Hands-on: Tekken 8 seems ready for the next battle

Each Tekken in the series is usually a landmark for console generations, with its spectacular graphics and superb game design, and that’s certainly the case with Tekken 8. With its stunning lighting, entertaining new Heat system, and crisp netcode, this entry is certainly going in the right direction with its closed network test. Get your fists ready if another test or the full game arrives soon. There are many reasons why I can’t wait for the next battle.

The next evolution of Tekken

The Tekken series has stepped it up again with its thrilling combat system. It keeps evolving, with each game adding a new compelling element; this time, it’s the Heat system. The Heat Timer heightens the attack power of your character and enables you to chip damage away from foes even if they’re blocking. You can only use it once per round, but it is key to your survival. Heat Smashes can be activated during the timer, letting you perform a flashy, yet powerful attack. It takes around a fifth of your opponent’s health. The Heat System ups the stakes as it runs out, and the other player desperately blocks incoming strikes for around 10-15 seconds.

That’s not all about the Heat system, however. There are certain moves—like Jin’s Heat Engager—that activate the timer automatically within a combo. Button mashers may hate this, but if you use it strategically, these moves can be effective at disrupting your foe’s reign-of-terror combos. Another way to stop your foe from attacking is a Power Crush. It’s a counter that’s utilized to stop yourself from getting juggled. Rage Arts are also back and are flashy as ever.

Tekken 8 feels great to play with all-new moves and combos to initiate on your opponent. In the excellent training mode, you can get used to the precise timing with every strike if you want to link a combo. Tekken 8 shows awesome bread-and-butter combos to perform on your enemies, and you can watch a video demo with the inputs on the screen. Combo challenges can also be shown through the UI, so you can reference them quickly. It’s an approachable game for newbies who want to become intermediate players online.

How is the Tekken 8 netcode?

Despite Tekken 8 likely being many months away from release, the netcode during the alpha seems to be a success. Many games ran smoothly, as if the other player was sitting next to me in a local tourney. However, I did encounter a somewhat laggy game, despite there being five bars on my competitor.

Damn, Tekken 8 is pretty

If you look at the trailers, you may believe there isn’t a huge jump in graphical quality. Think again. Once you’re playing it on a PS5, it’s absolutely stunning. The facial animations of characters like Lee Chaolan are astonishing as he exaggerates his mouth and eyes. Additionally, you can see the intense hatred in Kazuya’s face through his eyes on the main menu; it’s actually haunting whenever you boot up the game.

The environments are filled to the brim with detail. The puddles in the New York stage reflect the lights from Times Square’s advertisements, and the lighting from the neon signs stands out sharply on screen. You can even see the haze of smoke in the distance, and the crackling of the earth beneath your competitor’s feet. The action is all in a wonderful 60 frames per second as well. You could name it as one of this generation’s prettiest titles. Thank goodness there isn’t a PS4 or Xbox One version holding it back.

As each battle continues, you’ll see the sweat pouring from the characters as they desperately fight to win. Paul’s sleeve breaks apart as he readies up his Rage Art and it remains that way for the rest of the match. Bandai Namco seems to pulling out all of the stops to make this as stunning as it can be.

Another neat factor of the game is the unique intros for rivalries in Tekken 8. When friends Lee and Paul face each other, they cross fists, breaking apart the glass under them in the Arena. It looks similar to how each Tekken trailer begins. This addition is a nice touch for long-time fans and adds further intensity to the fight ahead. The same happens with Jin and Kazuya as well.

Tone down the distracting music

Tekken 8‘s soundtrack is more like something you’d hear on a dance floor than an arena. The dubstep is obnoxious and distracting for some of the tracks included in this closed test, especially in the Urban Square stage. However, there is a standout banger for the Yakushima stage. It feels like a more rounded composition with gorgeous strings, stunning vocals, and a pumping backbeat that keeps the song moving forward. That’s until the final round creeps in, and there’s a blast of incessant dubstep within an otherwise great track. If this trend continues into the full game, I’m prepared to lower the music volume to 0 and put on my own playlist.

The electronic composition for the Arena stage is also decent but, in my opinion, goes way too hard with the bass. So far there are no tracks that come close to bangers like “Heat Haze Shadow” or “Infinite Azure” from Tekken 7 or Tekken 5‘s “Moonlit Wilderness.”

Tekken 8’s stellar so far

Bandai Namco hasn’t pulled its punches with Tekken 8. Every character is animated incredibly well, and the action feels fluid, even more so than in Tekken 7. The new mechanics like the Heat Timer adds to the formula, creating a more fast-paced fighter that will be thrilling to watch at EVO and other tournaments. The music is a somewhat letdown as it’s gone way too hard on the electronic and dubstep from past entries, but Tekken 8 is a promising fighting game I can’t wait to get my hands on.