It is amazing just how well the Tekken series has stood the test of time. The series has been around for 28 years and has thrived on being the best at 3D combat, something that was on full display with Tekken 7. The longest-running 3D fighting game franchise and holder of the Guinness Book of World Records title with the longest-running video game storyline, Tekken 8 will be taking the baton and running things going forward. The direction of the series with what was shown at a recent preview event is mind-blowing and addicting to the point where going back to Tekken 7 after the fact felt disappointing despite it being the best the series has seen.

There are changes with Tekken 8 that are worth noting and it starts at the core. For the first time, the game will not be released as an arcade cabinet prior to release. This game will be no arcade port, but rather built from the ground up on the Unreal 5 Engine for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. This is showed off in the visuals as environmental lighting and textures look to be miles above any other game in the series, and overall potentially some of the best visuals period. The battle concept and the direction of battle are the other main driving force for Tekken 8. It brings thoughts of when John Cena came out against Kurt Angle and declared the start of the Ruthless Aggression era in WWE, as the aggression is the goal in the fights and the feeling was oh-so-satisfying.

Bandai Namco wants the players to feel a mix of full power and destruction while delivering excitement. The development team wanted to accentuate each character's specialties and characteristics while making each battle more enjoyable for players. There are streamlined options that have been added that will cater to more casual players, but further expansion as well for hardcore players. The Rage System is now automatically triggered as Rage State is available once a player's health is at a certain low level. This allows the player to pull off the Rage Art, or a one-shot turnaround move that can make or break the match. For Tekken 8, pulling off the Rage Art isn't tied to different button combinations for each character, instead by simply hitting R2/RT on the controller or down-forward on the d-pad/joystick and the two punch buttons. This can be the ultimate payoff in a match and lead to awesome fights. This isn't the only change that comes to the health gauge as things do get expanded on.

The developers have included a new Recoverable Gauge. This means that when the player blocks certain heavy or aerial combo attacks, a transparent layer is extended on the health gauge as health can be earned back. This is similar to what was seen in the Tekken Tag series, but the gauge does not recover over time. Health is recoverable by hitting or guarding attacks, which makes the next implementation to the series that much more important and potentially the biggest change yet. Backing the aggressive design is the new Heat System as the developers are calling this a "state of enhancement and awakening." While the Rage State has the character dawned in red, the Heat System provides a white aura around the character. Heat can be activated only once per round for ten seconds and the timer will stop when a character lands on the ground. The aggression behind the Heat State is to keep combos and hits coming while overwhelming the defender with enhanced moves and specific Heat Energy moves.  Once initiated, the player will charge at the opponent and can pull off overwhelmingly devastating moves.

The Heat Smash is one move to consume all the energy even if it hasn't lasted ten seconds. The Heat Dash, once initiated, will see the player charge at the opponent and pull off overwhelmingly devastating combos or get inside near an opponent if they're able to block. The Heat System is  an enhancement of the specific move sets for each character in the game and it's completely worth trying out multiple characters for this. Tekken 8 will incentivize having multiple characters to utilize rather than just locking on to a "go-to character." Even with the ten different playable characters during the playtime, no one stuck to just one character. Many mixed and matched the different fighting styles and every different one had their advantages. It's worth noting that while aggression is a factor, there's plenty of defensive tactics that can be rewarded with that Recoverable Gauge. It's amazing that the developers have seemed to find that balance while offering extremely intense and satisfying combat.

Tekken 8 will be dipping into making controls more approachable by offering two control types. The traditional Arcade Style allows for a high degree of freedom with the ability to pull off advanced moves. The other offering is the Special Style, which is aimed for casual play as each button will have a recommended move and combo per character. Actions will change based on the state of the character whether it be Heat or Rage. This is more or less for having friends over that don't need to memorize combos but rather picking up and competing so it isn't a complete blow out.

While there have been character reveal videos over the past few weeks for the game, it doesn't capture the emotion that it gives off when playing it. Yes, the visuals and move sets can be seen but pulling off Heat Engagers and the Rage Art simply flows adrenaline with victory being extremely satisfying. Playing about fifty matches in a few hours left me drained, but wanting more simply based on how this game is designed as unleashing the aggression that will drive Tekken 8 simply creates emotions I haven't personally felt with a fighting game before. All of these changes allow for new strategies to be implemented as players can also expect added moves from characters. Tekken has always been able to keep the core moves for its legacy characters while expanding on their set, and that makes the latest games approachable for longtime veterans of the series. All we need now is a release date, but these latest screenshots will have to do.

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