izigame.me

As a player with over 3500 hours in Tekken 7 I was very excited to see what the next entry in the series would be.
My review is being written as of Day 3 of Season 2.
Network and PC performance
When the game released on PC it still had performance and network issues that were reported in the network test. As a user with a custom build machine that is tuned well and can play all the latest games on highest settings Tekken 8 still has performance issues at times. Every time I am on the character select screen the game will become slightly choppy when swapping and selecting characters. The game can sometimes crash on PC. Users that played Tekken 7 on PC will remember if you would alt tab there was a chance the game would crash. This is still on ongoing issue with Tekken 8.
Regarding net code issues, it still feels like Tekken 7 season 4. I am not a developer so I do not know what can be done to improve the net code but it is sad to see a fighting game release in the year that it did (2024) and have such poor net code when other titles like street fighter 6 and guilty gear strive have phenomenal roll back net code.

Presentation + content
The costume redesigns the characters received are a warm welcome and do a lot for the returning cast. The music and stages in the game are brilliant. Tekken 8 honestly has one of my favourite soundtracks in the series. I was really looking forward to the story mode as I was invested in seeing what happened after the ending of Tekken 7. The story mode was brilliant and is easily my favourite one iv played in a fighting game. Hopefully we can see a big follow up during a DLC release for Tekken 8.
Customisation is cool and I hope it continues to see free updates over time. The jukebox features is something I always wanted for PC users so it's nice to see us finally get it after missing out on it being a PS4 exclusive for Tekken 7.
I do wish there was more game modes available to play. For example having Team battle come back from the older entries would be really fun for offline play with friends or online in private lobbies.
Gameplay
This entry is very rewarding for aggressive play. The new heat system promotes players to stay on the offensive rather than using movement and blocking to counter play their opponent. With the new chip system you are punished for blocking and trying to play slowly to get into a better position. This is a huge change in the direction from the previous entry (Tekken 7) where you could use that games movement system to block and take your time to get out of situations. Since Tekken Tag tournament 1 (1999) players have been using movement (Korean back dash cancelling + sidestepping) to avoid these guessing situations and create whiff opportunities however with Tekken 8 having nerfed movement (With season 2 they have buffed side steps which is nice but back dash cancelling still feels horrible) you will find yourself at times being forced to guess on a 50/50. I think some of the hit effects are too much. When Clive activates heat and starts doing through his moves it really takes away from the fight and is too distracting.

Every member of the roster got some new tools coming into Tekken 8. Characters have new single hit and combo strings to change how their game play looks and feels. Some users may find characters play vastly different than their previous entries (Jack-8) is a great example of this.
I think it is important that characters feel unique and have clear defined strengths and weaknesses. I am unsure what approach the developer team are taking with Tekken 8. But it feels to me that characters are starting to feel similar and lose their identity which is a first for a series that has so many unique and interesting characters. Take King for example. Does he need to have the best counter hit string in the game (DF+2,1) which you can hit confirm for a full combo? This does not make sense to me. As a wrestler type character he should be more focused on doing big single hits and using his cool chain throws.
There are currently 14 characters in the game with the guard break mechanic (Bryan, Clive, Devil Jin, Feng, Heihachi, jack, Kuma, Lidia, Panda, Paul, Reina, Shaheen, Steve, Yoshimitsu) which will break through your block and guarantee a follow up vs you. In Tekkn 7 only two characters had this functionality (Lidia and Fahkumram) with Bryan also has a unique version of this mechanic since Tekken 3 (Taunt). Seeing it become such a normal part of the game really has made it no longer feel special.
With the latest update to the game (Season 2) we were expecting the developers to tone down how aggressive the game is and show us what defensive options they were working on. Since the latest patch characters across the board have become even stronger and more oppressive. More characters have access to 100+ dmg combos without rage and new tools to force you to block and guess on a 50/50 as you cannot use movement to escape situations. Chip damage is still a massive issue and heat lasts for too long when activated. There are also currently some game breaking bugs from characters such as jack and Paul that have new moves that seem to have slipped past testing and are causing interactions that were not intended. It being only day 3 of season 2 more bugs could be found in the coming days/weeks. Hopefully we get an emergency patch to fix them.
Closing thoughts
I am not sure what the future holds for the game.
I feel like Bandai Namco have been developing Tekken 8 to be enjoyable for the user on the attack without thinking how does it feel to be the user on the defending side. Just because being on the offensive feels good doesn't mean being on the defending side has to feel bad. But with the core systems in place for Tekken 8 that is exactly how the game feels. From speaking with casual and pro players it does not seem that either group is happy with the direction the game is going.
I think the developers have lost sight of what made Tekken so much fun. It wasn't big flashy hit effects, over powered moves, characters having no defined weaknesses.

It was the unique characters and their specifics strengths.
It was seeing someone put years into a character and mastering what their specific game plan was and aspiring to be that great.
It was being a new player and seeing a clip of someone moving around the screen fast thinking "Wow how are they moving like that??".
It was the people who took the time out of their day to host online and offline events just for people to show up and play their favourite fighting game.
It was seeing people coming together from different countries to compete and change their lives

It was the community.
And right now it feels like the developers are no longer listening to the community.
You can do as many collaborations and have as many guest characters as you want. If no one is around to play the game who will purchase the future dlcs you make?
I am lucky enough that I have a healthy offline scene of cool people who play for fun and want to improve. I hope the developers can open up a bit more with the community and maybe reach out for more feedback on future patches or ideas they have. Everybody who purchased Tekken 8 loves the series. We just want to see it go in a different direction than the current one.
All the best
o/