The Tekken 8 community is in uproar following the Season 2 update, which has introduced several contentious changes to the game. According to the patch notes, there's been an across-the-board increase in character damage potential and offensive pressure, leading to widespread criticism that Tekken 8 is deviating from its classic roots.
Professional Tekken player JoKa has voiced strong disapproval, stating that the update has made the game unrecognizable as Tekken. "Characters getting buffed even in the slightest is not the way, along with more stance-based transitions where 50/50 situations are enhanced," JoKa remarked. He further criticized the addition of new moves with little to no counterplay, the removal of character identities through homogenization, and the imbalance between offensive and defensive mechanics. "Where are the defensive options that were mentioned?" he questioned.T8 now hit the most negative reviews in a day since the day the Tekken Shop launched one year ago
byu/YourGameTVlol inTekken
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }The backlash has been palpable on Tekken 8’s Steam page, where over 1,100 negative reviews have been posted in the last two days, pushing the recent user review rating to 'mostly negative'. Frustrated players have left scathing comments, such as, "Genuinely good game held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell," and "New season dropped and they made every character into a braindead easy mix up machine without a single buff to defense." Another review lamented, "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."
The sentiment among the community is that the game is becoming defined by character offense and situations with little room for defensive play. "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," a reviewer stated, expressing disappointment in seeing another legacy fighting game shift its focus.
In response to these changes, some Tekken enthusiasts are turning to Capcom’s Street Fighter 6, while others label Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history." Professional players have even threatened to abandon Tekken 8 entirely.
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 eagerly awaiting a response from the development team, with many calling for either a complete rollback of the patch or an emergency follow-up to address the key issues raised.
