Character facial expressions and voiceovers have been completely redone in TEKKEN 8, providing a truly next-gen level of polish and detail unrivaled by any prequel. In addition to a TON of new moves for returning characters, a variety of classic attacks have also been reworked, with many new and retouched animations, and brilliantly retooled to compliment TEKKEN 8's new Heat system. A variety of new stages, including "wide open" stages with walls, are not only visually impressive but give TEKKEN 8 a fresh feel and experience. Wall Breaks and Floor Breaks return in TEKKEN 8's new battlegrounds, featuring awesomely cinematic stage transitions and new ways to incorporate the stages into combos and strategy.
 
"Aggressiveness" is a key word used to describe TEKKEN 8's updated pace and gameplay system. While core aspects of tried-and-true 3D game engine and moveset nuances from TEKKEN 7 remain, TEKKEN 8's all new system mechanics are designed to make the game fun and immersive to watch as well as compete in for all levels of players. TEKKEN 8 introduces a new gameplay system called "Heat" — promoting aggressiveness and offense in a variety of new ways. When characters activate Heat, they have access to new special techniques as well as powered-up versions of their trademark attacks. Techniques like Heat Smash and Heat Rush can be used to apply tremendous pressure on the opponent and extend combos with explosive damage and style.
  

  
TEKKEN 8 feels spectacular and is satisfyingly FAST-PACED. As someone who generally feels "less is more" when it comes to changing major things about TEKKEN's gameplay, the Heat System eventually sold me on its compelling depth and what it adds to each character. Returning characters are easily the most exciting, charismatic, and flashiest versions of themselves to date... so that's a win from the start. Thankfully, the huge movesets we've come to love and expect from TEKKEN are back and better than ever (and each character has a TON of new moves and combo routes to master). Pro Tip: DO NOT limit yourself to spamming 10-20 of a character's moves in TEKKEN. That's not how this game works. Learn each character's full moveset (and practice defending against characters' full movesets). Sure, it might feel like a lot of work to some... but winning is more fun than losing. You'll thank me later.
 
I've never seen a 3D fighting game series evolve character movesets so brilliantly and beautifully. It's a risky business changing the characters "too much"... as such changes can really hinder a dedicated player's enjoyment of using that character (or perhaps their enjoyment of the entire game if they only use one or two characters). I've never seen a fighting game retool returning characters' moves so well. In addition to a plethora of new moves and stances per character, each moveset is like a "greatest hits" version with many classic moves returning and retooled. This, alone, is fan service.
 
This is brilliant game design on many levels. Early on, some hardcore players might feel that aspects of movesets or mechanics have been "simplified" in T8... but simplified definitely seems like the wrong word. To put it clearly: T8's vast movesets manage to be more dynamic and exciting than ever, all while "simplifying" certain commands to make it easier for the player. Multi-hit strings and combos are not only easier to perform technically on a controller or fightstick, but easier to remember (due to the streamlined commands)! That makes using multiple characters in T8 easier than ever... and that's actually really great news for all levels of Tekken players. Again, brilliantly designed smart changes.
   

  
TEKKEN 8's innovative "TEKKEN Lounge" online lobby and reworked Ghost AI system are incredibly exciting new elements that take the series to a new technological and social level. Now that we live in a world where crossplay is standard in fighting games, it's faster and easier than ever to meet up with friends in a TEKKEN Lounge lobby no matter what platform they're on.
 
The Ghost system is also very interesting. Being able to fight anyone's ghost character(s) — which actually behave like them offensively and defensively — is a hugely innovative step in the fighting game genre. You can even fight your own ghost and learn how to improve various aspects of your play-style. This is next level. With robust training options and in-game frame data, hardcore players can rejoice. TEKKEN 8 makes it easier than ever to "get good" (or at least get better).
   

 
TEKKEN 8's Arcade Quest is catered to beginners and new players, offering a light-hearted presentation and approach, yet a fun and replayable experience for a player of any age or experience level. This mode gets you acquainted with your player avatar and inspires you to customize their appearance, as you'll meet other avatars representing players who specialize in certain characters. Interestingly, each opponent in Arcade Quest uses a particular character and has a distinguishable play-style (in addition to character customization), keeping the energy and experience fresh throughout the entire mode. Arcade Quest also opens up Super Ghost Battle, where you'll find the CPU Ghosts of players you previously fought against. Thanks to the excellent CPU opponent AI, this is a fantastic offline mode to hone your skills against specific match-ups that you want to replay (and new ones to be had).
 
Arcade Quest is actually a really smart mode, because it teaches new players how different TEKKEN players can be — even when they're using the same character. Arcade Quest acts as a "Tutorial" of sorts. As the player visits different themed arcades (all beautifully designed with cool throwbacks to past arcade history and TEKKEN games) to face new opponents, they'll constantly receive new tips shown on screen to help them progress and understand the new mechanics — all while unlocking new avatar gear, character / profile customizations, and more. It's a non-stop action and fun single-player experience (something fighting game fans have been begging for for decades). Cleverly, the Arcade Quest experience and player avatar cohesively mesh right into TEKKEN 8's online lobby, the TEKKEN Fight Lounge.
 
TEKKEN 8's presentation is easily the best in the series to date, packed with feature-rich modes that must be explored to be appreciated. There are so many new modes and so much to do! The return of TEKKEN 3's legendary TEKKEN Ball mode? I put 80+ hours into the game and haven't touched TEKKEN Ball yet. There are numerous other modes I haven't touched yet, and that says something. What a launch!
 

 
Customization mode, a series standard since TEKKEN 5, has been elevated in T8 with improved options, lots of new stuff, and a much faster and friendlier user-experience over TEKKEN 7's. The Color Edit mode alone is the best-to-date, allowing players to change layer upon layer (upwards of 15-20) for each and every default costume (all superbly designed, by the way). Even better... Bandai Namco cleverly incorporated many cool and useful user-created mods from TEKKEN 7 into TEKKEN 8! Entertaining "shared" outfits between related characters, excellent new hairstyle and facial hair options, the best Color Edit Mode in a fighting game to date, and countless other user-friendly options that modders themselves created for the PC version of TEKKEN 7, are now in TEKKEN 8 by default. That's brilliant game design. Giving passionate fans what they want from the start?
 
The absolutely kickin' soundtrack, all new character voiceovers, and the relaxing Jukebox mode (featuring 100s upon 100s of the best fighting game tracks on Earth) is simply a dream come true and allows players to customize TEKKEN 8's audio experience to their liking. The tracks even smoothly transition into one another in various modes. And similarly to the timeless SFIII: 3rd Strike, each stage in T8 has two versions of each soundtrack. And man, there are some bangers. T8 has one of my favorite soundtracks to date. Sound and music in a Fighting Game = worth Something. (This review is still in progress.)
 

Page Updated: February 28th, 2025 Developer(s): Bandai Namco Publisher(s): Bandai Namco Designer(s): Katsuhiro Harada     Chief Producer Michael Murray Artwork By: Hiroaki, Junny, Jbstyle, Wolf Marker Platform(s): PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Release Date(s): January 26th, 2024 Characters:  Kazuya Mishima, Jin Kazama, Jun Kazama, Azucena, Victor Chevalier, Reina, Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, King, Lars Alexandersson, Jack-8, Nina Williams, Ling Xiaoyu, Leroy Smith, Asuka Kazama, Lili Rochefort, Hwoarang, Bryan Fury, Claudio Serafino, Raven, Yoshimitsu, Steve Fox, Leo Kliesen, Sergei Dragunov, Kuma, Shaheen, Feng Wei, Panda, Lee Chaolan, Zafina, Alisa Bosconovitch, Devil Jin, Eddy Gordo, Azazel, Lidia Sobieska, Heihachi Mishima, Clive Rosfield, Anna Williams News Links:  Feb. 2025: Anna Williams Announced for TEKKEN 8 Dec. 2024: TEKKEN 8 Wins Best Fighting Game 2024, Clive Revealed Featured Video: Related Games: TEKKEN 7, TEKKEN 7: Fated Retribution, TEKKEN, TEKKEN 2, TEKKEN 3, TEKKEN 4, TEKKEN 5, TEKKEN 5: Dark Resurrection, TEKKEN: Dark Resurrection, TEKKEN 5: Dark Resurrection Online, TEKKEN 6, TEKKEN 6: Bloodline Rebellion, TEKKEN Tag Tournament, TEKKEN Tag Tournament 2, TEKKEN Advance, TEKKEN Hybrid, TEKKEN 3D: Prime Edition, TEKKEN Revolution, Dead or Alive 6, Street Fighter 6, Soul Calibur 6, Mortal Kombat 1, Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown    Gameplay Engine  9.5 / 10 Story / Theme  9.5 / 10 Overall Graphics  9.5 / 10 Animation  9.5 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  10 / 10 Innovation  9.5 / 10 Art Direction  9.5 / 10 Customization  10 / 10 Options / Extras  10 / 10 Intro / Presentation  9.5 / 10 Replayability / Fun  10 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  10 / 10 Characters  10 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 10 / 10  Review based on Steam version (4K)      Early Review: TEKKEN 8 is a luxury fighting game. This artistic masterpiece of a game not only rewards dedicated and pro players, but offers the most inviting, accessible, and user-friendly TEKKEN experience for newcomers and casual players, to date. The beautifully diverse roster, flashy-yet-rich movesets and deep character updates, plethora of modes, next-gen rollback-powered online, and outstanding "quality of life" practice options make TEKKEN 8 THE Fighting Game of 2024 (well-deserving of winning "Best Fighting Game" at TGA24). Following the record-breaking run of TEKKEN 7, Bandai Namco managed to knock another one clean out of the park... and it's not just a homerun, it's a grand slam! I'm proud to be a competitive TEKKEN player who experienced the full evolution of this legendary series (side-by-side with Street Fighter), deeply attentive and invested in every single sequel... for decades. Loved every single one. Even during times when it seemed like others in the gaming community were more stimulated elsewhere, I stuck with TEKKEN... and it's perfectly clear from the success of the game's eSports career alone, that I was not alone in my adoration. The success and brilliant evolution of TEKKEN games continue to make my brain spin. It literally brings a tear to my eye. It brings me great joy to see this legendary series elevated to new heights. TEKKEN 8 goes above and beyond what's required to make a fighting game great. It's another game that raises the bar. The ones who know... know. Me? I've been a TEKKEN player for 3 decades. Nothing is lost on me! TEKKEN 8 subtly yet proudly sprinkles in bits and pieces from EVERY SINGLE PREQUEL that came before it. The fan service is deep and off-the-charts (packing in so many references for old school fans). You can tell the devs had fun while making T8... a near-perfect fighting game not only for the fans and hardcore players, but for every fighting game player. TEKKEN 8 is such an enthralling and addicting game that I have no shame in admitting that it will greatly reduce the time I spend with all other games in my backlog. The struggle is real. Speaking of one game I've been forced to play slightly less, Street Fighter 6. It's worth mentioning... because I also gave SF6 a perfect 10. And as everybody knows, I don't just hand those out. I believe SF6 deserves a 10/10 for its unparalleled innovation, awesome presentation, ridiculously good online / training options (similarly to T8), and brilliant character evolutions... I've enjoyed the hell out of SF6 over the past year. Now, as a competitive player, who loves both games, I can do nothing but balance my time between them (and having a family) the best I can. It's the modern fighting game player struggle. We eatin' too good over here! In any case, TEKKEN 8 is another brilliantly designed one-of-a-kind fighting game worth getting good at and deserving of a 10/10. TEKKEN 8 packs an over-abundance of content, next-level customization, awesomely deep gameplay (even though some "Easy Mode" options have been added), adding up to plethora of reasons to play it for years. It's the biggest and most feature-rich TEKKEN game to date, by far, and blows most of the competition out of the water. Honestly, I've been playing that "GOOD ASS TEKKEN" online with rollback since 2011 (in TEKKEN Tag Tournament 2). While imperfect, I always used a wired connection and enjoyed great online matches with skilled players for the better part of a decade. As advertised, TEKKEN 8's improved rollback netcode and sleek UI and Battle Lobbies takes the online community to new heights. Including SF6 in this next comment, "I've been waiting for a fighting game online mode this good for a very long time." All this to say... I'm trying to finish up this review as fast as I can, so I can go back to playing TEKKEN 8 online with friends. For those of us who use many characters, TEKKEN 8 is a sandbox. A playground of possibilities with timeless replayability. All returning characters have intuitive moveset updates that make them easier for the typical player to experience. This is a very good thing. The smart moveset updates and Heat System really do assist in leaning a character faster, that way more people can learn more characters (honestly, the best part of playing TEKKEN is being able to pick up and play many different characters. You end up winning a lot that way.) It's really difficult to summarize with only a few paragraphs how impressive the character updates are, but I invite you to fully explore each and every character's moveset in T8 and you'll know exactly what I mean. No other fighting game characters come close to the movesets of TEKKEN characters (besides SoulCalibur, but that's another topic for another day). To summarize, there's so much new stuff to experiment with and it doesn't take as long to learn new characters thanks to certain quality of life moveset changes and simplified inputs here and there.  The Heat System alone shakes up the foundation of TEKKEN's core gameplay, offering exciting and frantic new elements that make TEKKEN 8 feel and look completely new for all players (not an easy task). The Heat System makes a big splash into the deep pool of returning mechanics. Heat focuses on landing particular attacks, opening up new layers of possibilities and powering up certain moves, on top of all pre-existing layers of combo mechanics. For the casual, this system is very attractive for its clearly-defined character buffs and big super moves, adding uniqueness and undeniable strength to each and every character. It's a lot to balance, and Namco did an amazing job keeping the game fresh with ongoing updates! Wanna talk Training options? Replay options? I can watch my replay, then take control of my character at any point and practice against my opponent's moves? (Also available in SF6.) What a dream. This makes all-important labbing less time-consuming, another aspect that helps you "get good" at TEKKEN faster. The plethora and speed of the training options make training against any character and any move a breeze. Don't "simplify" TEKKEN. Study the 3D fighting arena and use sidestepping to your advantage. That's one of the best things about 3D fighting games. Thankfully, TEKKEN's sidestepping is still great and nullify so many moves that "typical" fighting game players might think are effective to spam. Punish that shit every time. It feels to good to be good at the game. I can't put it any other way.  The post-launch addition of the TEKKEN Shop and Fight Passes are controversial, as micro-transactions are used for adding new cosmetic content to the game. It doesn't surprise me that Bandai Namco has taken this approach, considering all of their major competition does the exact same thing. Purchasing a Fight Pass to unlock new customization items isn't required to play, learn, or have fun with game... but keeping the game fresh with attractive new customizations or classic / new costumes and giving players "daily rewards" is something that makes the game feel alive. If Namco can manage to make this content a little more exciting, perhaps they can evolve the current Fight Pass practices into something better. In any case, the Fight Pass really does keep the game "fresh", expanding customization and visual enjoyment of the game, and it's a great way to support the ongoing development and future of a game you love. I love TEKKEN 8. Is it my favorite TEKKEN? In some ways, perhaps... but I discovered that when returning to prequels such as Tag 2 and TEKKEN 7, I find the former experiences more thrilling competitively at high-level. The "Easy Mode" aspect of T8 guaranteed hits, 50/50s, Heat moves, and faster Rage Arts simplify certain layers of the game, while other important layers are thankfully preserved (such as effective side-stepping and rewarding good movement). The Heat System's ultra-powerful tracking moves, invincible frames, forced 50/50s, and a shorter reaction window for Rage Arts (my least favorite change)... makes T8 slightly less enthralling competitively... even when I'm doing all of the offense and winning. Rage Arts should go back to the way they were in T7 — easier to bait out players who rely on them — as Rage Arts used to have more start-up frames which even made for more epic slow-mo moments (which you see a lot less of in T8. Bummer!) Don't get me wrong, TEKKEN 8 is still a highly-difficult game to master considering all the match-up knowledge required, offering only a slightly lower skill-ceiling to help casual players attempt to close the gap. I don't hate Heat, but I don't "love" it either. The combo extensions are cool and are my favorite part of Heat, as is the focus hitting or defending against "individual moves" which can really turn the tide. It ain't all about juggles, folks! The small-but-significant nerfing of defense, reactions, counters, and "smart plays" only diminishes my own personal competitive enjoyment slightly. That's just my personal take, since I am of a high-skill level in TEKKEN (and still compete in and win TTT2 tournaments, btw). At the end of the day, I'm able to overlook T8's "Easy Mode" mechanics because the deeper elements of the characters are still alive and well. Personal gripes and nitpicking aside... TEKKEN 8's ultra-powerful characters, many of whom would fit right in as guest characters in an anime fighting game, are still ultra-compelling to master and more visually interesting than ever before. They have a lot more dialogue now, too! The evolutions to characters faces, new attention to background details and environmental destruction (and removal of awkward infinite stages), "realism" enhancements made to K.O. animations, and character model / clothing damage all come together to create an all new experience for casual TEKKEN enjoyers and pro players alike. As with every TEKKEN game that came before it, I will be playing T8 for a very long time. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen    Click Here for all Concept Artwork!                                                                                                              Click Here for all Character Artwork! 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