We are about a week out of the Tekken 8 closed beta, and I have to say some things that may ruffle a few feathers. I say what I'm about to say with a few caveats. I am by no means a pro Tekken player. Back when Tekken 3 came out, you couldn't tell me nothing. We wore that disc out, and Jun Kazama was no longer available, so I had to cause mass destruction with Heihachi Mishima. I dabbled in Tekken Tag Tournament, but kind of lost touch with it, story line and all, until Tekken 7. Even still, I was lost in the sauce, and I took beatdown after beatdown. Then here comes Tekken 8, and more beatdowns are coming, I guarantee.
The issue for me is, even with the new graphics, and battle lounge with customizable avatar, and loading being supreme, the game still feels the same to me. Tekken 7 was released in 2015, and for this to be the direct sequel, yes it was fun. Yes it was fun to see all the characters I've seen for ever. But it's still just Tekken. There's even a new battle system , called Heat. Heat can be activated with a hit of a button, and makes your character stronger for a limited time. It also lets you deplete that timer with a flashy special move. I don't know if it's enough to call it a new game. There's also ONE new character. I'm not saying it's not fun, far from it. I mean it's Tekken. So anyone can play Tekken. I do think there needs to be an open beta before anyone pulls the trigger. Watch my rookie gameplay below. I'm only one person and in my opinion, I would like to know/see more. Tekken 8 releases January 26th for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series. Don't @ me, Hirada.
Edit: Literally hours after I posted this, Tekken announced 5 "new" characters. Trailer is below.
