Is that a bear??

The Tekken series is one of the weirdest and most interesting fighting game series of all-time. I still remember the first time I checked out the game when it launched on the original PlayStation. The wacky characters and CGI end movies immediately hooked me. Here we are nearly 30 years later and the eighth iteration is upon us. The same wacky characters are here alongside some outlandish storylines all wrapped up in a gorgeous package that keeps the same energy the series has always had. It feels like the King of Iron Fist is still as strong today as it was back in 1995.

To set expectations, I am coming at this review as someone who loves fighting games, but is absolutely terrible at them. I won’t be going into complex fighting mechanics and character tiers. I am lucky enough to win against the CPU on normal difficulty. I just enjoy playing these games, and have never been someone who goes online to compete with other players. Mostly because I am just terrible at Tekken, and also because I am just too old to be competitive with the genre. That being said, there is a ton of content in this game for players like me.

MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99

Tekken 8 is PACKED with modes and content so let’s kick it off with the story mode. The narrative in Tekken is absolutely bonkers and I love it. Tekken 8 continues this trend with a 15 chapter story mode that focuses on the continuing fight between father and son Kazuya and Jin. It took me a few hours to play through it, with most of that time packed with cutscenes that deliver the right amount of absurdity that the series is known for. I will say I enjoyed it up until the end where it just goes on far too long with a certain battle. It just keeps going and going and going and…

Once you wrap up the story mode there are character episodes. These are brief five-fight episodes ending with a CGI movie that gives more context to the character. This was my favorite addition as I used to love unlocking them all in the original games. These movies are wacky and character-specific. I do wish I could use my customization options here and there were other stages to play on, but I definitely intend to knock all these out as I love the CGI movies that are unlocked as a bonus.

For players that want to learn more about how the game works, there is an entire mode dedicated to this. No I am not referring to training or combo challenges. This new mode dubbed Arcade Quest lets players create an avatar and work their way through a series of challenges in local arcades. This serves to teach players the mechanics of Tekken 8 while disguising it as a sort of side story mode. I love the atmosphere of this mode as I grew up playing games in arcades.

You meet various people and accept challenges all while learning the different systems of the game and learning from other players. It is super cool. After a while I unlocked Super Ghost Battles here and was able to pit my skills against various ghosts of different styles. There are customization options for your avatar as well, so there is plenty of incentive as you move through this mode.

In addition to all these modes, we still get the normal offering of any fighting game including arcade, training, replays, versus, and of course online. Tekken Ball also makes a return. This mode was originally included with Tekken 3 and now includes both on and offline modes. This is a neat diversion that plays a lot like volleyball with fighting moves. I love that Tekken always includes these in their games, but I do think Tekken Bowl is still king.

The roster of this game is a little hit and miss for me. A lot of my favorites return such as Howarang, Xiaoyu, and Law. Some of the entries from later games I never cared for make a return like Lars, Raven, and Bryan (I am sorry for anyone who enjoys them) and I never really thought they were as inventive as the original cast. The new characters are actually really well done. I loved playing as Azucena and Reina, especially the latter. Her moveset just feels fun to play. Overall having 32 characters is hard to turn a nose up at. Then factor in 16 stages and there is plenty here to satisfy at launch.

Tekken 8 of course includes online modes, and I spent a very small amount of time with these. The rollback code feels good and the inclusion of cross play is certainly appreciated. I won’t find myself playing online much as I am genuinely terrible at the game, but the plethora of options here are nice. It adopts the virtual lobby most fighting games use nowadays. With this review being before the game goes live, it will be interesting to see how it holds up on launch day, but the few matches I played felt good.

On the visuals front this game looks outstanding. Being built on Unreal and only launching on current gen consoles the team was able to really flesh out the visuals. This is one case where I felt the game actually looked much sharper than the CGI cutscenes. Sure the animation isn’t quite as detailed, but it looks so much sharper. The game is locked in the frame rate department and the effects are absolutely ridiculous. This game looks amazing. Audio is equally impressive, but one thing that feels ridiculous to me is that all the characters speak in their native tongues, and everyone else understands them. This can be distracting at times as it becomes a hodgepodge of accents and languages that just gets confusing.

Tekken 8 is an outstanding entry into the series with a ton of content for both online and offline players. This is how you pack a game with enough content to keep players invested. The plethora of modes, customization, and superb game play create a package that any fan of the genre should not miss. I was disappointed with the two big fighting game efforts from last year, but if Tekken 8 is any indication of how the genre will perform in 2024, we are in a great place.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.