TEKKEN 8 is the next main installment for the famous Japanese fighting game franchise, set to be released on 26 January 2024. On 22 November, Bandai Namco released the reveal and gameplay trailer of the “Seeker of Truth” Leo, a German Baji Quan user.
They were born to Niklas Kliesen, a world-renowned spelunker and archaeologist, and Emma Kliesen, a specialist in genetic research. While on one of his expeditions, Niklas mysteriously disappeared one day while Leo was a child. When Leo was around 19 years old, their mother, Emma, was killed by an unknown assailant, which pushed Leo to a quest to find out the identity of the murderer.
As they attended the King of Iron Fist Tournament in TEKKEN 6, Leo infiltrated a train to find a computer file containing information about his mother, who researched the Devil Gene for the Mishima Zaibatsu. They also found that Kazuya Mishima, the head of G Corporation had ordered the killings of researchers who were no longer useful for his cause.
In TEKKEN 8, Leo learns to control his anger, and begins their search for more concrete answers which will lead them to the killer who took their mother’s life.
Leo becomes a part of the game’s initial roster of 32 characters, which is now complete with the announcement of new characters “Purple Lightning” Reina and “Refined Violence” Victor Chevalier.
Everything about Tekken 8
TEKKEN 8 is an upcoming Japanese fighting game co-developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Arika, which is set to be released on 26 January 2024 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X and Series S.
It continues the story of protagonist Jin Kazama and his main motivation of ending the Mishima Bloodline to save the world from the Devil Gene. His father and antagonist Kazuya Mishima, after defeating his grandfather Heihachi, has embarked on a journey for world domination through G Corporation’s military forces. Jin, now reunited with his long-lost mother Jun Kazama, learns to control his Devil Form and the game follows his goal of stopping his father’s reign of terror.
Director Katsuhiro Harada has also announced that TEKKEN 8 will reward aggressiveness over defensive or patient play, and will focus more on stage destruction and character reactions to make the gameplay more enjoyable. The new “Heat” gauge system will not only grant chip damage and additional move sets like Heat Smash, but will also change the properties of certain move sets.
The game’s launch roster has 32 playable characters, including fan-favorites like Paul Phoenix, Yoshimitsu and Lars Alexandersson, returning characters such as Jun Kazama and Raven, the 8th upgraded version of Jack and three brand-new additions: Azucena, Victor and Reina.
In contrast to its predecessor which was powered by Unreal Engine 4, Tekken 8 will be the first major fighting game to utilize the latest Unreal Engine 5 game engine. Thus, all characters’ models have been completely remade and improved from the previous games by making the most of the latest generation of hardware.
The Tekken Franchise
Tekken, translated as “Iron Fist”, is a Japanese fighting and arcade video games franchise developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The video game developer, then known as Namco, began the series in 1994, and by 2023 it has sold over 55 million copies, thus becoming the third best-selling fighting game franchise of all time.
Similar to games like Mortal Kombat and Injustice, the gameplay focuses on hand-to-hand combat with several key mechanics like blocks, throws, escapes, combos and special moves. The series also has a huge cast of characters, whose stories are narrated through fully voice acted dialogues and meticulously designed battle arenas, some of which can even be broken during fights.
