The Tekken 8 community is up in arms following the release of the Season 2 update, which has introduced a series of contentious changes to the game. Patch notes detailed an overall increase in character damage potential and offensive pressure, leading some fans to argue that the update has pushed Tekken 8 away from its traditional roots.
Professional Tekken player JoKa voiced his frustration, stating, "This does not feel like Tekken AT ALL." He criticized the update for buffing characters, enhancing 50/50 situations, and adding new moves with minimal counterplay. JoKa pointed out that the update has resulted in a homogenization of character identities, excessive combo damage across the roster, and a lack of promised defensive options. "Removing strategy in favor of more 50/50 situations isn't interesting gameplay and is moving away from the foundation of Tekken," he added.T8 now hit the most negative reviews in a day since the day the Tekken Shop launched one year ago
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.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }As expected, the backlash has been significant on Tekken 8's Steam page, where players are venting their frustrations. The game has received over 1,100 negative reviews in the last two days, shifting the user review rating to 'mostly negative' for recent reviews.
One of the top reviews describes the game as a "genuinely good game held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell." Another review lamented the update's focus on offense, stating, "New season dropped and they made every character into a braindead easy mix up machine without a single buff to defense." A further review highlighted the lack of defensive options, saying, "After promising changes to open up defensive options, the balance team has doubled down on extremely powerful offense that takes away all agency from the defending player."
Critics argue that the update has reduced the game to a series of forced 50/50 mixups, with one player noting, "Not every character needs to be able to force 50/50 canned mixups constantly, but it seems like the balance team doesn't have any other ideas for how to build characters at this point. It's just a shame to see another legacy fighting game become entirely defined by character offense and situations with little to no response from the defender."
The dissatisfaction is so profound that some fans are switching to Capcom's Street Fighter 6, while others label Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history." Several professional players are even contemplating abandoning Tekken 8.
I don't know if I'll continue playing Tekken if this patch stays.
I'm sorry for doomposting, but I thought it had a chance to be a better game.
I'm just really sad.
Like depressed.
I streamed 70 hours of Tekken this past week to prep for s2 just to have those hopes shattered.
Gn.— END | Jesandy (@Jesandy1572) April 1, 2025
The community is now calling for action from the development team, hoping for a response to their complaints. Some are demanding a complete rollback of the patch, while others are urging for an emergency follow-up patch to address the key issues raised.
