It’s fascinating to see how Tekken 8 went from being a must-have fighting game to one of the most review-bombed titles on Steam. Originally launching with plenty of goodwill and content, many fans feel that the balance adjustments made to this game have ruined what made the game great. Adding microtransactions after the fighter reviewed well didn’t help things either.
There was a time when fans wanted adjustments to Street Fighter 6, as those satisfying gameplay mechanics can get repetitive after a year or two of gaming. However, after seeing this mess Tekken got itself into, fans might want to applaud Capcom for not doing any major balance changes to their flagship fighter.
Fans being upset with Tekken 8 happened pretty early, with Season 1 seemingly ruining the balance that was there. While the game wasn’t perfect at launch, fans didn’t want to see all these changes ruin what they liked. Season 2 didn’t change things either, as the game is now more broken than ever.
Recently, some fans discovered that the new DLC character Anna Williams also has some bugged mechanics. Anna originally had a mechanic where she could slap the opponent, and they could slap her back. It would have been the typical catfight-style slapfest media has portrayed. However, this bug has led to her copying the opponent’s move set. Sometimes the opponent can also copy her moves, making things really annoying.
While Street Fighter 6 has its flaws, most of which are monetization-based, the gameplay hasn’t changed much. Long-term players might be annoyed by this, but the fighter’s mechanics are already refined, and messing with it too much could destroy everything. Seeing Capcom show restraint with their updates and balance changes should be applauded, especially if their game isn’t broken.
All hope for Tekken 8 isn’t entirely gone, as the game still has plenty of content for those who enjoy single-player fighters. Story Mode progresses Jin’s ongoing narrative pretty well and teases a major role for Reina in the future. There’s also plenty of customization items for the roster, so players don’t even have to buy those classic costumes if they don’t want them.
Even with plenty of single-player content, that’s not going to please the hardcore fans who play online to get better. Despite our love for solo activities, this new entry was also made for the eSports crowd, and they deserve a competent fighting game to play competitively. Bandai Namco is in the middle of Season 2, so they still have time to turn this ship around and make things better again.
You can complain about the lack of cool content in Street Fighter 6, but it nails the fighting and that’s what’s most important. Maybe Tekken 8 will hit that mark again, and they’re gonna have to work hard to repair the strained relationship with competitive players.
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