Tekken 8: a brilliant fighting game packed with superb technology
Tekken 8 tested on all systems. This is the Digital Foundry verdict.
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00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - Tekken is Back!
02:42 - Tekken 8's Feature Summary
03:52 - Tekken 7 Comparisons
05:29 - Console Comparisons
08:25 - PC Settings Recommendations
10:48 - Steam Deck Best Settings
13:01 - Input Lag /w Nigel Woodall
17:09 - Comparison with Trailer and CG
18:09 - Sound Discussion
19:56 - Final Thoughts
More importantly, Tekken 8 isn't limited by older consoles, there's no cross-gen drag here. It's crisp and sharp on almost all systems, with a higher 'quality of life' factor. Firstly, above all else, one of the biggest improvements stems from loading times - basically, in the last generation of fighters (including Tekken 7) loading between matches takes long enough to become annoying. With Tekken 8, we're basically back to pre-disc loading speeds - just enough time for the animation to play out followed by a jump right into the game. It's slightly faster on PS5 versus other platforms including my PC, but all are extremely quick.
Beyond that, the three consoles boast similar visual settings while PC offers a range of tweakable options. Both PS5 and Xbox Series X use Unreal's dynamic resolution scaler with a maximum resolution of native 4K down to 50 percent scale on both axis. In reality, they often hang closer to 1440p or slightly above. Series X benefits from a generally higher dynamic resolution than PlayStation 5, but in the heat of the action, it's difficult to tell any difference. All consoles use TAA combined with a spatial upscaler. Tekken 8 includes multiple upscalers (17, in fact) on PC including AMD FSR1 which seems to be the closest match in this case. I suspect that Namco is not using FSR2 as disocclusion artefacts can be quite noticeable especially at lower resolutions when playing on PC.
Xbox Series S targets 1080p as a ceiling but often drops to 720p or even below leading to image quality that more closely resembles a PS3-era fighting game - and there are further cutbacks. While PS5 and Xbox Series X look effectively identical, the Series S is a step down in terms of texture detail. I suspect this is due to the smaller memory pool but, basically, it means that some surfaces basically use the lowest possible texture setting. The game still looks good overall but the low resolution and blurry textures mean it doesn't stack up to its bigger brother.
