Tekken 8 Preview - Punching Above its Weight

I’ve always been a fan of fighting games, but it has been a long time since I picked up the Tekken series. Admittedly, it wasn’t because I had fallen out of love with it or anything, but because there was a lot in the way of competition - what with games like Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, and more recent additions such as Dragon Ball FighterZ. It’s safe to say there’s been a lot out there that’s kept me busy.

But now I feel like the shoe is on the other foot and those other games haven’t caught my eye so much as the initial reveal for Tekken 8 did. Shined up and developed on Unreal Engine 5, I was initially impressed by the jump in visual fidelity as well as the new designs for the cast of characters.

These thoughts were further validated by the time I got to have a real hands-on play session with the game, courtesy of the folks over at Bandai Namco, who put on an event to give us a better look at what their storied sequel will not only look and play like but also how its on-going story is going to progress.

Tekken 8’s story is actually a key point here because it holds the record for having the longest-running story in games. I was surprised too when I heard that, but it’s true, and the story of the Kazama Mishima saga continues with The Dark Awakens.

The story picks up immediately following the events of Tekken 7, raising the curtain on a flashy battle between Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima. Father and son face off in a series of cinematic fights, each ramping up in intensity with layers of scenes progressing each part to the next. It’s a great primer for what’s to come and I was especially impressed with how beautiful the new character models and environments are rendered in Unreal Engine 5.

Without delving too much into spoiler territory, the outcome of this battle has Jin spiral and the entire crux of the plot hinges upon the idea that he has to get his groove back of sorts. All of this is framed by Mishima’s proclamation and introduction of the King of Iron First Tournament, for which fighters all over the world will qualify and participate for the fate of mankind.

With the story focused on Jin as the protagonist, it’ll be up to him to face various situations and confront his nature in order to restore his inherent power. Already through chapter 4, new characters make their appearance – including the mysterious Reina – and I found myself already invested in where their specific motivations lay.

The story mode isn’t the only single-player element in Tekken 8, however. The Arcade Quest mode is like having an entire second story. It’s a bit different though because rather than focusing on Tekken 8’s own characters, it takes your own created avatar and puts them in a realistic arcade meetup situation.

I found that customizing the avatar was rather intuitive – there are plenty of options from hair, face, skin color, outfit, and accessories, but it never feels cumbersome or over-complicated. Once that’s settled, there are options to dive into tutorials to get familiar with Tekken 8’s systems, or you can jump right into the action.

And it’s the gameplay modes that really help Tekken 8 shine, even beyond its polished new visuals there’s an effort here to make actually playing through fights more accessible than ever before. Of course, there are still the typical fighting game controls, but Tekken 8 is putting an emphasis on what it’s calling its Special Style mode, which simplifies controls.

What this means is that it puts the focus on timing and spacing of abilities rather than trying to remember complex inputs. Not only that but it’s a mode that can easily be switched on and off during the course of normal gameplay. I found this especially useful because, as I mentioned before, it’s been a minute since I last picked up Tekken, and being able to focus on executing specific attacks rather than a longer string of buttons.

In this Special Style, abilities are assigned to buttons, such as hitting an air combo by tapping one button a few times or pressing another to do a low kick. After certain conditions are met, additional button prompts become available to execute the new Heat mechanics.

These Heat mechanics allow Tekken 8’s playstyle to level up as it were with a special bar located under the health bar. Once activated, Heat gives the character a blue aura and can be used once per round for about 10 seconds as an ability to pull off aggressive moves that deal additional damage. It takes a bit to get used to but with the right combo strings, you can keep Heat going and turn the tide of battle.

Alongside gameplay, Tekken 8 boasts an in-depth customization system for its 32 playable characters. There are also 16 battle stages and each of them has new ways to break through them during matches, as well as come in various shapes and sizes.

Other additions of note include the ability to practice mid-combo, which has been something players have been asking for for a long time. I got to try out the Ghost Battle mode for a bit, which helped me objectively review the way I fight. Tekken 8’s ghost system is different from previous outings because it gets stronger as you go based on AI learning.

Outside of the main fighting circuit, Tekken Ball is back for the first time in many years, and it adds yet another thing to do for fans looking to engage in some content that isn’t quite so serious. I can really appreciate this because it does feel like Tekken 8 is going for staying power and that’s become so important in the current landscape.

There’s a lot to look forward to and fans will be able to get to try their own hand at Tekken 8 starting on December 14 on PlayStation 5 with a playable demo. PC and Xbox players will be able to join in on December 21, which isn’t too far off from the game’s full launch date of January 26, 2024. Even though I just gave it a go, I’ll probably jump back in myself because there’s plenty more to see. Tekken 8 is really shaping up to be something of a fighting game gem and I can’t wait to play the full thing when it comes out next month.

TechRaptor was invited to an event to preview Tekken 8 by the publisher.