TEKKEN – During the 2022 Tekken World Tour Finals on Sunday, fans were treated to more announcements about the upcoming Tekken 8.  

Project Executive Director Katsuhiro Harada along with Game Director Kohei Ikeda provided an in-depth look into the new gameplay mechanics featured in the new title. 

The 35-minute video touched on the Rage System (adapted from T6), Recoverable Gauge (adapted from Tekken Tag Tournament), the new Heat System, and Controller Style.  

Heat System 

The Heat System as explained by Ikeda is a “period of time that is overwhelmingly beneficial to an attacker” where the “user enters a state of enhancement and awaking for a certain period of time – creating a starting point for tactics and offensive actions.” 

When activated, the character will display blue flames with a “Heat Timer” with a 10-second limit that can be stopped when throwing or blocking an attack. This is to add to the “aggressive” concept the directors have for the game.  

It can be activated through Heat Burst – a single button activation, or Heat Engager – an attack that can activate Heat if it hits your opponent. 

Players will then have access to “Heat Dash” – where you can quickly move toward your opponent, and “Heat Smash” – a more powerful attack. Access to both will be available upon successful hit of the Heat Engager.

When activated, players will be able to take special attacks and inflict recoverable damage on the opponent while enhancing the character’s personality and characteristics. 

More information about how the system affects each character will be available later. 

Nina Willams Revealed 

In addition to the new gameplay mechanics, Nina Williams is returning to Tekken 8 – out of the wedding dress and into a purple one with a leather jacket wielding two handguns.  

Along with her signature moves, she now incorporates her guns into combos – similar to Bayonetta in Smash Bros.  

She is seen using the new Heat System to enhance her signature moves during her reveal trailer.  

She joins Jin Kazama, Kazuya Mishima, Jun Kazama, Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, King, Lars Alexandersson, and Jack-8 as returning playable characters. 

Tekken 8 will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. 

A release date has not yet been announced. 

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