Eddy Gordo has been released for Tekken 8. The game’s first DLC character and age-old fan favourite, players new and old have flocked to the game to try out the fighter – and see what’s come to the game in the assosiated patch. However, his arrival was marred by serious issues that’ve tarred the game’s generally glowing perception.
You may be wondering how bad these issues could really be? S**t happens, right? Let’s start with the most egrigious one. Perhaps the best addition in Tekken 8 is its replay tool, which allows you to go back into real matches and practice actual situations you’ve run into online. It’s brilliant, allowing you to take the reigns and drill punishes, as the game highlights crucial improvement points for you.
It’s probably the best training and new player-oriented tool added to the series in recent memory, in my opinion.
With the release of Eddy Gordo, replays featuring the new character can’t be accessed by those who haven’t bought him first. This means that one of Tekken’s best features will be partially locked for those who haven’t coughed up the cash for post-launch DLC. For now, it’s not a huge problem. One character out of dozens is a drop in the bucket, but it’ll only get worse as the game’s roster expands in the coming months.
It’s also gross. It means that DLC characters are effectively harder to practice against than the base roster, creating an actual substantive disadvantage to those out there with the gall to only buy the $70 game and expect access to all of its features (or buy the expensive Seaon Pass).
If it were locking you out of playing Eddy in this replay tool there’d at least be a devil’s advocate argument to be made, but not even being able to play your own character in your own replays is nasty.
Then there are genuinely baffling changes to fights in Tekken 8. The latest Tekken 8 patch has totally changed the wall splat state. This state refers to when a fighter is hit into a wall, and has unique properties and consequences that are crucial for all levels of play. Here’s a simple example – characters like Dragunov have wall-splat attacks that can only be performed if the opponent is in a wall splat state. It goes way deeper than that, but that’s a basic application.
With the latest patch, combos and moves that should result in a wall splat state no longer do. The hit box of characters with their backs to the wall has been changed, resulting in certain attacks and strings whiffing altogether. It’s understood that certain characters were able to truly excel by the wall, but game-wide changes to the system have done little but befuddle those invested in the game.
Problem child Xiaoyu’s low stance – which was meant to be nerfed – is still dodging certain attacks it frankly shouldn’t. In addition, specific characters’ backdashes are way shorter than intended, acting as a hard movement nerf in a game where movement is everything.
This all, of course, comes roughly a month before Evo Japan. As the game’s first real premier competitive event, sudden adjustments like this must be worrying to the highest echelon of player.
To the Tekken 8 team’s credit, it has addressed some of these issues, and have expressed the intent to work on a fix. But it’s a bizzare fumble. The game is laden with a wave of microtransactions that, while undoubtedly being handled by a separate team to those who test the gameplay patches, raise questions about where resources are being invested.
Bandai Namco is aware that the game is beloved by its community. In its recently released quarterly financial report, the game is noted as having “[gained] high acclaim from fans”. However, considering that the report itself notes that quarterly revenue is lacking compared to predicted figures, one wonders where the company’s focus lies.
The Tekken 8 team has, undoubtedly, created an excellent installment to one of gaming’s most legendary series. One can only hope that patches like this are an exception – a mere stumble on the path – and not a sign of what’s to come.