The legacy continues and the hype for it is real! Tekken, the 1994 game, is back with its 8th installment and does it not look impressive? The game has had a legacy spanning decades and a vast fan following. Bandai Namco’s Tekken 8 releases on 26 January 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but the BETA version, Closed Network Test (CNT) is in. Nowandlive is here to help you analyze what potential the game holds and what difference you get to see in this installment.
What’s in the storyline
Michael Murray, producer has already attested that “We’ve changed the game quite a bit this time.” The BETA certainly lives up to his claims. The game is simply Tekken built from scratch. The home release of Tekken 7 had 8 newcomers to the story.- Claudio, Gigas, JOsic, Kataraina, Kazumi, Lucky Chloe, Master Raven, and Shaheen. Not much has been revealed about the story but Noisy Pixels claim “Tekken 8 Will Have a Bigger Story Mode Than 7”.
A possible storyline could have the game focus on the aftermaths of the events of Tekken 7. Tekken 7 witnessed the much awaited defeat of Jin Kazama at the hands of his son, Jin Kazama, which possibly ended the curse of the Mishima bloodline. The curse could potentially still be there and haunt Jin and the others.
There are two story modes in the game- a main story which will focus on Jin and Kazuya, and a story mode that will be in the Arcade area of Arcade Quest mode, paired with Time Attack, Survival, Team Battle and Practice Mode.
Tekken 8 roster- Who is coming back?

The entire roster for Tekken 8 has not been confirmed but a few fighters have been revealed in the CNT. Tekken typically allows you to choose from the 16 fighters enlisted and proceed. A few fighters have been retained and a few new faces will soon be in the mix.
Here’s a list of all the fighters from tekken 8 who are said to be in the running-
- Dragunov (NEW)
- Shaheen (NEW)
- Steve Fox (NEW)
- Leo (NEW)
- Yoshimitsu (NEW)
- Kuma (NEW)
- Azucena
- Raven
- Jin Kazama
- Kazuya Mishima
- Paul Phoenix
- Marshall Law
- Nina Williams
- Jack-8
- King
- Lars Alexandersson
- Jun Kazama
- Ling Xiaoyu
- Asuka Kazama
- Leroy Smith
- Lili
- Bryan Fury
- Hwoarang
- Claudio Sefarino
New Graphics and Integration

Much has changed since the last season of Tekken that came out. There’s an easy 6 year gap of technology between Tekken 7 and Tekken 8. Tekken 8 is built on Unreal Engine 5- the first of the future tech. The characters have all been reconstructed from scratch and have intense and disgruntling detailings. WHen you load the game itself, Kazuya’s eyes will haunt you to the ends of the earth. On the fighter selection screen, Tekken 8 now shows you the fighter stats and their fighting styles- a plus point for all the diehards out there.
The animation simply pierces your soul. The smoothness in the animation makes everything feel flowy. The transition in moves and fights is seamless and greatly enhances user experience. Not just the characters but the ambience has been upgraded too. The veins throbbing on the fighter’s faces, the depth of details in fights all give a very cinematic look to the game.
Soundtracks and Background Scores

Most of the new soundtracks added to the game are brilliant. The Hanger stage and the Fight RIng stage have particularly catchy background scores. The character voices sound brilliant and the dialogues blend well with the combat noises.
In Tekken 7 the jukebox mode was only integrated with the game’s PlayStation 4 version, however Tekken 8 has integrated it into the gameplay in all the models. This function, which first featured in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, allows users to hear the soundtracks for all previous Tekken games. Players can also change the stage music to any of the game’s already-existing songs.
The “After the CNT” story-
Many gamers reported a lag in the gameplay during fights on Wi-Fi connections. The Tekken team has incorporated some of these problems to improve the netcode, especially the Wi-Fi connectivity.
The heat meter is a problematic distraction in a lot of users which has them fish for moves that are still available to them. Another difficulty was encountered in heat engagers when players had to give up their playing based on their heat status. The original playstyle being neutered gave an undue advantage to your opponents. The lack of moves makes the fight predictable when players are forced to go on the defense mode on low heat which takes away from the experience of mind games players are used to. Tweaks on heat and gameplay will be made soon for efficient gameplay.
What about the arcade quest?
The mode features three primary buildings, Tekken Dojo, Arcade, and Iron Fist Outfitters.This mode emphasizes the player’s story while introducing them to the gameplay of Tekken and arcade culture. There will be a ton of single-player content in Arcade Quest, according to Murray, with Ghost Mode being one of them. These ghostly actors should behave like “real humans” because they have AI learning. Additionally, you can come across CPU replicas of well-known players. An AI ghost version of you also exists and imitates you. Murray gives an illustration of how the ghost should imitate you- you drop a combo, the ghost drops a combo. The ghost becomes better as well as you do
This mode also includes some advice and tutorials similar to T7’s punishment mode, although the quality is much better. It also contains battle money, a ranking system, replay mode, and objectives.
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Conclusion
Tekken 8 is shaping up to be one of the most commercialized and hyped installment in the series. With new characters and story modes, the game is bound to intrigue everyone, especially since the CNT looks promising. Tekken 8 drops on 26 January 2024, across all platforms. Gear your suits and get ready to fight! For more visit nowandlive website.