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"Tekken 8 Season 2 Changes Spark Outrage, Pros Threaten Boycott, Steam Reviews Plummet"

by Sebastian Apr 03,2025

The Tekken 8 community has erupted in frustration following the Season 2 update, which introduced several controversial changes to the game. The patch notes disclosed a sweeping buff to characters' damage output and offensive capabilities, leading some fans to argue that the game has deviated significantly from the traditional Tekken experience.

Professional Tekken player JoKa expressed his dismay, stating that the Season 2 update makes the game feel "nothing like Tekken at all." He elaborated on his concerns, saying, "Even slight buffs to characters, along with increased stance-based transitions enhancing 50/50 situations, are not the right direction. The new moves added are overpowering with minimal counterplay. Characters are losing their unique identities through homogenization, which is lazy balancing. The nerfing of oki and the buffing of heat don't make sense. Combo damage is excessive across the board. While sidesteps have improved, it's irrelevant when moves have such crazy tracking and hitboxes. Chip damage remains too high with most heat smashes unchanged. Removing strategy in favor of more 50/50 situations isn't engaging gameplay and moves away from Tekken's core."

JoKa also questioned, "Where are the defensive options that were promised?"

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; }As expected, Tekken 8's Steam page has become a platform for players to voice their dissatisfaction. The game has been inundated with over 1,100 negative reviews in the last two days, resulting in a 'mostly negative' user review rating for recent reviews.

One of the top reviews reads, "A genuinely good game ruined by developers who seem to be out of touch with the community." Another review criticizes, "The new season turned every character into an easy-to-use mix-up machine without any defensive buffs." A third review laments, "After promising improvements to defensive options, the balance team has instead focused on overpowering offense, stripping players of any agency in defense."

Another player expressed frustration, saying, "Not every character should be able to force constant 50/50 mixups, but it seems the balance team lacks creativity in character development. It's disheartening to see a legacy fighting game defined solely by offensive play with little room for defensive strategies."

The backlash has been so severe that some Tekken enthusiasts are switching to Capcom's Street Fighter 6. Others are labeling Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history," with some professional players threatening to abandon Tekken 8 altogether.

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 to address these grievances. Some are calling for a complete rollback of the patch, while others are hoping for an emergency follow-up patch to rectify the most pressing issues.