Great Tekken game with lame monetization that was introduced shortly after launch.

I'm racking up a ton of hours cuz I love Tekken. I however can't condone the addition of a paid battle pass AND premium shop on top of the regular season pass. What makes things particularly unsavory is the use of premium currency in the form of "Tekken Coins" which forces you to have an in-game balance which is a good way to completely trap dollars and cents for "uneven" transactions. I honestly initially supported the addition of the Tekken Shop, but its current form is clearly meant for simple cash extracting purposes. The lack of bundles and general lack of available content makes it feel all the more tacked on. Although completely optional, the cash value of the stuff you can buy is bit out of hand for a $70 game $100 if you get the deluxe edition (which I imagine is what most people are buying). Like what the eff were they thinking?? This ain't a F2P game man.

As for the Battle Pass, this is the first time Tekken has pay-walled customization which is naturally a huge disappointment. Not much to say about it except that the grind is mildly excruciating if Tekken is not your main game. The daily and weekly missions are best described as completely arbitrary. The only missions are play online matches, win online matches, and deal damage. The absolute pinnacle of creativity. After those are completed from just playing the game, you're left with a slow trickle of Battle Pass XP until the next mission cycle rolls around. The rewards... are mostly just reused content from previous Tekken games and.. default Unreal assets??

The lobby system is ok, it certainly has its charm but it is nothing but a glorified menu once you've explored the whole area. One feature which should really be officially implemented is a queue system on the arcade machines. I've seen many instances where people have lined up to play with streamers and thought that was great, however without a line system, whats stopping people from just cutting, mashing or griefing the machine?

Now.. As for the game itself, its freakin' Tekken bb. The straight up most aggressive iteration of it at that. From a simplified perspective, the game highly incentivizes maintaining offensive advantage over your opponent. For casuals this makes mashing buttons even more enjoyable than before, and for pros, a higher ceiling for maintaining defense, a staple of high level Tekken. The introduction of Heat provides all characters a once per round install that increases the potency of their core moveset in addition to a "get out of jail" card in the form of Heat Burst. Overall, Tekken 8 encourages players to engage more with the opponent at close range, versus older Tekken where neutral reigned supreme. Neutral is still extremely important but as mentioned before, maintaining offense is greatly emphasized. With game being so new, there is still a lot to learn and I'm enjoying every second of it. Outside the at-home experience, the IRL Tekken community is popping off with big tournaments and locals to spare. If you have a chance, SUPPORT YOUR LOCALS! While the online Netcode is actually pretty good in this version, Tekken is definitely best enjoyed offline.

Not gonna talk about the story too much, but it was pretty damn good. And as for the graphics, this probably the best looking fighting game of this generation.

All in all, it's the best version of Tekken, kneecapped by clearly corporate level decision-making. All the BS monetization thankfully does not affect the game itself but it still sucks that it's in the game.

Great Tekken game with lame monetization that was introduced shortly after launch. I'm racking up a ton of hours cuz I love Tekken. I however can't condone the addition of a paid battle pass AND premium shop on top of the regular season pass. What makes things particularly unsavory is the use of premium currency in the form of "Tekken Coins" which forces you to have an in-game balance which is a good way to completely trap dollars and cents for "uneven" transactions. I honestly initially supported the addition of the Tekken Shop, but its current form is clearly meant for simple cash extracting purposes. The lack of bundles and general lack of available content makes it feel all the more tacked on. Although completely optional, the cash value of the stuff you can buy is bit out of hand for a $70 game $100 if you get the deluxe edition (which I imagine is what most people are buying). Like what the eff were they thinking?? This ain't a F2P game man. As for the Battle Pass, this is the first time Tekken has pay-walled customization which is naturally a huge disappointment. Not much to say about it except that the grind is mildly excruciating if Tekken is not your main game. The daily and weekly missions are best described as completely arbitrary. The only missions are play online matches, win online matches, and deal damage. The absolute pinnacle of creativity. After those are completed from just playing the game, you're left with a slow trickle of Battle Pass XP until the next mission cycle rolls around. The rewards... are mostly just reused content from previous Tekken games and.. default Unreal assets?? The lobby system is ok, it certainly has its charm but it is nothing but a glorified menu once you've explored the whole area. One feature which should really be officially implemented is a queue system on the arcade machines. I've seen many instances where people have lined up to play with streamers and thought that was great, however without a line system, whats stopping people from just cutting, mashing or griefing the machine? Now.. As for the game itself, its freakin' Tekken bb. The straight up most aggressive iteration of it at that. From a simplified perspective, the game highly incentivizes maintaining offensive advantage over your opponent. For casuals this makes mashing buttons even more enjoyable than before, and for pros, a higher ceiling for maintaining defense, a staple of high level Tekken. The introduction of Heat provides all characters a once per round install that increases the potency of their core moveset in addition to a "get out of jail" card in the form of Heat Burst. Overall, Tekken 8 encourages players to engage more with the opponent at close range, versus older Tekken where neutral reigned supreme. Neutral is still extremely important but as mentioned before, maintaining offense is greatly emphasized. With game being so new, there is still a lot to learn and I'm enjoying every second of it. Outside the at-home experience, the IRL Tekken community is popping off with big tournaments and locals to spare. If you have a chance, SUPPORT YOUR LOCALS! While the online Netcode is actually pretty good in this version, Tekken is definitely best enjoyed offline. Not gonna talk about the story too much, but it was pretty damn good. And as for the graphics, this probably the best looking fighting game of this generation. All in all, it's the best version of Tekken, kneecapped by clearly corporate level decision-making. All the BS monetization thankfully does not affect the game itself but it still sucks that it's in the game.