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

The Tekken 8 community has erupted in frustration following the Season 2 update, which introduced several contentious changes to the game. According to the patch notes, there was a significant increase in character damage potential and offensive pressure, leading some fans to argue that the update has deviated too far from the traditional Tekken experience.

Professional Tekken player JoKa expressed strong sentiments about the changes, stating, "This does not feel like Tekken AT ALL." He elaborated on his concerns, saying, "Characters getting buffed even in the slightest is not the way, along with more stance-based transitions where 50/50 situations are enhanced. Some of the new moves added are insane with little to no counterplay. Characters getting their weaknesses patched and identities being removed by homogenization is lazy balancing. Oki being gutted and heat just getting buffed makes no sense. Combo damage is too much across the whole roster. I definitely think the sidesteps are better but does that really matter when moves exist with crazy tracking/hitboxes? Chip damage is still excessive with most heat smashes remaining the same. Removing strategy in favor of more 50/50 situations isn't interesting gameplay and is moving away from the foundation of Tekken. 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

As expected, the backlash has been palpable on Tekken 8's Steam page, where players have voiced their discontent through a surge of negative reviews, amassing over 1,100 in just the last two days. This has led to a 'mostly negative' user review rating for recent reviews. One of the top reviews reads, "Genuinely good game held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell." Another review criticizes the update, 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 laments, "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." Yet another review expresses disappointment, saying, "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 Tekken enthusiasts are turning to Capcom's Street Fighter 6 instead. Others have labeled Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history," with some professional players even threatening to abandon Tekken 8 altogether. One such player, Jesandy, shared their despair on social media, saying, "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, hoping for some acknowledgment of the issues raised. Some are calling for a complete rollback of the patch, while others are advocating for an emergency follow-up patch to address the key concerns.