Tekken 8 Review (Xbox Series X|S)

The last time we jumped into 2017's Tekken 7 on Xbox Series X we were quite taken aback by how poorly optimised the game was on Microsoft's current crop of consoles. We don't have the exact numbers in front of us right now, and Google is so very far away, but this is a game that, last time we checked, was running at 720p on the latest hardware, making for a deeply unsatisfying and unpolished experience overall, something that could have been avoided with very little effort on the part of the devs. Or at least you would think.

We're long overdue a shiny new Tekken, is the long and short of it, especially if you're an Xbox-only sort of player, and so, as long-time fans of the franchise, we've been absolutely chomping at the bit to get our grubby little hands on this eighth mainline adventure. The good news, straight off the bat, is that Tekken 8 - mechanically - is very, very good indeed. This is a strong entry in the series that serves up fast and flashy fighting action. The bad? Well, let's just get that out of the way before we return to singing this one's praises.

With all of the game's single-player now completed, we can report that between the arcade battle, arcade quest, character chapters and campaign story modes you've got around about 15 hours of solo content, at a stretch. The campaign (which we won't spoil here but it's as nonsensical as you'd expect and topped by a massive fight between YOU-KNOW-WHO AND THAT OTHER FELLA) is around about the four-hour mark split across 15 chapters of incredibly good-looking action.

However, looks aren't everything as the man says, and unfortunately we felt none-the-wiser and a little deflated when the final credits rolled here. There isn't nearly enough focus on anyone or anything outside of the main revenge/world domination throughline that's propped the series up since its inception, so it all feels a little flat and cold. It didn't endear me to anyone, that's for sure. It also tails off into a series of highly repetitive and incredibly overpowered fights that end up a little hard to follow at times due to all the screen-shaking and noise. We get the need for climactic bombast, but maybe not at the expense of easy-to-read and engagingly tactical battles.

We should also mention the transitions between cutscenes, actual fighting and other extra frills and effects at this point, as it feeds into the same problem. These transitions are impressively close to seamless in terms of how good they look, but there is a slight stutter, a microsecond when these switches and swoops in focus happen - especially during fights when an enemy breaks off to say something or showboat - that pulls you out of the flow. It's such a slick and smooth game when there's no cutscene stuff happening that we found ourselves getting impatient when control was wrestled from us for a bit of story. We just want to smash stuff without being corralled, we want the final face-off to be a purely skill-based, highly intense face-off for the ages.

It's not the end of the world at all any of this stuff, in fact we're still of the opinion that the narrative/cinematic mode takes a big old backseat in terms of importance when grading fighters, but it's a still a weak serve for solo pugilists when compared to the likes of Street Fighter 6 and the sterling work handed in by NetherRealm on Mortal Kombat 1 recently. If you can come to terms with this drawback, well, all of the solo stuff here is still a very flashy way to pick up a few moves and unlock a few customisation options before digging into the multiplayer depths, the main meat of the game. It's just not gonna stay with you or endear you to any of the game's legendary faces, which is a shame.

Once you're done with the campaign you can complete short arcade character stories for all 32 fighters on the roster, each one comprised of four scraps topped and tailed by a light-hearted cutscene and some unlockable goodies for your in-game avatars. This mode is the standout for us in terms of single player, well unless you're really into Tekken Ball, giving you time with each pugilist and involving you a little in a few different narrative strands.

You can also use any earned goodies or fight money from single-player battles (which is for cosmetics only as things currently stand) to customise the hell out of the game's main characters, slapping a slice of bread on Marshall's head, giving Jack-8 a cute ghost pal to float around beside him or dressing Feng Wei up as a doughnut. Hahaha. Poor Feng, he really does not like that doughnut outfit. There's a whole load of customisation options and character creation goodies to dig into here, so expect some truly hideous creations to face off against when release rolls around.

More intriguing than any of these modes for us - at the outset at least - was the game's Arcade Quest, which we had initially thought was going to be a Street Fighter 6-esque open world single-player escapade. That is our bad, admittedly, but what we've got instead is a quick and simple tour of a handful of arcade meetups where you learn the ins and outs of battle via a series of fights. This is lighthearted, beginner-friendly fare, aimed squarely at younger players too, and it's really all about revving you up to take part in online play. The focus here is on reminding you to play online for fun, don't be scared to lose, ignore the haters, enjoy customising your characters, aim to take part in tournaments and have a good time with your pals. All very heartwarming but in no way essential.

Now. That's all of the most negative/mixed stuff out of the way, we can focus on what's good, and what's good is the business end of the fighting here. Tekken 8 brings back rage meters from its predecessor, giving you a get-out-of-jail-free card of sorts when your health gets to lower levels. These are big brutal special moves, once per-round affairs that have been well balanced enough that they give you some space and a shot at taking a chunk of health from your opponent (as long as they don't block). Crucially, they aren't overpowered, you won't be taking a half bar of health with you, just enough to pull things back a little.

Beyond your returning rage system, you've got a heat meter - this is full at the start of every round, it's there to be used and is triggered very simply by pressing RB (or Y and A if you're mad for it). Once in heat mode, you are stronger for a period of time as the gauge runs dry and can pull off signature heat moves to boot in order to do serious damage and pile pressure on your opponent. Heat is incredibly flashy and fun to use, it makes for big, bombastic scraps that are always action-packed, and it works really well alongside rage to give you some big-ass power plays to fall back on when your base plan goes to the dogs.

We reckon the heat aspect of things is where the fighting here may draw the ire of some purists, at least initially. At the outset of our time with Tekken 8 it all felt a bit OTT, a bit automated and easy to pull off these huge moves, and early fights were a repetitive blast of heat moves and rage blasts. However, my Tekken-loving pals, this is before the real genius of the franchise's original combat system rears its head and draws you in, especially on harder difficulties. Once you've got a good sense of your chosen protagonist and start digging down into the insane number of moves, juggles, combos, blocks and counters each of the 32 has in their armoury...that's when this party really gets started.

And what a party. There's a cracking roster to get busy exploring here, a real strong lineup of classics and relative newcomers that'll take an age to fully master. We've been right back to business as usual with Marshall Law for the most part so far (hey, he's the easiest to use and looks the coolest) but Hwoarang, a rather portly Paul Feng, Jack-8, Yoshimitu...yeah that's right, Tekken 8 has got a kickass lineup of returning characters. The three newcomers, Azucena, Victor, and Reina will of course take some time to get to know, but so far they fit in well and make for exciting new propositions to boot.

Once you know the ins and outs of any of these characters properly, that's when Tekken 8 truly comes alive. When you can read your opponent's next move, when you're countering flashy stuff calmly with your bread and butter sidesteps like some sort of Tekken Jedi, this game rises to the level of Tekken as good as we ever remember it feeling. There's an initial vibe of fancy stuff over the classic action here, that's for sure, but the classic stuff wins out in the end, it gives it the strategic edge it needs and is still the real driving force that keeps it all so engaging.

Honestly, returning to Tekken after a long break, it just feels so great to break out the classic moves again, to get back in that zone of pulling off long juggle combos, side-stepping out of the way at the last minute to avoid an attack, dashing across an arena to a stricken opponent in order to stomp over them as they lay prone. Time spent with King, Paul, Feng, Marshall Law et al is as intoxicating now as it was back in 1994, and that's all we could really have asked for as fighting game fans who like to take things seriously without launching into our own pro career.

We're also very intrigued going forward by the game's crazy Ghost AI system. Now, we'll all need to wait and see how this shakes out when online is open to everyone, but this super AI system learns as you fight it, copies your moves, your defense, your offense, and becomes a highly impressive version of how you scrap. It's a great way to train, obviously, but the possibilities are even more intriguing when you consider fighting the ghosts of pros, friends, celebrities, tournament champs and anyone else who uploads their data to be used by other players.

On another positive note, let's make some time for the accessibility that Tekken 8 is bringing to the table. For new fighters there's smart and easy-to-use menu system that will show you recommended moves in the corner of the screen during battle, giving you the commands to a bunch of your character's best options. This can all be turned on and off if you prefer, but we recommend leaving it on if you're starting out, just to give you a quick heads up on snazzy moves and a way to commit some input to memory. Beyond this you also have a "special style" which can be toggled instantly with LB to turn on an aided style of fighting that puts juggles, specials, power moves, grapples and so forth on single buttons.

Special Style is, again, one of those things folk might very quickly reach to switch off, but if you want some pointers on how to win big in Tekken matches, it may be worth leaving on. This is a cool way to learn about the importance of some fundamentals such as juggling, combos, throws and power moves that force your opponent to dance to your rhythm. These are shared traits between the entire roster, and so getting a feel for how this stuff can transform how you approach a battle is incredibly useful, even for those of us who've been playing this series since back when Jennifer Aniston's Friends hairstyle was the talk of the town.

In terms of its performance online, Tekken 8 may not have all the fancy lobbies, distractions and swagger of Street Fighter 6, but what's here works well from the limited time we had with it. Series X performance has been top-notch across the board too, this game looks and sounds absolutely incredible at points, easily the best-looking fighter currently on the market and, beyond those little transition stutters we mentioned, it's been pretty much smooth sailing all the way. We say 'pretty much' because we had an AI fighter bug out on us one time during a training bout, but beyond that it's been gravy.

So, with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat currently at the very top of their game, how does Tekken 8 fit into the current generation of fighters? Well, we reckon pretty well in the end. There's a lack of single-player stuff in comparison to either of its nearest rivals, even with the vault/crypt going missing from MK. However it overcomes this by delivering a fantastically fast and flashy new variant of Tekken's core fighting action. For newcomers it's as welcoming as fighters get, fans of customisation will be satisfied, and long-term Tekken-heads should find that the snazzy stuff gives way to more strategic action once the true depth of this franchise's mechanics begin to fully reveal themselves.