Tekken 8 was actually a pretty popular game at its release in 2024. The fighting game had good sales and many fans of the series were satisfied. Over time, however, a certain frustration grew, which has now reached its peak with Season 2. Both players and professionals are extremely dissatisfied.
What is the problem with Tekken 8? Tekken 8 is a fast-paced, aggressive fighting game. With the new Heat Moves, many characters can exert strong pressure and, more importantly, cause enormous damage with small combos.
This was already the case at release, but over time a certain frustration grew because some characters were weaker than others due to the aggressive meta. Even professionals like Arslan Ash (multiple EVO Champion, the most prestigious title in the fighting game scene) expressed negative opinions about Tekken 8 in 2024 and the focus on Heat Moves (via x.com).
Many players eagerly awaited Season 2 and the balancing changes that were supposed to come with it. However, the season is not going well at all. Players are disappointed, and some professionals are even considering quitting Tekken 8.
Even more offensive options and frustrated professionals
What has changed with Season 2? Many players hoped that the update would fix the game’s problems, but the opposite of what many players wanted happened. Every character received new moves, but this brought the offensive back into focus.
Defensive options were hardly added, making the aggressive focus
even more pronounced. Additionally, more 50/50 mechanics were implemented. These are situations where one has to guess what will happen to win. This naturally leads to frustration.
On top of that, bugs were introduced into the game, for example, attacks that cannot be blocked or evaded.
How does the community react? In the general player base on Steam, the update is not well received at all. On Steam, the game currently sits at Extremely Negative
for recent reviews. For all reviews, it is only Mixed
.
Professionals are also dissatisfied with the update. Arslan Ash posted on x.com: After playing Season 2, I have to say we were ungrateful for Season 1.
The American player Tone expressed sadness on x.com and hopes that the game can still turn around. He is even considering quitting playing Tekken 8.
Other players like eclipse (via x.com) are already talking about streaming all day instead.
The future will show whether the game can recover and regain the favor of players and professionals. After all, the game is among the most popular fighting games of recent years, along with Street Fighter 6. The anticipation of MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes was high: My Game of the Year 2024 is coming out next week and reminds me of how I used to virtually fight with my grandma
