Tekken 8: hands-on with Arcade Quest, Super Ghost Battles, and Tekken Ball

12.12.2023 - 16:09 / blog.playstation.com / Kohei Ikeda

The Iron First tournament is coming to PS5. To prepare my mind, body, and soul for the occasion, I spent a few hours training with the latest build of Tekken 8. After trading blows with some of the world’s best across a variety of new modes, I can’t wait to earn my spot among the elite when the game launches on January 26.

And if you can’t wait either, then I have good news. A demo will be coming to PS5 on December 14. 

I was excited to see what the new mode Arcade Quest had to offer, which plays like a fully realized campaign rather than a simple bonus mode. The premise is simple enough – create a fun version of yourself and play through digital arcades to become the world’s top player.

The new mode places your self-made digital avatar in a crew that you hang with, practice, and compete against. They will cheer you on during matches when you pull off impressive feats and give you genuine advice to make you better as a player. This takes the mode from a fun story mode diversion to a journey of self-improvement. Putting rising to the top with friends, both digital and real, at its core. It was surreal to have a digital homie give me pointers on how to improve based on the match he was watching.  

Matches play differently depending on who you challenge. During my time with the game, one crew member was only interested in hanging out with friends, and they barely put up a fight, which let me score two perfect victories. Some characters have nefarious reasons for challenging you, like only agreeing to matches they think they can win. 

“Originally, this kind of genre was born in the arcades. And they’ve kind of all but disappeared in the West, and even in Japan more recently,” said Game Director Kohei Ikeda, “But the great part about it was that you would just show up at the arcade, and your friends would be there, or you’d make new friends, and you all share this passion for the game, you were able to learn new things while you were there. It was a great experience. So people who experienced that culture before could be like, Oh, wow, I remember that. It was awesome. Or younger players who maybe had heard of it could get some kind of taste of that online.”

As you become a known contender in your local arcade, you eventually move on to new cities and take on their local players to grow your crew’s notoriety and personal reputation. This addition feels meaningful in-game, even without the fate of the world on the line. 

Going into my play session, I knew Tekken was a visually stylish game, but seeing and feeling it in motion shows how Bandai Namco is upping its game. On top of Tekken 8’s sharp visual fidelity, there’s an impressive attention to detail. The way the stage crumbles has always been immersive,