Reigniting the heat of battle  

Tekken 8 is one of the best fighting games ever produced. Without exaggeration. By perfecting its qualities, rescuing what worked, and combining it with the new, as well as delivering powerful and painful combat, the game enters the next generation with both feet in the door, a cross punch, and a stylish KO.  

Developed and published by Bandai Namco, the game arrived on January 26, 2024, and is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Ready to fight?! Let's go!



When fists define destiny

After defeating his father, Kazuya Mishima continues his drive for world domination. While using the G Corporation to take the war to every corner of the planet, he resumes the old tournament, the King of the Iron Fist, as a way of selecting those "worthy" of existing in his new world. 

On the other side is Jin Kazama, Kazuya's son, and the only fighter capable of putting an end to his father's plans. However, Jin has struggled to maintain his inner balance and persevere against his father, as something inside him seems to prevent him from fighting at full strength. 

Throughout 15 chapters, we find out what has been happening to Jin and his battle against his inner demons. Meanwhile, his father's plans become increasingly greedy and sick, pushing them to the limits of their humanity. 

With a long-standing narrative that has lasted almost 30 years, Tekken 8 shows us, chapter by chapter, how far the franchise has developed. With its cinematic storytelling and personality, you get involved with the story and the characters throughout the campaign. At around three and a half hours long, the story mode is very reminiscent of shonen anime. Initially cartoonish and superficial, the narrative manages to grow as we progress through the game, maintaining some clichés but presenting its own identity. 

In doing so, the game makes room for the player to identify with the background of characters that would normally matter little to them. This, seemingly superfluous for games of this genre, has the power to take the franchise to even higher heights since the emotional involvement of the player is recognized as an important pillar of the industry. 



In keeping with tradition, Tekken 8 continues to make all the characters understand each other, even though each one speaks their language. At first glance, this may sound strange, like a bug or design flaw, but considering that each character has their nationality and speaks in their mother tongue, what the game manages to do is once again build rapport, empathy and, in a way, even patriotism among the players. And it's this kind of attitude that, together with other successes, has defined the identity of the franchise for all this time. 

At the end of the story mode, we can continue to learn about each character's background through the Character Episodes. Through 5 combats, we get to know a little more about our favorite fighters while unlocking rewards and classic finishes for the characters. 

In addition to these modes, Tekken 8 introduces a new single-player mode called Arcade Quest. Here, we create and customize our avatar to face a variety of challenges and adventures through various arcade fights. One of the coolest things about this mode is that it's designed for players new to Tekken or fighting games in general. There's a fun and engaging story, which is presented to us between fights. In this mode, Max will be your best friend. Talk to him all the time, because he'll have good things to say to you. Trust me! 



At the end of Arcade Quest, you'll be able to fight Super Ghosts who have learned to fight with you. That's right! In Super Ghost Battle, artificial intelligence takes note of your choices and fighting style to take you on in a challenging way. And if you don't want to face your ghosts, the game lets you challenge other players' ghosts in great battles. Can you handle it? Because let me tell you something... In Tekken 8, the rule is clear:

Conquer glory with your fists!

As usual, Tekken brings us the best that combat games can offer: responsiveness, fluidity, frantic combos and a technicality to be envied. In its latest version, the game delivers state-of-the-art fighting games. 

For experienced players or not, Tekken 8 delivers a lot of fun through combat whose performance has not been seen for a long time. Of course, more recent fighting games have been getting better and better, with more responsiveness and agility. However, it's very common for these games to feel that the fluidity is still not what it should be, which ends up slowing down the game and making it uninteresting for those who don't have the genre as a favorite option. 

On the other hand, Tekken improves on these issues and presents a much more user-friendly experience without losing complexity. Furthermore, recognizing that the genre can be challenging for novice players, it presents a specific game mode that seeks to bring more and more people into the fray. 



In this edition, the game appropriates some elements from other games and originally presents them, repackaging the franchise, but without ceasing to be "Tekken". For example, by introducing the Heat System, the game allows you to improve your skills, such as damage and speed, over some time. Unlike games that design this type of mechanic as more of an offensive skill, in Tekken 8, it can be used to its maximum if it is used as a defensive resource, which encourages the player to be more technical and to read combat better. 

For beginners, the game introduces Special Style, which allows the player to have fun fighting by delivering stylish blows without having to memorize controls. Ultimately, I believe that this element can even be seen as an accessibility feature, as it makes gameplay more comfortable for everyone. 

In addition, in Tekken 8 we have life recovery systems, under certain circumstances, as well as Rage and Rage arts, which can be activated when the player reaches a certain section of the life bar. This is that special attack that serves as a panic button and has the potential to completely turn the tide of battle. 

Tekken 8 also brings back the Tekken Ball mode. I was going to explain what it is, but you know... a picture is worth a thousand words.



As well as featuring all the established characters from the franchise, the game brings us six new characters, Reina, Azucena, Victor, and three others that I won't mention here to avoid spoilers, making a total of 32 playable characters. There are also 16 battlefields, each more beautiful than the last. And speaking of beauty...

Tekken 8 is beautiful! 

Visually speaking, the game takes a huge step forward compared to previous games. Entering the new generation with all its might, the game is a work of technical art that made all the waiting worthwhile. From the cinematics to the visual effects, everything goes into giving us a jaw-dropping visual experience. 

The game's scenery is beautiful and completely diverse, which makes the experience fresh and enjoyable. What's more, the characters are masterfully drawn, conveying not only their personalities but the developers' commitment to delivering the best they can so far. 

I expected technical issues, such as optimization problems and graphical glitches. Still, on the contrary, I had one of the smoothest experiences of recent times when it came to fighting games. 



In addition to graphics quality and performance, the game offers a character and avatar customization system, bringing personality to the game and making the player stand out, especially when playing against other people. Guess how? Yes, cross-play! 

The game's soundtrack is also immersive and, as previously mentioned, has effects that manage to transform the experience into a good shonen anime episode. The dubbing in different languages is well done and the sound effects also make us "feel" each of the blows as if they were happening to us. But it's a good thing they're not!

Tekken 8 is waiting for you. Put on your glove, awaken your inner demon, and get your ass kicked in one of the best fighting games ever made!

For this review, Tekken 8 was played on PC via Steam. 

Many thanks to Bandai Namco who provided us with the access key and made this content possible.