Tekken 7: New Gameplay Video Shows Newbie-Friendly Adjustments

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A brand new fighting game coming out in June is part of a long-running series, but this newest iteration aims to be easily approachable for newcomers, while maintaining its signature depth and complexity for veterans. That’s the golden promise for most new fighting games these days, and Tekken 7 apparently delivers on that promise. That is, according to Sony Social Media Director Sid Shuman, who you can see playing Tekken 7 with Tekken community advisor MarkMan23 in the latest PlayStation Underground video:

As you can see, Shuman got plenty of hands-on time with Tekken 7, and in his experience tempered by over 20 years of Tekken fandom, the latest iteration plays more like Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection than anything else. There have been some subtle tweaks to gameplay here that will be well-received by newer fans, since they make it harder to be juggled indefinitely by advanced combos. Here’s Shuman on that one:

“I immediately noticed that juggle combos are generally less ‘bouncy.’ Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag 2 featured a signature “bound” mechanic that made certain attacks bounce the hapless victim against the ground to set up extended combos. In Tekken 7, this has been softened into a ‘screw attack’ mechanic that still leaves the victim vulnerable to mid-air follow-ups but reduces the lengthy off-the-ground, off-the-wall extended combos that could easily dominate less experienced opponents.”

Another new addition to the game are what are known as “Rage Drives.” Using a special meter, Rage Drives will allow you to imbue certain attacks with additional power, enabling them to cause more damage or else become unblockable. You can think of this like a “meter burn” in Injustice 2. A few of the more common gameplay elements have been adjusted as well; it’s not easier to break grabs, and defending yourself while on the ground is easier than it’s ever been.

How all of this will translate when the competitive players get their hands on this one it’s hard to say, but one thing is for sure: Tekken 7 has the potential to reach the widest audience of any Tekken that came before, and that’s great news for Bandai Namco and for all fans of the series. We’ll have our full review in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to WWG!