Summary
Tekken 8has been a long time coming. With its first entry coming in 1994, the popular fighting series is one of the oldest in the genre, and the wait for this next title has been even longer than usual. The almost nine-year gap betweenTekken 7and8represents the longest period the series has ever gone without releasing a new game. Understandably then, there is even more pressure than usual onTekken 8to appease its fan basewhen it finally bursts onto the scene on 26 January. A playable demo has already given players a taste of what to expect, and with a plethora of new features, game modes, and characters,Tekken 8is primed to deliver a knockout blow.
Tekken 8is set to continue the story of the Mishima family, and the devastating consequences of their ongoing feud. With family patriarch Heihachi Mishima seemingly dead, his son, the evil Kazuya Mishima, and grandson Jin Kazama, are left to finally settle their long-standing grudge in his wake. The opening segment of the game sees Kazuya, believing the world has gotten soft, setting up the newest installment ofTekken’s famous King of Iron Fist Tournament, in the hopes of finding any remaining warriors Earth may have left.
Tekken 8 Will Start 2024 With a Bang
Tekken’s gameplay has always been pretty fast-paced, with an emphasis on keeping opponents in the air for as long as possible by stringing combos together.Tekken 8is set to take things a step further by really focusing on aggressive playand rewarding players who take risks by favoring attack over defense. This is a bold new direction for the series and one that will be heavily influenced by its new ‘Heat’ mechanic. This Heat will be represented by a second bar underneath the player’s health gauge. Each character can trigger their Heat bar once per battle, and doing so will see them enter a powered-up state where attacks do more damage. It’s a risk-reward gamble though, as they can also take greater damage when in this state, meaning defending players who are feeling confident can try to use this to their advantage.
Tekken 8 Will Offer Several Ways to Play
Tekken 8’s story mode is supposedly much bigger than7’s, and the immersive inclusion of QTEs (Quick Time Events), which are said to impact the narrative, is a first for the series. As well as the Story Mode,Tekken 8will feature several other modes, both offline and online, including the completely revamped Arcade Mode, which allows players to build a customized Avatar and traverse interactive arcade settings seeking new challengers to fight against. Arcade Mode will also allow players to heavily customize their favorite fighters using a wide variety of props and costumes.
Tekken’s Mishima familyaren’t the only ones who are set to return, with the game having a huge roster of characters to choose from, including old favorites such as Paul Phoenix and Nina Williams and even a couple of new characters. The roster also includes the returning Jun Kazama, Jin’s mother who has been absent from the series and presumed dead sinceTekken 2. Her inclusion in the story should add a whole new dynamic to Jin and Kazuya’s bitter rivalry. A total of 32 fighters make up the game’s roster on release, and these will no doubt be added to in the months after it launches, with DLC already confirmed.
Tekken 8: All New Characters Confirmed
Azucena is a coffee farmer who hails from Peru, and is described as a fast and tricky fighter who excels in mixed martial arts. Victor Chevalier is a suave, elegant super-spy who is of French descent and goes by the code name Phantom Raven. OfTekken 8’s new characters, Reina is undoubtedly the most mysterious. Aside from the fact that she is a student at Mishima Polytechnical School, her background is a complete mystery, but the fact that she seems to use a variation of Mishima-style fighting karate seems to indicate she may have some ties to the Mishima family, and could even be an illegitimate daughter of either Kazuya or Heihachi.
Tekken 8 Post Launch Support
Part of the reason for such a long gap between entries is the incredibly impressive post-launch support given toTekken 7. A total of 15 additional fighters, six stages and two new modes were gradually released during a span of four years since the game launched in 2017. These were broken up into four Season Passes that could be purchased individually or as a whole. This tactic,which has also been used to great effect by heavyweights such asSuper Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, has helped to greatly prolong the game’s shelf-life, and there’s no doubt thatTekken 8will take the same approach.
It has already been confirmed thatTekken 8’sDeluxeandUltimateEditions will include the Year 1 DLC Pass, which will see four new as-yet-unnamed fighters joining the roster over the course of 2024. Exactly who these fighters are remains a mystery at present, although recent leaks indicate thatTekken 8’s first batch of DLC characterscould include the likes of Armor King and Eddy Gordo.
Fans can expect to be kept busy for years followingTekken 8’s launch.Tekken’s main rivals in the genre,Street FighterandMortal Kombat, both managed to enjoy successful launches this year with their newest games.Tekkenmay be the last one at the party, but it will still be hoping to eclipse its rival’s success by ensuring it gets 2024 off to a flying start.
Tekken 8
WHERE TO PLAY
Tekken 8 brings the fight to the latest generation of consoles, powered by Unreal Engine 5. Feel the power of every hit in Tekken 8, the latest entry in the legendary fighting game franchise from Bandai Namco. Utilising the power and realism of Unreal Engine 5, Tekken 8 pushes the envelope for fighting games by taking full advantage of the power of the latest generation of consoles. Ground-breaking new features, breathtakingly detailed character models and dramatic environments make this one of the most visually stunning and immersive titles in the genre yet. Tekken 8 picks up after the gruesome battle that ended in Heihachi Mishima’s defeat in Tekken 7, focusing on a new rivalry, pitting father against son as Jin Kazama stands in defiance against Kazuya Mishima in a city-shattering face-to-face showdown.
