Game is fantastic so far, with one of the better story modes to come out of a fighting game in awhile with great gameplay overall. What's stopping it from being higher than 4 stars is the balance nightmare that's going on at the moment and the disappointing handling of the Tekken shop.
First of all, Tekken 8 was designed to be a more aggressive game right from the outset. This is fine; more aggression can be quite fun and can at times make for a more interesting viewing experience at Evo. But in doing this, they heavily neutered the neutral game and strategy that Tekken is known for. Playing on the defence is incredibly difficult in Tekken 8, with the preferred strategy is to just rundown your opponent with 50-50s mixups and frame-traps.
This oddly makes Tekken 8 both easier and harder to play than other instalments. Aggro players are heavily rewarded, whilst it often feels like you can get punished for playing defensive in Tekken 8. Don't get me wrong; you can still play the neutral and defence in Tekken 8, but it doesn't feel as rewarding this time around, taking away a bit of strategy from the game.
Secondly, I accept that to fund a game like Tekken 8 for nearly a decade is going to cost them a lot of money, so naturally a cosmetic shop is needed. That's fine, but launching it a month after the game had been out so it wouldn't affect reviews is a bit scummy. If what I've seen is true, buying these cosmetics can actually ruin your save file as well. Jokes.
First of all, Tekken 8 was designed to be a more aggressive game right from the outset. This is fine; more aggression can be quite fun and can at times make for a more interesting viewing experience at Evo. But in doing this, they heavily neutered the neutral game and strategy that Tekken is known for. Playing on the defence is incredibly difficult in Tekken 8, with the preferred strategy is to just rundown your opponent with 50-50s mixups and frame-traps.
This oddly makes Tekken 8 both easier and harder to play than other instalments. Aggro players are heavily rewarded, whilst it often feels like you can get punished for playing defensive in Tekken 8. Don't get me wrong; you can still play the neutral and defence in Tekken 8, but it doesn't feel as rewarding this time around, taking away a bit of strategy from the game.
Secondly, I accept that to fund a game like Tekken 8 for nearly a decade is going to cost them a lot of money, so naturally a cosmetic shop is needed. That's fine, but launching it a month after the game had been out so it wouldn't affect reviews is a bit scummy. If what I've seen is true, buying these cosmetics can actually ruin your save file as well. Jokes.