1 
1 Tekken 8 is a 3-D Fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco. First released in 1994, this franchise has been going for almost 30 years. It’s available on PC, Xbox series X/S, and PS5 with crossplay and rollback netcode. There was some controversy over adding more accessibility for both colorblind and disabled players. Due to the fact that the game would cause players to have migraines and vertigo.
Ian Hamilton discovered this issue during the demo of the game and voiced their concern about this issue. After some back and forth from the community, Bandai Namco did update their options to accommodate all players in the release of the game.
Will you become the next King of Iron Fist Tournament Champion or become a rocket powered salmon! That also have heat seeking? Ok! Who is messing with my script?!
Gameplay
This go around, Tekken 8 has gone above and beyond with content to their game. They’ve got three modes with a story behind it. Arcade Quest, The Dark Awakens and Characters Episodes are my recommended routes in that order. Reason being Arcade Quest uses an avatar you can create to have you go on a journey to be the best Tekken player. It’s also the tutorial for both veterans and newcomers to get a hang of the old mechanics and the new mechanics.
Once you’ve gotten used to everything, hit up the canon story mode, The Dark Awakens. It continues where Tekken 7 left off with Kazuya becoming even more power hungry. Unlike other fighting games, this story mode sticks to the perspective of Jin. Going through a journey to stop his father and save the world. Yet, there is the great mode they added being Character Episodes.
Character Episodes has you pick from the 32 character roster and go through their own story mode. Going through each of the fighters and watching their amazing and sometimes wacky endings is worth doing. I would like to give one piece of advice about doing Kazuya’s episode for last. It is the pinnacle of “what did I just witness?!” Though we did lose Tekken Bowling, we did get the Wii exclusive Tekken Ball back!
Graphics & Audio
Playing on PC, I found no issues coming from either multiplayer or any of the other modes. The transitions between a cutscene and the start of a fight, though slightly obvious, is still flawless nonetheless. It feels great to not have myself pulled out of the story with a long loading screen into a fight. I think I’ve experienced too many games that would have a loading screen before the fun part really starts. Now the OST when going through The Dark Awakens has surpassed the glory that was Tekken 7.
Fighting my way to Kazuya was completely powered by the OST that the brilliant composers made for each and every battle. Even at this moment, I’m listening to the My Last Stand on repeat while writing this review. I really don’t want to spoil a lot of the game, but the benefits of this game has increased by Kuma’s weight plus more. Though, my only gripe with the game has to be the music stopping where it was and restarting when I lose and have a rematch. It ripped me off my groove every time making it harder to achieve that same zone again.
Longevity
I’m currently doing about four to eight hours a day playing the game and trying to get better at landing my moves. Depending on your level of skill or which difficulty you choose to play, the amount of time spent will vary. Doing the Dark Awakens campaign on Hard will have you spend four to six hours just beating that. Though, there are almost endless amounts of things you can do in Tekken 8. Going to the Tekken Fight Lounge is the place to go after you’ve done the other three modes I mentioned early in the review.
With the Tekken Fight Lounge, you can connect with anyone in the world for a match, do some training in the Tekken Dojo. You can also visit the Beach to have some online Tekken Ball action. I have gotten sharper and learned more thanks to the many tool that Tekken 8 has laid down for us.
Final Thoughts
Through my time playing Tekken 8, I’ve gotten to reexplore a part of my that has been dormant for years. Getting the full use of my fightstick, experiencing the reason why Tekken is the best. With the customization of the characters, the wacky endings and even the characters is what makes Tekken, Tekken. Especially with how everyone speaks their own language and people understand it. Like people understand King’s jaguar roars and also Panda/Kuma’s roars as full on sentences!
I can’t wait to see what this game has up its sleeves and I hope it lives for a whole decade. If it hits 10 years, it’ll be just one more year since Tekken 7 first was released. Now, I have one question for my readers. What would you do if you were the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu?
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast
About Author
