Tekken 8 Removes Rage Drive, Adds Health Recovery Through Attacking

Bandai Namco revealed a new trailer for Tekken 8 at the recent Tekken World Tour Global Finals, showcasing the return of Nina Williams. Another extensive gameplay video was released, with executive director Katsuhiro Harada and game director Kohei Ikeda going into greater detail about the battle system, its changes, and much more.

The keyword for Tekken 8 is “aggressive,” which extends to the gameplay, visuals and effects. Rage State returns and once again activates when a character’s health drops below a certain level. In addition to attacks with increased damage, they can also use Rage Arts. The command for activating Rage Art is the same for all characters, but more importantly, Rage Drive has been discontinued due to the new Heat System.

Another new addition is the Recoverable Gauge from Tekken Tag Tournament. Damage from combos or guarding against big moves is retained as a white, recoverable part of health. Though this doesn’t disappear over time, it isn’t passively recovered. To recover health within the white gauge, you must keep landing hits against an opponent.

Even if they guard against your attacks, you’ll keep recovering health within the white gauge. Of course, your opponent can attack and reduce the white gauge with their attacks. Aggression is rewarded, but don’t get too reckless.

Stay tuned for more details from the video shortly. Tekken 8 is in development for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, with a release date yet to be announced.