After beating Tekken 8's roughly five-hour story mode - an over-the-top narrative about devil genes, resentful sons and hateful fathers with all the dramatic heft of a goofy soap opera - I knew I was playing something that felt definitely "Tekken." Apart from a wonderfully silly and awesome story, the staggering amount of content on offer here trumps what Bandai Namco brought to the table with the barebones launch of Tekken 7. In many ways, Tekken 8 is a return to the days when the series spoke to all players and not just the competitive market - this is, essentially, Tekken for the masses in the best possible way.



To get the story mode out of the way first, it's surprisingly excellent. While it's unfortunately a bit on the short side and can be beaten in one sitting, the characters are engaging, Jin is a great relatable protagonist this time seeking redemption for his past actions, Kazuya is a menacing Dragon Ball Z-esque villain and the writing is, shockingly, gripping but in an endearing way. It's not the deepest you'll find in gaming but it truly captures the spirit and essence of Tekken's characters, their bitter rivalries and budding relationships, very well. Ninjas, bears with rocket-powered fish, cyborg samurais, devil powers, Vatican exorcists - yes, it's Tekken and it doubles down on being a story mode that celebrates the weird, wonderful and brilliant qualities of Tekken.



Of the three new characters, Reina is definitely the most interesting. She's a mystery at first, seemingly showing a mastery of the Mishima fighting style, but that mystery is retained throughout the story and only raised in key sequences that unravel another layer about her character. She's a bit wasted in terms of screen time but by the end, you sort of understand why. Victor, serving as a John Wick-type assassin, is great as is Azucena, the Peruvian fighter that really want you to buy her coffee. By far, though, the heart and soul of the story falls on Jin and Kazuya - their father/son rivalry culminating in some mind-blowing action sequences that I've never seen in a Tekken game before. It's not only the best story mode in the franchise, but one of the best story modes I've ever played in a fighting game.

The heart and soul of the story falls on Jin and Kazuya - their father/son rivalry culminating in some mind-blowing action sequences that I've never seen in a Tekken game before.

Outside of the story mode, Tekken 8 also sees the return of Arcade mode's CG cutscene endings for each character - and almost all of them are just as whacky and hilarious as you'd expect, with some darker or somber endings teasing potential storylines to come in the series. Considering that Tekken 7 kind of dropped the ball with these CG character endings, it's good to see them make a return in Tekken 8 amidst a ton of content that just keeps on giving the more you look into it.



Arcade Quest lets you create and customise your own Mii-esque avatar and explore arcades in a virtual world that has been hit with Tekken fever. Here, you can hone your skills, learn how to play the game through very intuitive tutorials, practice against AI and generally take part in the great culture of Tekken. You might also come out with a newfound appreciation for the series through this experience, which celebrates the legacy of Tekken by giving players a taste of everything that makes the community what it is. Arcade Quest isn't going to soak up all of your time but it's a nice love-letter from Bandai Namco to the fans that's kind of heartwarming too.

Tekken 7 was heavily criticised for having a lack of offline modes and single-player content, so Bandai Namco responded in earnest with Tekken 8's overwhelming amount of things to do. Tekken Ball, the under-appreciated minigame from Tekken 3, makes a return in modern form. It might seem pretty silly at first but after a few matches, you'll be hooked on its simplistic fun. You can also climb the ranks in consecutive matches against AI players offline or real players online, or customise your character in a surprisingly great character customisation mode. It's just lacking a bit of options right now but more could be added in future updates.



Getting into the mechanics of Tekken 8, Bandai Namco wisely chose to introduce a number of new features to make this entry not only stand out but more accessible than any other game in the series. Noticeably, the controls feel a lot tighter and more responsive. It could do with the faster pace of fights which incentivise aggressive gameplay in great ways (we'll get to that in a bit).

Noticeably, the controls feel a lot tighter and more responsive.

You can toggle between the standard controls and assisted controls by pressing L1, which automatically switches to a simplified loadout of combos that you can execute by pressing single buttons. This doesn't mean you can simply button-mash your way to victory either as it still requires a keen understanding of the mechanics and timing to execute, but for newcomers just learning the ropes or people who want the most out of Tekken but aren't good at the game, this is a superb alternative that gives you the thrill of pulling off a character's flashiest combo without worrying too much about remembering the right buttons.



Even without the assisted controls, Tekken 8's gameplay is masterfully tuned. It could be the tighter controls and easier combo layouts but it's now remarkably easy to learn a character's inputs, strengths and weaknesses but difficult to master their intricacies. With things like Arcade Quest holding your hand through the entire process of learning a character's timing, juggles, parries, evasions and combos, it feels easier than ever to simply pick a fighter and get good with them in a matter of hours. In that regard, Tekken 8 is, without a doubt, the most accessible entry in the franchise and it's primed to attract a lot of newcomers who might become future generations of superstars on the world stage.

Tekken 8 finds interesting ways to mix things up in battle. The new Heat system encourages players to go out of their comfort zone and play more aggressively. Players begin a match with a full Heat meter that, when triggered, enters them into a Heat state. During this state, players can do chip damage, recover health and even deal special moves like heavy guard breaks. Tapping the Heat trigger while in that state initiates Heat Smash, which is essentially a reworked Rage Drive (on top of your standard Rage Art which still triggers once you're low on health).



Recoverable damage carries over from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 which is displayed by a grey bar inside your health bar. You can recover damage by going on the offensive, once again showcasing Tekken 8's aggressive new style of gameplay that works wonders - it weeds out players who rely too heavily on blocking while pushing them out of their comfort zone as the tables can now be turned on them in an instant.

The story serves as a great standalone tale (if you have a little bit of context), but also an emotionally satisfying crescendo for Tekken's longest-standing family drama.

Tekken 8's new systems all work seamlessly together with the old and when coupled with the refined controls and smoother combat, you've got a winning formula. Like I mentioned before, this also makes Tekken 8 the most accessible game in the entire franchise on more than one level. It's clear that Bandai Namco wanted to wipe the slate clean and reorient the series towards casual players instead of the competitive market like Tekken 7 while still being deep enough for professional players - and they've made the best decision in that regard. The story serves as a great standalone tale (if you have a little bit of context), but also an emotionally satisfying crescendo for Tekken's longest-standing family drama.



On the technical and presentation fronts, Tekken 8 looks and runs beautifully. Thanks to the power of the Unreal Engine 5, this is the best-looking fighting game on the market right now - yes, even better-looking than Mortal Kombat 1. I barely ran into any technical problems, bugs, glitches or hiccups during my extensive playtime, but only encountered some odd stutters and a few weirdly long waiting times when playing online. The online experience isn't perfect and Bandai Namco still has some creases to iron out before it's perfect (and some cheaters to contend with), but for now, take Tekken 8 as the sum of its fantastic single-player parts.

Tekken 8 boasts one of the best story modes I've ever played in a fighting game, a wealth of single-player and multiplayer content, refined yet accessible gameplay and dazzling visuals that make it the best-looking fighter currently available. Bandai Namco learned a lot of lessons from the missteps of Tekken 7 and applied that wisdom and knowledge to its successor, creating a feature-complete experience that's worth every penny and then some. Most of all, this is Tekken at its peak - it's bizarre, endearing, completely bonkers and the most fun you'll have in 2024 so far.

*PS5 Review code provided by Bandai Namco