It’s been another year filled with hit games. From arena fighters to 4X strategy and turn-based RPGs, practically every game category saw a resounding hit over the last twelve months. But as we look back over 2024, one game came to stand above the crowd. Through a mix of polish and style only it could manage to fuse into a near-perfect performance, Tekken 8 delivers a K.O. to the competition and rises above all the rest to be Game of the Year (GOTY).
The core of any video game is playing. Taking control of a character and seeing them through their journey. This focus dictates that the game must have great controls. When you tell your character to do something, they need to do it. This is true for all games, but the critical importance of excellently tuned and responsive controls is doubly so for fighting games.
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When windows of opportunity are measured in frames, having your controls locked in is critical. Tekken 8 delivers on this precise performance with fast, accurate gameplay that allows matches to play out buttery smooth. If a block fails or a combo doesn’t go off, user error is far more likely the culprit than any falling of the game’s.
Just having finely tuned gameplay isn’t enough for a fighting game to excel. The game also has to offer a wide range of characters who bring options to the gameplay experience. This gives players a chance to find a fighter who fits their style, as well as giving them a wide range of styles to learn how to defeat. This keeps the game feeling fresh and exciting. Tekken 8 again delivers in spades.
Tekken 8 should be in GOTY contention for the strength of its characters.
From fast and aggressive characters like Reina to heavy grapples like King, the game goes out of its way to offer something for every player who is looking to conquer the King of Iron Fist Tournament. The game has only continued to expand on the variety of its fighting options as its first season of DLC has delivered even more choices to players in the form of characters, new and old.
Fan favorites Eddy Gordo and Heihachi, along with relative newcomer Lidia Sobieska add to the growing roster. Fans can expect even more to come as one fighter remains to be announced for season one, and a season two of fighters already confirmed.
The final touch of excellence of execution comes in the game’s modes. From classic arcade tournaments and PvP to story modes, the game offers a bevy of gameplay options without any feeling half-baked. It even delivers a unique Ghost Battle mode where players can fight against an AI that learns from their moves, allowing players to fight simulated versions of themselves so they can find their weaknesses.
Gameplay is crucial, but if a game wants a spot in the GOTY discussion, it must have visuals that back up the essence of its delivering experience. That can range from simple pixel art to the most high-end 3D visuals. In Tekken8‘s case, that presentation lands on the high end of the scale. Each fighter is gorgeously rendered and designed to deliver a memorable look that sticks with the audience.
Bandai Namco crafts each of these personalities to be larger-than-life and each look goes just as hard. Keeping pace with the personality of the cast is the arenas their battles take place. From ancient temples and dreamscapes to asteroids hurtling toward the earth, every environment is painstakingly created to be big and beautiful.
While designs are great, video games are a medium in motion. As characters punch, kick, and knock each other through walls and over cliffs, the animation has the daunting task of taking the impossible acts done throughout every match of Tekken 8 and making them both believable and eye-catching.
When a character crashes against a wall, the shock needs to land so hard you’d feel it even without the controller rumble. And in every match players experience here all these things are true. Characters and the world interact smoothly with fluid speed and excellent detail. This makes every match a visual treat as a new fight unfolds.
The final touch that gives Tekken 8‘s visuals that extra spice is how cinematic the camera is. The developers have done a great job of finding key moments in combos and Heat Smashes to create a truly thrilling visual delivery. This exceptional camera work gives the battles a truly cinematic quality few fighting games can claim.
The Tekken franchise stands in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest-running narrative in video games. It shows. There was a willingness to embrace bizarre concepts and outlandish characters back in the day that’s rarely seen in triple-A games these days. While other long-running franchises like Final Fantasy have largely grown out of those early days of game storytelling, Tekken 8 continues to proudly cling to its heritage.
The eighth installment doesn’t forget Tekken’s heritage.
This is seen best in the game’s campaign mode. From fighting bears to every character being omnilingual, the game’s story of warring corporations, fighting tournaments, and demons demands the player accept what they are being shown, no questions asked. Whether it’s Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo promoting her coffee brand in the middle of a battle or Jun’s unwillingness to accept that her husband, a literal devil, is beyond saving, Tekken 8 never comprises what it is. And it is made all the more memorable for it.
You can always tell the difference between when someone is trying to be cool and when they just are. Tekken 8 just is. From sleek menu designs to killer music tracks, every element of the game exudes cool while never becoming overbearing. It somehow crams every aspect of its presentation with an awesomeness that never feels artificial or contrived. It just can’t help it.
It even manages to deliver a character customizer that allows you to make designs that look good and deliver as fabulous as the original designs the developers made. It’s just all so cool. And the unexpected advantage of all this coolness is the feeling that, by associating with it, by busting our chops to master it, in some small way, we are cooler too.
Great gameplay, gorgeous graphics, animation, and camera work, combined with a narrative approach that makes it stand out, all come together to deliver a gaming experience that rises above all the others this year, making Tekken 8 the Game of the Year.
