Tekken 8 (Japanese: 鉄拳8) is a fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Arika. Bandai Namco Entertainment published the game for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on January 26, 2024. It is the eighth canon release and tenth overall entry in the Tekken series. The game story mode, titled The Dark Awakens, takes place six months after the events of its predecessor and focuses on the final confrontation between the main characters, father Kazuya Mishima and son Jin Kazama, with the latter wishing to kill the former in order to end the chaos within their family lineage. The game’s story features 32 former and new characters, each with their own narrative that contributes to the overall story.
Development of Tekken 8 was first teased in August 2022 at Evo 2022, with an official presentation made the following month at Sony‘s State of Play event. Focusing on more aggressive tones, Tekken 8 was developed using Unreal Engine 5, and it features upgraded fighting elements and systems from its predecessor. Tekken 8 also introduces brand-new mechanics, such as the “Heat” system and “Tornado” hits. Arcade Quest was another addition to their online mode, which includes tournaments, arcade features, customisable avatars, and specialised currency that is featured throughout the game.
Game tests were held in July and October 2023 to ensure overall stability before release, and a demo was made available on consoles in December of that year. The game’s first season pass, which included downloadable content and new characters, was made available during the game’s pre-order period. Upon its release, Tekken 8 received critical acclaim, with many critics praising the game’s overall progression in the series as well as its aggressive gameplay. Several publications have noted Tekken 8 as the best game in the series since Tekken 3.
Gameplay
Tekken 8 follows the same fighting game format as previous Tekken games. Katsuhiro Harada, the game’s producer, stated that Tekken 8 will be “more aggressive” than its predecessor, indicating that the system will reward players who are proactive in attacking rather than those who are defensive. To achieve this, the game introduced a new system known as “Heat”. When a character unlocks the “Heat” state, they cause not only chip damage and additional movesets, but also changes the properties of some of their moves, such as a heavy guard break. These fighters can also dash cancel their moves while in the “Heat” state. Heat’s timer can be stopped if fighters’ movesets are used.[1] Fighters will also receive chip damage when guarding against a normal state’s heavy attack or Heat State characters, allowing them to regenerate their health bars. Unlike the Tag mode-only health bar regeneration system from the Tekken Tag Tournament games, fighters’ recoverable health can only be restored by attacking their opponent.[1]
Tekken 8 includes a number of technical updates and reworked features. The “Rage” system, which debuted in the previous entry, returns in Tekken 8 with new changes. For example, the “Rage Drive” has been separated and reworked as “Heat Smash”, a “Heat” system super move. The “Screw” mechanism was removed from Tekken 8 and replaced with a “Tornado” extender; the system places opponents in a ground-bound state when they fall to the ground quickly. Specific stages in the game also have hazards, such as some with harder walls and floors that must be broken multiple times by fighters’ harder knockout attacks, while others will cause damaged opponents to blast upward when hit by an explosive on the walls and floors.
In addition to technical improvements, Tekken 8 includes changes to other elements. Harada stated that Tekken 8 aims to provide a more cinematic fighting experience, with a focus on stage destructions and specific characters’ reactions to them.[2] Furthermore, all character models and voice acting are entirely new, rather than recycled content from previous entries. The online mode includes a battle lobby called “Arcade Quest”, which features arcade environments, regular online battles, and tournament matches. “Arcade Quest” allows users to customise their avatars and will use a “Fight Money” currency.[3] Tekken 8 is powered by the next-generation Unreal Engine 5, becoming the first major fighting game to use this engine.
Tekken 8 features crossplay.[4] Enabling PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S players to play against each other for the first time in the franchise’s history. Cross-Platform Play can be enabled or disabled depending on the player’s preference.[5]
The Scenario Campaign-based Tekken Force Mode from Tekken 6 is only exclusive in the base main story’s chapter 10. This mode has exclusive Heat and Rage systems features which original head to head combat scenario systems did not have, such as a Rage Burst, and a Heat gauge that can regenerate automatically and become reusable at full bar.
Plot
Six months after the death of Heihachi Mishima,[a] Jin Kazama, alongside Lars Alexandersson and Lee Chaolan of the Yggdrasil Rebel Army, ambushes his father Kazuya Mishima in Manhattan, New York. However, as Jin is forced to watch Kazuya kill millions in the city, causing him to be haunted by a vision of Ogre killing his mother Jun Kazama,[b] he loses control of his devil and is defeated, causing the operation to fail. Amidst the chaos, Kazuya, now openly revealing his devil form to the public, announces a new King of Iron Fist Tournament, where representatives of various nations fight one another. The winning nation will be rewarded, while the losing nations will face destruction.
A week later, during the King of Iron Fist Tournament qualifiers, Jin, recovering from his injuries, spars with Lars, while Lee analyzes their sparring, out of instinct of Jin’s current condition after his recent fight against Kazuya. As Lars and Lee feared, Jin discovers that he no longer can activate his devil powers at will. After a brief talk with Alisa Bosconovitch, Jin makes up his mind and joins the qualifiers in Japan, while Alisa, originally going to replace Jin in the tournament, is enlisted to keep an eye on a possible set-up by G Corporation. There, Jin meets Reina, a student from Mishima Polytechnic, whose combat prowess resembles Heihachi, his grandfather. Jin manages to secure a spot in the main tournament, defeating Reina and his old rival Hwoarang, occasionally showing bursts of his devil powers in combat. After the battle, Reina requests to join Jin in his fight against Kazuya. Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Reina is Heihachi’s illegitimate daughter and aims to figure out how Jin and Kazuya activate their devil powers for herself.
Elsewhere in Rome, Claudio Serafino, Zafina, and Ling Xiaoyu watch the tournament. Zafina, having the demonic creature Azazel sealed in her left arm, warns Claudio that Kazuya must be stopped and that they need to seek out Jin to help him restore his full power. Meanwhile, Leo Kliesen and their father Niklas arrive at the Yggdrasil base, where the latter reveals his research on Azazel and the Devil Gene. He reveals that Azazel granted the gene to ancient man, creating devils to act as its servants, and to access its power, one must have a strong desire. The Hachijo clan, from whom Jin and Kazuya are descended through Heihachi’s late wife Kazumi is one of the servants’ descendant clans.
At the main tournament in Rome, Lars meets up with the UN Independent Forces leader and Raven Unit founder Victor Chevalier who agrees to support Yggdrasil in capturing Kazuya, while independently, Claudio, Zafina, and Xiaoyu infiltrate the tournament. Jin defeats Leroy Smith, the tournament’s East American Coast representative, who then teaches Jin to let go of his fears and follow his heart, while also being grateful for his heroism against Kazuya’s attack in Manhattan. As both Yggdrasil, UN, and Claudio’s team begin their assaults, Jin and his expanded allies are too late to realize that the tournament was a set up by Kazuya to lure Zafina into his ambush. Breaking the seal on Zafina’s arm, Kazuya resurrects Azazel and defeats it, absorbing its power to become a True Devil. In an attempt to buy time for Jin and his allies to escape, Claudio uses his powers and manages to injure Kazuya, seemingly at the cost of his life. Still wrestling with Azazel’s powers, Kazuya retreats.
Believing that there is a way to regain control of his Devil powers, Jin embarks on a journey to the Kazama Sanctum, deep in the forests of Yakushima, where Jun presumably died at the hands of Ogre. Kazuya moves his remaining forces to Yakushima, intending to slow down Jin and destroy the rebel army. A coalition of Yggdrasil, the UN, and several combatants from the tournament, including Leroy and Reina, battle against Kazuya’s G Forces, led by Nina Williams and several other tournament combatants under their payroll, while Xiaoyu singlehandedly protects Jin from mass-produced Jack-7s as he falls to deep slumber. Kazuya then appears, obliterating both sides. Lars retreats to the forest to protect Jin from Kazuya, while Reina, believing that near death would awaken some sort of power for her, lets herself be seemingly killed in the blast.
Deep within his subconsciousness, Jin encounters his devil self, who then mocks Jin’s previous failures and crimes.[c] After a lengthy fight against himself, Jin finally accepts his devil side and regains full control of his powers, just in time to save Lars from Kazuya’s attack. Kazuya plans to obliterate the island, but Jin stops the blast. After seeing visions of Jun encouraging him, Jin awakens his Angel form and attacks Kazuya. Kazuya and Jin fight all the way to space and the resulting blast from both sides purges each other’s Devil Genes. Landing back on Earth, Jin and Kazuya engage in a final battle between father and son, with Jin emerging victorious and sparing his father. Finally free from the Devil Gene curse, he thanks his mother and departs with Xiaoyu. An unconscious Kazuya is later approached by a seemingly alive Jun.
During the credits, as the world celebrates their freedom from G Corporation’s tyranny, some of the tournament combatants, including ones formerly affiliated with Kazuya during the Yakushima fight, are shown opening food kitchens in Manhattan to help restore the city, Leo and Niklas continue their expedition to parts unknown, the Yggdrasil and UN celebrate their successes, and Zafina and Claudio are both shown alive, at the time the photo was taken, eluding that they are both deceased.[d]
In a mid-credit scene, Reina is shown having survived Kazuya’s attack. Vowing revenge for her father, Heihachi, she awakens into her Devil Form, revealing that she possesses the Devil Gene.
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