Tekken 8 Fans Outraged by Season 2 Changes, Pros Consider Quitting, Steam Reviews Plummet

The Tekken 8 community has erupted in fury following the Season 2 update, which introduced several contentious changes to the game. The patch notes detailed a universal increase in character damage potential and offensive pressure, leading many fans to argue that Tekken 8 has deviated significantly from the traditional Tekken experience.

Professional Tekken player JoKa voiced strong criticism, stating that the Season 2 update has transformed the game to the point where "this does not feel like Tekken AT ALL."

"Even the slightest buffs to characters, coupled with increased stance-based transitions and enhanced 50/50 situations, are steering the game away from its roots. Some of the new moves introduced are overpowered with little to no counterplay. The developers are patching character weaknesses and eroding their unique identities through homogenization, which is a lazy approach to balancing. The gutting of oki and the buffing of heat mechanics make no sense, and the excessive combo damage across the roster is overwhelming. While sidesteps have been improved, it hardly matters when moves have crazy tracking and hitboxes. Chip damage remains excessive, especially with most heat smashes unchanged. Favoring more 50/50 situations over strategic gameplay is not the direction Tekken should be heading.

"Where are the promised defensive options?"

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; }Unsurprisingly, the Steam page for Tekken 8 has become a focal point for player discontent. 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 describes the game as a "genuinely good game held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell."

Another review criticizes the update, saying, "New season dropped and they made every character into a braindead easy mix up machine without a single buff to defense."

A third review expresses frustration, stating, "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."

"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 backlash has been so severe that some Tekken enthusiasts are turning to Capcom's Street Fighter 6 instead. Others are labeling Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history," with several 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 their grievances. Some are calling for the patch to be completely rolled back, while others are advocating for an urgent follow-up patch to implement crucial adjustments.