Tekken 8 Season 2 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 controversial changes to the game. According to the patch notes, there was an across-the-board increase in character damage and offensive pressure, leading many to argue that the game has deviated significantly from the traditional Tekken experience.

Professional Tekken player JoKa voiced his disappointment, stating that the Season 2 update made the game feel unrecognizable: "This does not feel like Tekken AT ALL." He criticized the buffs to characters, the addition of new moves with limited counterplay, and the removal of character uniqueness through homogenization. JoKa also highlighted the lack of promised defensive options, the excessive combo damage, and the focus on 50/50 situations that he believes detract from the strategic depth of Tekken.

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; }The backlash has been significant, with over 1,100 negative reviews flooding the game's Steam page in the past two days, resulting in a 'mostly negative' rating for recent reviews. Players have expressed their dismay, with one review labeling the game as "genuinely good [but] held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell." Others lamented the lack of defensive options and the overpowering nature of the offensive mechanics introduced in the update.

Some players feel that the developers have prioritized easy-to-execute mix-ups over balanced gameplay, with one review stating, "New season dropped and they made every character into a braindead easy mix up machine without a single buff to defense." Another review pointed out the game's shift towards offense-heavy gameplay, 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."

The dissatisfaction is so profound that some fans are turning to Capcom's Street Fighter 6, while others are labeling Season 2 as the "worst patch in Tekken history." Professional players have even threatened to abandon Tekken 8 altogether, with one player, Jesandy, expressing deep sadness and disappointment over the update on social media.

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, with many calling for either a complete rollback of the patch or an emergency update to address the key issues raised by players.