Tekken 8 is still four months away and if you're anything like me, the wait has been pure agony. Thankfully, Bandai Namco is set to bless us with another beta, and it's even bigger than the last one.
The Closed Beta Test (don't you go memeing on that acronym like the Street Fighter 6 lot did) is set to go live between October 20 and October 23, with some extra additions and balance tweaks from July's Closed Network Test. It'll be adding brand-new character Azucena and returners Raven and Feng Wei to the roster along with one additional stage. That brings the tally up to 19 playable characters—though that doesn't cover all of the currently announced Tekken 8 roster—and six stages for players to duke it out on.
Some changes include tweaks to the new Heat system, like stopping players from using the mechanic to create some frighteningly lengthy combos, and reducing damage on some of its big hitter moves. Overall movement is set to get a buff with improvements to dashing and backdashing, too.
It's not just online versus and the training mode that'll be available this time, either. There'll be a chance to try out the new avatar creation and customisation system, which reminds me a little bit of the old Xbox Live Arcade avatars. Is that a good thing? I'm not too sure yet, but there'll be the chance to try out the standard character customisation too, which looks to be taking a leaf out of SoulCalibur's book in its increased complexity. It's definitely a far more involved beta this time around, one that will be worth checking out for any budding fighting game fan.
Anyone who got into July's test will be eligible to jump straight into next month's beta, no reapplication required. Anyone unfortunate enough to miss out earlier this year will need to try their luck once more and enter for the chance to get in. You can register for the beta over on Bandai Namco's website, with registration closing on October 11.
