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

blog.playstation.com:

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