your health bar with the smallest missteps. While these ghosts are beatable, they show you what’s possible with some practice and help bridge the gap between playing offline battles against CPU opponents and jumping into your first online match.

In most fighting games, the move to fighting other players feels like a massive leap. In Tekken 8, the first online opponents you fight will likely be worse than the highest-level CPU ghosts. That notorious barrier for entry fighting games are known for has been smoothed over by Tekken 8’s myriad training features that are not only easy to access, but are generally fun to play and engage with.

And, for those looking to really hone specific skills, the amount of options available to you is near-limitless. Want to learn a matchup-specific counter or answer to a certain move? You can pick any move from any fighter’s move set and actively practice against it. Can’t figure out how to low parry or sidestep certain moves? You can do that, too. The game’s vast array of practice mode options is intimidating to look at, but those options prove invaluable once you learn how to use them.

Rather than creating something like Street Fighter 6’s Modern Mode for newer players, Tekken 8 holds all players to the same standard. It expects you to learn how to play by its rules, and it gives you all the tools you need to do so. And, yes, while the game does technically have a Special Style mode that simplifies controls, it’s much too simple to be used by anyone but players who are completely new to fighting games and exists solely as an introduction to the game rather than a way to play it.

Aside from improvements to Tekken’s core gameplay, the training suite of Arcade Quest, the ghost system, and other robust tool tools are Tekken 8’s biggest accomplishments. Tekken is still one of the most difficult fighting game franchises to get into from a mechanical standpoint, but that difficulty is now surmountable thanks to the tools at your disposal.

Losing the plot

By far the biggest disappointment in Tekken 8 is the game’s story. It’s a blemish on an otherwise fantastic game, and it’s a real shame that it misses the mark so completely. It isn’t just mediocre – it’s actively bad in some areas.

The pacing is poor, with parts of the story dragging despite it being relatively short at around 3-5 hours long. There are great moments, but the framework that ties these moments together is a mess. The story exists purely to pit fighters against each other, in ways that are so ridiculous that it’s impossible to suspend disbelief.

Additionally, there are a few characters in particular that were hyped up in pre-release material that get almost nothing in terms of plot development or relevance. It’s hard to look at their lack of gravity within the game’s storyline as anything but squandered potential for characters that could have moved the series forward.

That said, Tekken 8’s story is at its absolute best when it leans into the cheese with the non-canon character stories. They’ve got a Tekken 3-esque air of goofiness to them, and every character gets their own pre-rendered cutscene at the end of their character story. It’s 90s video game vibes at its peak.

While Tekken has always had a tongue-in-cheek aura about it, people are invested in the Mishima family’s storyline for a reason though. It’s impossible to shake the feeling that nothing of significance happens in Tekken 8’s half-baked main story, which leaves more questions than answers and has no level of satisfaction beyond pure spectacle.

Tekken 8 gets things right where it counts

With an expansive, 32-character roster that has a fighter for everyone, an accessible path to self-improvement via engaging training modes, and core game mechanics that are at the absolute top of the genre, there’s a lot to love about the moment-to-moment gameplay of Tekken 8. In many ways, it lives up to the legacy built up by Tekken 7’s unlikely revival of the series and improves upon the things people love so much about that game.

A disappointing story and complete lack of payoff for characters new and old mars an otherwise incredible experience though. It’s a real shame to have new & returning characters that feel like a perfect fit for Tekken gameplay-wise but feel like an afterthought when it comes to the story itself.

Verdict – 4/5

If you’re an existing Tekken fan, or even someone who’s had a passing interest in the series but has never taken the plunge, this game is a must-buy. Story aside, it’s hard to complain about the execution of any other aspect. And, if the devs treat Tekken 8 with the same level of care they did with 7, this game could become one of the greats.

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