Game Review: Quick Impressions of Tekken 7

How does the newest edition from Bandai Namco’s beloved fighting series fare in the modern age?

As one of the most venerable fighting franchises in the world, Tekken is the kind of game that creates legions of fans with every iteration. On one hand, this means that every new entry in the series is bound to enjoy a fair bit of initial success on account of the huge number of existing fans. On the other, it means that every new entry has to pass the quality bar set up by previous games. With that in mind, let’s take a closer at Tekken 7 and see how it fares.

A Stroll Through the Past

Story-wise, the new Tekken picks up where the 6th installment in the series left off, depicting the war that rages on between the Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation. The story is told from a reporter’s point of view, someone who is trying to write an expose on the G Corporation after having lost his family in the crossfire. Of course, this is a 1-on-1 fighting game, so the story serves more as a background for the carnage that ensues.

Fists of Fury

As far as gameplay is concerned, if you’ve ever played a fighting game before, you’ll know what to expect. Tekken 7 features no less than 39 playable characters, with both new and returning fighters being welcomed into the fold. What sets the game aside is its remarkable attention to detail. Not only does each character speak in its mother tongue, but you are also allowed to modify their appearance as you see fit.

What’s more, different gameplay mechanics exist to ensure that no two fights are ever alike. Combos are the name of the game in Tekken 7, and it’s a joy to employ them whether you discover them on your own or resort to handy online guides instead.

The Sound of Violence

As you can expect from a game that traffics in violence, most of the audio in Tekken is focused on depicting the various sounds the human body can elicit when it’s subjected to trauma and torture. Nevertheless, this is still better than the staid voice acting and unmemorable background music that bog the game down. Unlike other fighting games that rely on rock sounds to toughen them up, Tekken 7 serves up a decidedly unsavory combination of EDM and techno that will likely turn off older players in particular.

Nice To Look At

Due to it being the first game in the Tekken series to employ the Unreal Engine 4 as its core foundation, this 7th installment features significantly boosted graphics that will make you feel like you’re right there in the arena with the fighters. Like previous games in the series, Tekken 7 is a 3D fighting game, which means that you can step around your opponent, something that highlights the dramatic battle backdrops that you’ll pass through on your way to victory.

Still, the game pales in comparison with more recent entries in the fighting genre such as Injustice 2, which features considerably more realistic facial animations and movements.