Tekken 8 Reviews Fall to Mixed – Who Would Have Guessed!?

Tekken 8 is pretty great, and while my favourite is still Tekken 3 on the PlayStation 1, the franchise has a history of amazing graphics and fantastic mixed-style hand-to-hand combat that’s always been a great counterpoint to the weapon-based combat of Soul Calibur, both of which come from effectively competing departments at Namco!

Tekken 8

Misleading Business Practices

However, reviews for Tekken 8 were misleading, as the developers and/or publishers, added microtransactions and battle passes after the reviews went live. That’s a sneaky AF tactic, as I would have knocked a few points off for those features, and we all know others would have too. Alas, it seems this is now being reflected in the Steam scores, having now dropped to mixed, and there are signs they could drop further. Especially when people who pre-ordered the $110 premium edition getting shafted by the fact it doesn’t include the later included battle pass… ouch.

That and I have a disdain for games that are sold at full prices with premium versions that cost more and still charge for additional content and battle passes. I could understand with a cheaper game or free-to-play title, but trying to squeeze your customers for both is just a kick in the knickers.

There is a free tier, but this again locks players out of earning certain rewards, despite having already paid $70+. Tekken 8 added the fight pass along with the DLC for Eddy Gordo. However, the former overshadowed the latter pretty damn quick. Players are calling for a boycott, which hasn’t really worked, but the overall sentiment still isn’t a positive one.

Is Tekken 8 a fantastic fighting game? Absolutely, but is it worth what they’re asking to get all the content? Well, no. Tekken 8 is currently £54.99 on Steam, £84.99 for the Deluxe Edition and £89.99 for the Ultimate Edition. The Deluxe update is £34.99, the Ultimate Pack is £16.99 and if you want Eddy Gordo that’s £6.99.