There are two constants in a Tekken game, and that’s the inclusion of Paul Phoenix in the game roster and his incredibly vertical hairstyle. There are three traditions, technically, if you’re counting Phoenix being beaten by a bear. For Tekken 8, that tradition is being kept mostly intact, although this time, Phoenix is entering the King of the Iron Fist tournament with a new look that is drastically different from previous incarnations.
Beyond a new hairstyle that looks like it was stolen from a K-pop boy band, not much has changed when it comes to the punishment that Phoenix dishes out. Using a hybrid mix of karate and judo, Paul delivers powerful and precise blows to finish off opponents. As seen in the trailer, he still has his signature Death Fist attack, which has a long build-up time but delivers devastating damage if it connects.
Since its reveal at the September 2022 PlayStation State of Play, Tekken 8’s roster has slowly grown. Kazuya and Jin Mishima, Jun Kazuma, Marshall Law, and Nina Williams are all confirmed to appear in the game, which introduces a number of new graphical and technical improvements to the series. The biggest of these new gameplay mechanics is the Heat Gauge, which can be used to activate a Heat Burst which gives players more options to be aggressive in battle.
Later in March, a closed alpha will be held at specially designated offline locations around the world, the first one being a location test at Evo Japan 2023 for Tekken 7 players. Tekken 8 doesn’t have a release date yet, but it will launch on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
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