Yet another fresh fighting game honeymoon review.
As someone who played mainly 2D FGs it feels like a breath of fresh air. There was so much new stuff at first, sometimes it felt counterintuitive, controlling characters continuously without mindless button mashing was like controlling a plane for the first time. But after getting used to it for a time period and applying some similar concepts in genre (like framedata and frametraps in particular, abusing save moves, etc.), I've noticed amusing footsies (sidesteps and ducking make it so good) with one of the most satisfying movement options in genre (without airdashes, mind you). Legacy stuff and tons of knowledge checks may feel overwhelming sometimes, but actually it turned out very interesting to get used to it as well.
I am concerned about Heat System, because it feels too oppressive sometimes with heat smash and burst being safe on block for most of the characters, but I hope to be wrong. At least it is not a comeback mechanic and there are counter plays to it.
Netcode seems significantly better than T7, it was fine on 100-110 ms ping, but it is not consistent and may have random lags, thankfully it can be fixed via restarting the set in lobby.
Also I adore the OST. It is so diverse and has energy of several previous games in the series at the same time while also bringing something new to the table. Great customizable jukebox included.
Haven't tried that many casual/single player modes except Tekken Ball (it's fun) and Arcade Quest, but the latter seems really disappointing and probably one of the worst tutorial modes I've played. I expected that this mode would give me some fundamental tutorial on how to play Tekken, but instead I was demolishing braindead ai with the same options over and over. Thanks for explaining how ukemi works here, I guess. On the other hand, if you want to improve your game there are great qol features. Training mode, while being not convenient at first, has a lot of settings to try out various potential situations in game, the possibility to choose the necessary move for dummy instead of recording it is such a time saver. Replay feature with built tips system to recommend how to punish and duck specific moves helps a lot.
Overall a really great game by far. 2023 and 2024 are the most amazing years to learn and play fgs for a long time (for me) alongside SF6.
As someone who played mainly 2D FGs it feels like a breath of fresh air. There was so much new stuff at first, sometimes it felt counterintuitive, controlling characters continuously without mindless button mashing was like controlling a plane for the first time. But after getting used to it for a time period and applying some similar concepts in genre (like framedata and frametraps in particular, abusing save moves, etc.), I've noticed amusing footsies (sidesteps and ducking make it so good) with one of the most satisfying movement options in genre (without airdashes, mind you). Legacy stuff and tons of knowledge checks may feel overwhelming sometimes, but actually it turned out very interesting to get used to it as well.
I am concerned about Heat System, because it feels too oppressive sometimes with heat smash and burst being safe on block for most of the characters, but I hope to be wrong. At least it is not a comeback mechanic and there are counter plays to it.
Netcode seems significantly better than T7, it was fine on 100-110 ms ping, but it is not consistent and may have random lags, thankfully it can be fixed via restarting the set in lobby.
Also I adore the OST. It is so diverse and has energy of several previous games in the series at the same time while also bringing something new to the table. Great customizable jukebox included.
Haven't tried that many casual/single player modes except Tekken Ball (it's fun) and Arcade Quest, but the latter seems really disappointing and probably one of the worst tutorial modes I've played. I expected that this mode would give me some fundamental tutorial on how to play Tekken, but instead I was demolishing braindead ai with the same options over and over. Thanks for explaining how ukemi works here, I guess. On the other hand, if you want to improve your game there are great qol features. Training mode, while being not convenient at first, has a lot of settings to try out various potential situations in game, the possibility to choose the necessary move for dummy instead of recording it is such a time saver. Replay feature with built tips system to recommend how to punish and duck specific moves helps a lot.
Overall a really great game by far. 2023 and 2024 are the most amazing years to learn and play fgs for a long time (for me) alongside SF6.