Tekken 8: Features, Gameplay, and Explanations – All You Need to Know

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Bandai Namco's Tekken 7 is a mainstay on 2Game's top 100 PC games list. Big, bold, and brash (and the first time the franchise had released on PC), Tekken 7 enjoyed its time in the limelight for an extremely long time, having first come out back in 2017. Now, in 2024, there's a new challenger in town, and its name is - Tekken 8.

Bound to release on January 26, 2024, Tekken 8 has got some very big shoes to fill. Its immediate predecessor was absolutely brimming with content by the end of its post-launch lifecycle and, of course, it had been polished to perfection over time. In comparison, Tekken 8 comes with a smaller character roster and a more focused feature set. Can the new entry in the legendary fighting game franchise outpace its predecessor, then?

There's only one way to find out, naturally, and this article aims to go in-depth on the game's features and its unique combat loop. Better yet, if you end up being intrigued yourself, 2Game's got a special pre-release discount ready to go, so you can save a pretty penny while you're at it.

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Differentiating Tekken 8 from what came before

Given that it's been such a long time coming, it should come as no surprise that Bandai Namco wants to do something special for Tekken 8's release. In fact, now that both Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 have innovated their respective franchises to some extent, there's some pressure on Tekken 8 to do the same.

Will it deliver? Here's what we know so far!

Pre-order Tekken 8 via 2Game to score a sweet discount!

Tekken 8: Features and Gameplay Options Explained

While there's plenty of novelty to be found in Tekken 8, some of the game's features are simply more important than the others. We won't be going into our own personal preferences in this regard here, of course, but two of Tekken 8's exciting new gameplay mechanics simply stand out, no matter how you look at it.

Gameplay Mechanics: Classic Goodies with Modern Flourishes

The two aforementioned gameplay mechanics are the all-new Heat System and the Special Style feature. Special Style is a newcomer-oriented feature that allows inexperienced players to see what separates Tekken 8 from all the other modern fighting games. The system allows you to contextually bind entire combos to a specific key pressed at a specific time, making it far, far easier to trigger some of Tekken 8's complex moves.

The thing to keep in mind about Special Style, however, is that while it confers a slight advantage in not having to learn particular combos, it does lock you into using them. Against experienced players, Special Style will make its users relatively predictable and easy to combat, meaning the feature will be perfect for combat onboarding and little else.

While Special Style is a relatively contained tutorialesque addition, Heat System is an all-new game mechanic that will inform the whole combat loop. Built on top of Tekken's classic Rage Arts, Heat allows players to build up Heat Energy to trigger unique combos and combat options. Heat is designed to entice players into a more aggressive, reactive playstyle, and it's a tactical resource that will revolutionize Tekken matches for the better.

Tekken 8's New and Returning Characters

Whereas Tekken 7 saw a truly impressive roster of newcomer characters as time went on, Bandai Namco has decided to reel things in a bit for Tekken 8. Instead of giving us dozens of playable characters that overlap to a worrying extent, as was previously the case, each of the new game's playable character options delivers something entirely new and exciting. To that end, what we've got here is a relatively small number of newcomers - three of them in total:

Between themselves, the three newcomers offer a downright ridiculous amount of variety and gameplay customization that we simply hadn't seen in Tekken 7. Further, players can expect a huge selection of 29 veteran fighters from the legendary Tekken franchise:

So, while we shouldn't expect the same number of playable characters as was present in Tekken 7, Bandai Namco's approach has simply changed this time around. High-detailed character models will now be supported with Tekken 8's remarkable depth of combat gameplay, making each fighter that much more interesting and engaging to fight with. A welcome change, in our book!

Tekken 8: Arcade Quest

One last major new addition to Tekken 8 comes with the game's Arcade Quest mode. Arcade Quest is a special meta-game feature where players build their own virtual avatar, customize them, and then engage with the community, play mini-games, and generally experience the Tekken universe like never before.

Arcade Quest will also tie into two other major gameplay systems: Tekken 8's combat onboarding, offering a refreshed learning curve for both veterans and newcomers alike, as well as the broader customization features. By completing objectives and tasks in Arcade Quest, players will be able to unlock new customization options for their fighters, HUD, and other UI.

It remains to be seen whether this system will be able to parry the sheer ridiculousness that was Tekken 6's customization system, but everything points to it being a joy to use and fiddle around with. Good news all around, then!

Tekken 8 on Unreal Engine 5

One last important bit of consideration here is that Tekken 8 users Unreal Engine 5. Two things to keep in mind: we're looking at a very modern physics system and feature-set, at the potential cost of performance and shader compilation stuttering. This isn't as big of a problem as it was in Unreal 4, but it's certainly something we ought to consider, especially if we aim to run the game on lower-spec systems, like the Steam Deck.

The good news, as it were, is that beta players have already tested Tekken 8 on the Steam Deck, and the game runs phenomenally well! If you'd still like to confirm whether your rig is up-to-par here, do check out the official system requirements here.

What Comes Next?

Broadly, Tekken 8 has an opportunity to revitalize the franchise for a new era. With Heat, Arcade Quest, and Special Style all combined with usual Tekken mainstays such as a comprehensive story mode and the regular Arcade modes, there's so much to look forward to here that it's hard not to get hyped-up.

You can put this hype to good use, then, simply by getting your Steam copy of the game via 2Game. With just under two weeks to go before Tekken 8 is out, you still have enough time to leverage our special pre-release discounts and save good money along the way:

Depending on the version you choose, you still have time to score a sweet 17% off, as well as being a ble to play the game on day one, on January 26. So, no dawdling! Instead, get ready for the next battle!

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It should come as no surprise to anyone that Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7 is a mainstay on 2Game’s top 100 PC games list. Big, bold, and brash (and the first time the franchise had released on PC), Tekken 7 enjoyed its time in the limelight for an extremely long time, having first come out back […]