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The first weekend of the Tekken 8 Closed Network Test (not a beta, as noted by Bandai Namco numerous times) has come and gone. Roughly 40,000 players got to sample the upcoming fighter during this PS5 exclusive phase, with the dev team welcoming any and all feedback.
But you know how these things go. The test period only ran for three days, but that hasn't stopped some players from jumping the gun, and expressing concern over new mechanics like the Heat system, chip damage, character movement, and just about everything else.
Thankfully, it sounds like Bandai Namco's on top of it. Typically talkative Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada has been replying to fans on Twitter, in an attempt to address both positive and negative feedback. His posts have actually been pretty insightful, with Harada emphasising the fact that this is just a network test, and that there's still a lot of work to be done.
"This test was dedicated to network functionality by the game in its bare-bones state," he writes. "As mentioned in previous tweets, damage, overly long combos, chip damage will be heavily tuned, and the game system in general will undergo various changes before release."
In other words, players shouldn't be taking the gameplay balance too seriously at this stage — but we can at least understand why people might be eager to share their opinions. Having played the test all weekend ourselves, we're confident in saying that the test felt very polished. Perhaps not in terms of balance — as noted in our Tekken 8 preview — but in terms of visuals and overall feel. There's now a lot of speculation regarding the game's release window, because the quality of the test build really does suggest that it can't be that far off.
But again, we'd recommend listening to Harada when it comes to stuff like this. The second Closed Network Test session is happening this coming weekend, and then early next month, we've got Evo 2023, where more Tekken 8 news is inevitable.
What did you think of the Tekken 8 Closed Network Test? Are you expecting any big changes in future builds? Don't you dare drop that combo in the comments section below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 7
If that was bare bones it felt pretty good to me
Wasn't a fan of the special moves being a constant thing unlike T7. Felt like it catered for unskilled players too much imo. Otherwise I think it's got good promise m
Yeah this game definitely not coming out this year
I know it's been awhile since I played fighting games but people was definitely dying in to few hits that damage output needs some serious fine tuning
The "special mode" or whatever they called it was tantamount to cheating online.
At least, matchmaking those using it with those not using it, is/was.
It's a essentially a one button combo and special attack mode, which is great for newcomers, beginners or those less able.
I had the worst matches and zero fun when playing someone using that mode. They had a huge advantage and it sucked all the fun out of playing.
I 100% will not be playing online if they matchmake in the same way on launch.
@GuyInDirtyShirt yeah, that mode makes sense for offline play but not for online play.
As an experienced (not necessarily good, though) Tekken player, the special mode was more of a hindrance.
But it was no fun playing with those using that mode.
@MattBoothDev totally agree, I'm sure I came up against button mashers time after time. Half the fun is sussing out player styles, with this mode there's no chance and soon got boring
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