Tekken 8 promises a visual impact and a newcomer-friendly path to victory

While 2023 had the return of several of the biggest and most popular titles in fighting games, there was one that spent a little more polishing their moves. Tekken 8 is about to arrive on consoles and PCs, and although we have already had a series of trailers of the entire roster of fighters that will be part of this installment, as well as some tests of what will be their fights, there are still some aspects of the game to be known. This time we attended a Bandai Namco event where we got to know more in-depth some of the elements of what will be one of the first titles to start in 2024. These are our impressions.

The King of Iron Fist Tournament is back!

Our experience began with the opening moments of the game’s story mode. To say that the family conflict that Tekken has been depicting for 7 installments has found peace would be one of the biggest lies in video games. The battle between Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima continues, and with it begins this mode, with a fight that unleashes the hidden powers of father and son and nearly destroys an entire city. This battle is the catalyst for Kazuya to destroy the military defenses of every country in the world, starting a new Tekken Tournament where the stakes are high, as every country that enters and whose fighter is defeated will “see the consequences”.

Although we saw very little of what will be the story of the game (we only played the first 4 chapters of this mode), it was the cutscenes that left us amazed. The level of detail offered by Unreal Engine 5 is amazing, from close-ups that show the pores and wounds on the characters to a high level of detail in the different costumes of the characters, being able to see a distinction in the different textures. This is not only limited to the fighters, as their scenarios are impressively detailed in every way. In a nutshell, all of this is a great example of the power of the new generation of consoles that we are in, presenting cinematics that help to tell this conflict impressively. But a fighting game isn’t about looks, it’s about gameplay.

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The classic Tekken system continues, with a 3D fighting environment that we are already used to, with each button corresponding to a limb. On the other hand, we have the arrival of Heat, a temporary bar that is activated in battle to give our character that little bit extra in battle and perform stronger combos (as long as we connect them), as well as the return of Rage Art, our character’s special attack that is activated when we are almost out of energy. Here, one of the advantages is that, in addition to the traditional mode of the game, with just one button you can access a game mode that greatly simplifies the combos, helping in a way to make the control of the characters a little easier for a new generation of players who want to enter the franchise, or for those veterans who want to continue the familiar conflict.

Nostalgia for the arcades

Another game mode that comes to Tekken 8 is the arcade mode, which is based on the great nostalgia that the development team led by Katsuhiro Harada has for the experience of visiting these places. And it should be remembered that this entire series is based on this type of place (well, it is worth remembering that even Tekken 7 came in this mode two years before its arrival on consoles).

This mode opens the door to Arcade Quest, which could be considered a second story mode in Tekken 8, and will also teach us the basics of this fighting game. The intention of the development team with this mode is to return to having a meeting point that works in a certain way like the traditional arcades, a place where you can meet people, learn to play and improve your fighting technique.

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The story of this mode will make us create our little avatar with which we will move between small arcades where we will learn to play and face challenges thanks to Max, our friend and guide in this world. He will give us tips and lead us to the different challenges, always with a very positive attitude that will motivate us to improve. As you progress, you will follow a story where we will participate in tournaments of the recently released Tekken 8 (extremely meta), while immersing ourselves in a world that shows its details to the fighting game community.

This mode also has an option called Ghost Battle. This is activated when we reach an arcade called Final Round, where we will have our first encounter with an artificial intelligence that will learn from our movements and help us train to constantly improve, showing us a way to perfect our techniques and also discover our own mistakes. Speaking of mistakes, the AI will also be present in the recording of our fights, giving us tips on how we could have avoided a hit in a previous fight.

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It’s not all about fighting

In addition to these modes, we also have Tekken Ball mode, which made its last appearance in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on Wii U. This is a more relaxed mode for 1 or 2 players, where it is a kind of volley ball where players must hit a ball and hit the opponent to reduce their health bar. The mode is not as varied, but it is a nice way to relax after a few fights.

Pimp my fighter

Another feature shown during the preview was the ability to customize the fighters in the roster. Thanks to the coins we get in Arcade mode, we can buy more outlandish outfits for some of our favorite characters, depending on who they are. Whether it’s putting a cap on them, changing their hair or eye color, adding an accessory, or simply taking one of the complete outfits already established and giving it that extra touch.

There is a wide variety of clothing to choose from, as well as a series of effects such as auras and thunders that run through each character’s body. As if that wasn’t enough, we can also take these characters to a photo session to better admire their new clothes, and even once we save their new clothes, each one has their image with everything and pose.

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And a new demo is on its way

We have yet to see more details of what Tekken 8 will be, but for now it leaves a good taste in our mouths and makes us want to continue fighting virtually. Of course, we will not have to wait long, as a new demo with the story mode and Arcade Quest will be released on December 14 for PlayStation 5, while Xbox Series S|X and PC users will be able to play it on December 21.

Tekken 8 will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox X|S and PC on January 26, 2024.