Trigger Cut Game Reviews

Tekken 8 is a solid entry in the series that easily has the most content of any game in the series so far.  Not all modes are created equal but that is okay, as the core gameplay never stops being fun.  Tekken 8 is a game that is easy to play yet hard to master, with a focus on offense over defense. This focus on fast attacks can lead the game to be a bit button mashy and you will certainly get your ass handed to you online by people doing this however, there is a deep combo system here if you choose to engage with it. Similar to Street Fighter 6 there are multiple control schemes that you can swap between mid-match.  This control scheme does combos for you however, unlike SF6 there is no penalty for using this more accessible control scheme.  In SF6 you had to choose your control scheme before the match and if you chose modern controls you do 20% less damage.  Since there is no penalty for using this similar control scheme in Tekken and having the ability to swap to it mid-match means you will encounter people that abuse this control scheme, especially when they are losing.  This leads to frustration when you are playing against players that use these control schemes unfairly.  Separate from the online modes there is an arcade as well as a single player mode that teaches you to be nice and respectful when playing online I guess? I don’t know.  This single player mode lets you create a Mii like avatar and fight in different arcades.  It’s honestly not that fun and not worth engaging with.  The arcade mode is simple and fun and has all the classic absurd cutscenes at the end which are worth playing to see. Compared to other games in the genre, Tekken has barebones tutorials that are really not helpful at all. This is a huge disappointment since as a fighting game fan I usually spend a lot of time practicing. In the end Tekken may lack the balance and depth of Street Fighter 6 but the fighting is flashy, fast, and fun. Tekken 8 easily takes the crown as the best fighting game of 2024 and I can see myself continuing to hop in for a quick match every now and then for years to come.