Tekken 8 Season 2 Changes Spark Outrage, Pros Threaten Boycott, Steam Reviews Plummet

The Tekken 8 community has been thrown into uproar following the controversial changes introduced in the Season 2 update. The patch notes unveiled an across-the-board increase in character damage potential and offensive pressure, leading many fans to argue that the game has deviated significantly from the traditional Tekken experience.

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; }As expected, the Steam page for Tekken 8 has become a platform for players to voice their frustrations. 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 reads, “Genuinely good game held back by schizophrenic insane developers sent from hell.” Another review criticizes the new season for turning characters into "braindead easy mix up machines" without any defensive buffs. A third review expresses disappointment over the balance team's focus on powerful offense at the expense of player agency: “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.”

The sentiment among the community is that the game is moving towards a state where characters are defined solely by their offensive capabilities and forced 50/50 situations, with little room for defensive strategies. This has led some fans to switch to Capcom’s Street Fighter 6, while others have labeled Season 2 as the “worst patch in Tekken history.” Some professional players are even considering abandoning 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 these grievances. Some are calling for a complete rollback of the patch, while others hope for an emergency follow-up patch to rectify the key issues.