The Tekken 8 Closed Network Test has given us all a brief look into the huge franchise’s next mainline entry. With the first PS5-only weekend of the Network Test concluded, I think it’s time to compile our thoughts and share our suggestions with the team so they can make this one of the best, if not the best, Tekken games ever.
I managed to acquire a code for the PS5, and as someone who’s played every mainline Tekken game and even the spin-off Tekken Tag Tournament games, I can confidently say that Tekken 8 is shaping up to be a completely new and unique experience.
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Tekken 8 Has Excellent Presentation
Back in the PS2 era, fighting games were kings when it came to graphics. Tekken 5 still holds up to this day. Now with games like Tekken 8 and Mortal Kombat 1, it feels like fighting games are back to having insanely epic presentations. Every little detail in Tekken 8 looks exceptional. Stages like Urban Square have excellent lighting, while stages like Yakushima feel like they’ve been ripped out of a painting with their exemplary display of nature.
The character models look as good as their CG renders. All the characters in this Network Test are Legacy, and they’ve all gone through incredible makeovers that further exemplify their personalities. The tiny details on their faces really go a long way in grounding them in reality. Characters also share many unique interactions with each other, such as Jin and Kazuya clashing in their intro pose. The game all around is just very pleasing to look at and is a huge step up from Tekken 7.
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Core Gameplay Has Gone Through Many Changes But Still Feels like Tekken
When it comes to the core gameplay, it’s pretty much what you’ve come to expect from Tekken. Very fast responses, especially when it comes to your countering and punishing, are what’ll help you secure victory. The combo system has changed quite drastically, as now it implements both the Bound and Screw mechanics from Tekken 6 and Tekken 7, respectively. Rage Arts are back with breathtaking animations while still feeling fair.
Tekken 8 priorities aggression in its gameplay, so huge additions like chip damage and health regeneration similar to Bloodborne’s rally system are here, and they feel amazing. What’s great about this is that it feels like everyone is starting from square one again, so no one has any innate advantage over someone else, at least in these beginning stages. A more accessible control scheme called Special Style is also available for newer players. It’s clear that the team has their eyes set on making this a very revolutionary mainline entry.
Pretty much every character has gone through massive changes. An astounding number of new moves and animations made the experience incredibly fresh. For most of my time with the CNT, I played with my main Jin Kazama. Storywise, Jin has finally achieved control of his Devil Gene and now implements it in his fighting style. There are a myriad of new moves to try out, and millions of combinations to test. Most importantly, the game is just super fun.
Tekken 8 Is Heating Things Up With Its Heat System
Aggression is the name of the game in Tekken 8, and with its new Heat System, it plans to achieve exactly that. Each round, both players will have one Heat Gauge that they can access at any point during the round. Once Heat is activated by either using a simple Heat Burst move or by dedicated moves called Heat Engagers, for a limited time, you’ll have access to new moves, such as the Heat Smash, while also doing twice as much chip damage.
It’s a lot simpler than it sounds, but basically, you have the upper hand while you’re in Heat. It’s completely up to you to decide how and when to use it, which adds an extra layer to the already deep combat system. Implementing Heat moves into my combos was a lot of fun, and exerting pressure on your enemy is always a blast in fighting games. Heat isn’t just a gimmick; rather, it’s a completely fleshed-out system that changes the way you approach the game.
There is Still Room for Improvement in Some Areas
Tekken 8 is great, but the point of the Closed Network Test is to provide feedback and criticism, and I think there’s enough here to call out. For starters, chip damage and Heat need to be balanced better, especially chip damage because characters like Hwoarang absolutely disintegrate HP. The screen can also be quite cluttered at times with all the special effects, even when the setting is toned down to the minimum.
Net Code is much better than Tekken 7, but during my time playing, I noticed that matchmaking was very slow and I wasn’t matched up a lot. But so far, even with these slight annoyances, Tekken 8 is shaping up to be an unmissable entry in the long-running franchise, and I for one cannot wait for the full release.
Are you excited for Tekken 8? Will you be picking it up? Let us know in the comments!
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