I received some of the most vicious beatdowns ever in a fighting game during the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test. The element of danger – a back and forth where any mistake meant a vicious turnaround – made matches thrum with energy.
The Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test was the kind of experience where I was always leaning forward in my seat. Always on edge. I am utterly terrible at it. Yet I crave more. I got in quite a few matches during the play period over the weekend. For starters, and most importantly, every match played perfectly smoothly with no hiccups. If I was concerned about whether someone’s connections speed was going to be a hassle, I could look at an indicator to check. The game tells you how fast your opponent’s internet is. Not only this, but it’ll also tell you if it’s a wired or wi-fi connection, if that’s a big issue for you. Heck, it even shows how much processing power it’s taking up on the PC version, so you can see if someone’s computer is having a hard time running it. So, you’re always in the know about your opponent’s connection.
Having it run smoothly was wonderful, as the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test looked stunning in action and I wouldn’t wanted that messed up with slowdown or choppiness. Like Mortal Kombat 1, this game just looks staggeringly good. Seeing the fighters going toe-to-toe, brilliant flashes of explosives strikes and launching kicks erupting all throughout the match, made the game a treat to watch in action. The character models all looked fantastic, and the varied cast showed off great personality and detail. It’s great seeing what modern consoles can do for fighting games.
I got a lot of time to enjoy that detail as my character was sailing through the air, too. As someone who hasn’t played the series in a very, very long time, I was not quite prepared for how much you can make someone pay for making a mistake. With little emphasis on jumping, the game feels heavily focused on spacing and combos. If I wasn’t careful with what move I stuck out there, I would get caught up in a blender of kicks and punches that would leave me near-dead often. However, I could do the same to someone else if I caught them getting too greedy with their offense.
This emphasis on spacing made the matches feel tense throughout the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test. I’d be desperate to stick a move out there and start my offense, but if I got overzealous, I’d get stomped hard. If they did the same and missed something, that was my chance to got on the offensive. As someone who gets antsy during matches and just has to take a swing, this game was doing its best to break me of that habit.
Not that I didn’t have any options if I was in trouble. The game features a Rage mode when you are at low health. This kicks in automatically, and it increases your damage until you’re dead. It’s handy for turning things around when you’re almost finished. You also gain access to a Rage Art in this state, which is a highly-damaging super move that can really turn the tables (that only requires you to hit R2 to do it, so it’s also easy to pull off). These all looked incredible in action, so it always felt good to do one when your opponent was about to clean you out. These moves have saved me multiple times, and ensure that, even if you’re having trouble getting a combo going at low health, you still have one last trick to pull.
There was another mechanic in the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test, Heat, which lets you do some nasty things in a fight. You can activate your Heat Timer once per match, and can do so with a bit of a counter state to turn the tables on an opponent that’s rolling you. You start the round with this, so you can use it at any time. Once you do use it, your moves will do chip damage while Heat is active. You also gain access to a special Heat Smash move, which hurts a lot but ends Heat as soon as you use you. Naturally, you’ll want to save it for a special combo ender. It’s a neat mechanic that lets you turn the tide a bit like the Rage Art, once again giving more tools to ensure there is a dramatic back and forth between fighters.
The game also demonstrated that the developers have a good eye for the spectacle and tension of the end of a match. I had one fight where it was down to a single hit between myself and the other character. We both took a swing at just about the same time, and the whole game went into slow motion as my hit landed first. It was so exciting to see happen, and it loaded some real energy into the moment. I wish other fighting games did something like this, as it just made things so hype. Even though it was just me playing in my game room.
It also just felt really good to hit people in the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test. I know this is a fighting game and that’s kind of expected, but there’s just a great sense of impact behind the punches and kicks. The visuals and sound make you feel every landed hit, whether you’re giving or receiving. It made the moment to moment play feel really engaging, drawing me in with the promise of slamming folks even harder. Especially some of King’s vicious throws. Combo-ing into those from a few blows just felt amazing.
For other beginners like myself, there is a feature to help you out if you’re not tossing people around as much as you’d like. Special Style quickly ties a handful of combos and special moves to the four main buttons on your controller, allowing new players to easily put together devastating juggles that transition into powerful strikes. You can flick this on or off during a match as well, so you’re free to use it or remove it whenever you see fit. This turned it into a neat tool you could bust out at any time to help your combos if you were struggling.
Which I definitely was. I knew the series was complex, but Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test showed me just how complicated the movesets could be. I’m talking pages and pages of moves within the move lists to learn and put to use. There’s tons of depth here for those who want to explore it. It’s a daunting depth, too. I think Special Style will be a neat bridge to getting people through that depth, as you can flick it on if your combos just aren’t coming together that night so you can have something to fall back on. If you just want to goof off with buddies, it lets you do cool stuff easily. I like it, but I find I rely on it a bit too much when I am getting stomped in a match. I keep using it as a crutch instead of learning. So, for me, I’m going to turn it off and leave it off (probably) or I’ll never learn.
There wasn’t much room to practice during the beta weekend. You could hop on a machine and try out some moves from your list while you waited for an opponent, but that was it. I saw the Tekken Dojo, a location in the Tekken Fight Lounge where I could practice once the full game came out. I’m definitely curious how that will go, as, like I said, there’s a lot to learn. Given how robust Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1’s tutorials and training are, I am hoping to see an equally good training mode here. I sure could use it.
I was still getting currency even when I lost my fights, though. The game has a good deal of unlockable content that you can buy with in-game currency, and the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test was fairly generous with it. I easily racked up about 900k while goofing off for an hour, which allows me to buy a handful of plates and title plates to jazz up my profile card. You can also buy stuff for your in-game avatar (these remind me of Xbox Avatars). No monstrous creatures like Street Fighter 6 here, but there are some fun outfits you can buy if you want to play dress-up.
Overall, I had a blast with the Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test, and am extremely excited to play the full game in a few months. The action feels great, the rounds are tense thanks to all of the mechanics that let you turn things around, and Special Style gave me a flexible tool to let me do neat moves while I’m still getting to know the game. If it’s got a good tutorial to get me going, I am going to be all over this game on release.
Tekken 8 will come out on January 25, 2024 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
