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

The Tekken 8 community has erupted in frustration following the Season 2 update, which has introduced a series of changes that many fans believe have shifted the game away from its traditional roots. The patch notes highlighted significant buffs to character damage and offensive pressure, prompting widespread criticism that the game no longer embodies the classic Tekken experience.

Veteran Tekken player JoKa expressed strong disapproval, stating, "The Season 2 update means this does not feel like Tekken AT ALL." He criticized the changes for enhancing 50/50 situations and introducing new moves with minimal counterplay options. JoKa also highlighted concerns about the homogenization of characters, the removal of unique identities, and an overemphasis on offensive capabilities at the expense of defensive strategies. He questioned the absence of promised defensive options, noting, "Where are the defensive options that were mentioned?"

T8 now hit the most negative reviews in a day since the day the Tekken Shop launched one year ago
byu/YourGameTVlol inTekken

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As a result of the backlash, Tekken 8's Steam page has been inundated with over 1,100 negative reviews in the last two days, leading to a 'mostly negative' user review rating for recent reviews. Players have voiced their discontent, with one review describing the game as "Genuinely good game held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell." Another review lamented the lack of defensive buffs, stating, "New season dropped and they made every character into a braindead easy mix up machine without a single buff to defense." A third review criticized the balance team for focusing on powerful offense, 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."

The sentiment among some fans is that the game is becoming overly focused on offensive strategies, with one reviewer expressing disappointment that "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."

Frustration has led some fans to abandon Tekken 8 in favor of Capcom's Street Fighter 6, while others have labeled Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history." Some professional players have even threatened to stop playing Tekken 8 altogether. Pro player Jesandy shared their disappointment on social media, stating, "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."

The community is now eagerly awaiting a response from the development team, with many hoping for either a complete rollback of the patch or an emergency update to address the key issues raised by players.