Tekken 8has had a strong first year of casual enjoyment, competitive play, and new characters in its first DLC season. Several bumps came along the way, but hopefully they can be accounted for in the future to ensureTekken 8remains a tentpole game for Bandai Namco in the coming years. Inversely,Resident Evilhad an exceptionally quiet 2024, with only a few ports quietly hitting the market. As a major pillar for Capcom, it’s strange to see this franchise take a year off, though the more likely truth is that some bigResident Eviltitles are just around the corner.
Even asTekken 8settles in for its years of post-launch support, rumors of upcomingResident Evilprojects keep piling up.Resident Evilmight have just broken a 5-year streakof releases that has been ongoing since 2019, but leaks are pointing toResident Evil 9drawing near with another remake in tow. There’s a decent shot that these two franchises, different as they are, could appear in the same news presentations in 2025. Not everything about Tekken’s familial fighting andResident Evil’s horror action is incomparable, however, as one narrative approach keeps showing up in both.
Death In Tekken Doesn’t Often Stick
Generally speaking,Tekkendoesn’t like to throw out its old work. This has contributed to consistently large character rosters with even larger move pools, ensuring that series favorites stay represented in most entries. Although stability is one of the most important things an old fighting game franchise could maintain, it has had some side effects on howTekken’s story treats its characters. Namely, it’s allergic to getting rid of them. Heihachi Mishima is the most obvious example, having just returned inTekken 8after his most convincing death yet, but multiple recurring characters in its base story mode also seem to sustain lethal injuries and recover later.
NeitherTekken’s main Mishima characters, nor its large stable of popular legacy characters, have been in danger of dying despite their occasional absences. Setting aside Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin’s family tradition of throwing each other off cliffs, only a few regular faces dating back toTekken’s first game have actually died. Even then, King, Armor King, and Kuma have all been given identical replacementsthanks to eitherTekken 3’s timeskipor seemingly self-aware soapbox drama. These characters are beloved, and, again, there’s an important gameplay motivation for all this, but it’s quite silly for fans keeping track of it.
Heroes In Resident Evil Tend To Outlive The Undead
Resident Evilcould be argued to keep major characters around in an even sillier way thanTekken, owing mostly to its grittier subject matter. No long-timeResident Evilfan is going to make the case that the series is especially realistic, but unlikeTekken’s wavering between edgy melodrama and outright comedy,REoffers more schlocky but consistent horror-drama. Its bioweapon-driven death count has to be comparable toTekken 6’s World War 3 at this point, and yet it rarely feels like the heroes of each zombie outbreak are in any real danger of dying.
Nothing Can Put Resident Evil or Tekken’s Major Players Down
Whether it’s zombie bites that turn entire cities of civilians, airborne viruses, parasite injections, ambient mold, or even Jill’s confirmed T-Virus infection, nothing seems to put anyone playable in the first fewResident Evilgames down. EvenRE9’s rumors point to an unnaturally youthful Jilljoining Leon with Chris Redfield and Barry Burton providing backup. And looping back around to Heihachi surviving multiple volcano dips, rumors of the similarly-killed Albert Wesker returning have also spun up. With even Ethan Winters’ torch-passing death inResident Evil Villagecalled into question by its own ending, it’s safe to say thatTekkenandResident Evildon’t like to write out their main characters.
Tekken 8
WHERE TO PLAY
Tekken 8 brings the fight to the latest generation of consoles, powered by Unreal Engine 5. Feel the power of every hit in Tekken 8, the latest entry in the legendary fighting game franchise from Bandai Namco. Utilising the power and realism of Unreal Engine 5, Tekken 8 pushes the envelope for fighting games by taking full advantage of the power of the latest generation of consoles. Ground-breaking new features, breathtakingly detailed character models and dramatic environments make this one of the most visually stunning and immersive titles in the genre yet. Tekken 8 picks up after the gruesome battle that ended in Heihachi Mishima’s defeat in Tekken 7, focusing on a new rivalry, pitting father against son as Jin Kazama stands in defiance against Kazuya Mishima in a city-shattering face-to-face showdown.
