Tekken 8 might not be out until next year, but as anyone who has played the awfully named CNT beta can attest, it’s already shaping up to be one of the series’ best. A worthy follow-up to the excellent seventh entry thanks to its more aggressive combat and stunning visuals. It’s scoring a 10 for Marshall Law’s pecs alone.
Even with close to ten hours of Tekken 8 under my belt at this point, I’ve been holding back my excitement somewhat. As awesome as the beta tests have proven online and versus modes to be, the jury is still out on the single-player component, and that’s the thing that I come to this series for more than anything else.
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If you’re like me and have been keeping your expectations in check until we saw more of what Tekken 8 has to offer, then it’s time to start getting excited. I’m happy to report that Tekken 8’s solo offerings are not only excellent, but just might rival similar modern greats like Street Fighter 6.
The first single-player mode I got to check out was the one I had the most questions about – the main campaign. After killing off Heihachi seemingly for good at the end of Tekken 7, the story has been harbouring a lot of unanswered questions. Turns out it will once again focus on some serious daddy issues, with Jin Kazama now going up against his dear old dad, Kazuya Mishima.
Having only played the first four chapters, I didn’t get too much of an idea where the story was going, but was immediately impressed by its epic scale, kicking off with a city-levelling battle between Jin and Kazuya that has multiple stages rather than just being a simple two-round fight like most other fighter campaigns.
After being defeated by Kazuya, the remaining preview chapters followed a weakened Jin as he tried to reclaim his devil power to take part in a new King of the Iron Fist tournament. Even without getting to see too much of the campaign, I loved that the battles felt like more than just regular match-ups you’d find in versus mode, with flashy moves and cinematics pushing them further than ever.
I’m especially intrigued to see where Jin’s story goes. He’s always been one of Tekken’s most interesting characters because of his anti-hero status, and it looks like Tekken 8 is placing an increased focus on his journey. I was worried that not having Heihachi might put a damper on things, but everything I’ve seen has me gripped and ready for more.
Note: Heihachi does seem to be properly dead this time around, but it’s far from the first time that he’s kicked the bucket…
Arcade Quest is Tekken 8’s other major solo offering. This mode lets you create your own avatar (who bears a striking resemblance to Xbox 360 avatars) as you make your way through the ranks in an arcade setting.
Despite what little I saw, it swiftly reminded me of Street Fighter 6’s World Tour mode, in that it acts as a great tutorial for how to play and learn specific characters. Not only did it offer to walk me through the basics of battle, but it also recommended moves for the character I was using at the time. I’m not sure how in-depth it’ll go as I didn’t experience too much beyond the opening segment, but it seems like a great complimentary mode to the main campaign with its own charming narrative about there being no “right way” to play Tekken.
As well as letting me make my own creepy little dude and train up an AI version of myself that clued me into the mistakes I was making during fights, Arcade Quest also gave me some one-on-one time with Tekken 8’s new fighters, who are all shaping up to be great additions to the roster.
The first and most interesting is Azucena, a coffee-obsessed MMA fighter whose lightning-fast movement and energetic personality have put her on the fast track to being one of my favourite fighters. That may seem hyperbolic, but her moveset is great and she’s full of character.
Reina is another great newcomer, with her fighting style reminiscent of Heihachi with additional speed. I didn’t spend much time with Jack-8 or Victor to fully appreciate their capabilities, but Victor seems unique from any other Tekken character with his focus on weapons. Jack-8 doesn’t really interest me though, but I’m a Marshall Law main so feel free to ignore me completely.
Tekken 8’s roster is full of greats, but I do feel like it’s a bit too familiar to what we’ve seen before. I’m sure that’ll change when we get some weird DLC additions, but for now I’m left wanting more. At least Azucena is incredible.
I also got to spend a little time messing around with Tekken Ball, which first debuted in Tekken 3. It’s pretty much the same as it was there, which is absolutely a good thing. Expect to waste loads of time on this mode.
Tekken 8 is already positioned to be a great evolution of the series, but its epic campaign, welcoming Arcade Quest mode, and wealth of fun extras have me certain that 2024 is going to kick off with yet another incredible fighting game in a generation full of them. Tekken is back, and it’s looking stronger than ever.
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