Tekken 8 Should Feature Story Mode And Fight Lounge As Separate Downloads

Tekken 8’s Steam Store page recently confirmed that the game will require over 100GB of storage. It doesn’t come as a surprise since its predecessor, Tekken 7, easily hogs like 80GB of Storage with all the DLC content. While most AAA games are over 100GB these days, fighting games, in particular, feature an interesting workaround that is beneficial for the player, regardless of the platform.

This workaround was introduced by Street Fighter 6, which is currently the most-played fighting game on Steam. Capcom featured different game mods in Street Fighter 6 as separate downloads. You could easily download the Fighting Grounds part if you don’t wish to play the Story mode or vice versa. This innovative method helped a lot of players, both on console and PC, to manage their storage efficiently if they couldn’t spare 60GB of storage.

Tekken 8 and all the upcoming AAA fighting games should adopt this feature from Street Fighter 6. Featuring different game modes as separate downloads won’t only help the players on PC to manage their storage more efficiently, but the console users will also be able to reap the same benefits. This doesn’t apply to fighting games specifically. Games like Call of Duty also feature multiplayer to be downloaded separately from the campaign.

Why It Can Be A Great Move For Tekken 8

Fighting games, in particular, are multiplayer-focused. A majority of the players rarely touch the story mode and primarily play against other players online. Even if the players do play the story mode, once they’ve finished it, they most likely won’t be touching it ever again. Having an option to safely uninstall the story content while retaining the game’s multiplayer features is going to be an effective way to manage the storage efficiently.

Story mode or the single-player gameplay isn’t what the fighting game genre is famous for. However, judging from the looks, Tekken 8 is going to feature an interesting story mode, which might not be as revolutionary as Street Fighter 6’s World Tour, but it still would be a lot better than what we have in Tekken 7. Furthermore, a good single-player gameplay mode plays a significant role in attracting a new audience.

Tekken 8 appears to be focusing on attracting a whole new batch of audiences, and they’ll need to work on the single-player aspect of the game for it to work out smoothly. Having the multiplayer mode as a separate download will also let new players get familiar with the game’s mechanics before they download the multiplayer mode and start facing off against other players.

It isn’t only for the newer players; the Tekken franchise veterans can also benefit from this. Having the ability to completely uninstall the story mode after you’re done playing the game, or not downloading it at all if you’re in it purely for the multiplayer experience, is a great feature, and the saved storage space can add up and let you download another game that you’d be playing frequently on your PC or console.

Tekken 8 And Its Similarities With Street Fighter 6

Tekken 8 already borrows many interesting features from Street Fighter 6. If you took part in the recent Closed Beta Test, you’d notice how Tekken 8’s Fight Lounge is the spitting image of Street Fighter 6’s Battle Hub, only a lot cuter. You can create adorable chibi avatars, dress them up, and battle against your opponents in the arcade at the Fight Lounge in Tekken 8, just like you can do in Street Fighter 6’s Battle Hub.

Tekken 8’s new mechanic, the Heat System, also shares a few similarities to Street Fighter 6’s Drive Gauge, which lets the player dash into the opponent, allowing the player to continue a combo that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Additionally, in both games, the player starts the game with a full meter. In Tekken 8, the player has access to Heat, while in Street Fighter 6, the Drive Guage is full when the round begins.

The point is that Tekken 8 already shares a few similarities with Street Fighter 6, so why shouldn’t it also feature different game modes as separate downloads like Street Fighter 6 did? Bandai Namco has nothing to lose and everything to gain here. Having this feature will also make it possible for players who cannot afford an entirety of 100GB of storage on their PC or console to download and play the game.

What Should These Separate Modes Include?

If Tekken 8 does allow game modes to be downloaded separately, it would be a lot similar to what Street Fighter 6 did. The entire story mode should go separately; the other mode should include the Fight Lounge, and the third mode should include ranked matchmaking and practice mode. However, dividing the game into only two modes, with one featuring the story content while the other features multiplayer gameplay, is also a great idea.

It is also worth mentioning that every other AAA game requires at least 100GB of storage, whether entirely single-player or multiplayer. Having control of what to download plays a significant role in managing your storage efficiently. It is also helpful for players that do not have a fast internet connection.

We haven’t heard any official announcements from Bandai Namco regarding this, nor has it been mentioned in any of the Tekken Talk podcasts that feature Katsuhiro Harada, Tekken’s Director, Micheal Murray, the producer, alongside the dev team as they discuss the game and its features. We might not get anything at all in the end, but in case we do, it would be helpful for the entire player base.

Takeaway

Tekken 8 is set to launch on January 26, 2024, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and Steam. The game is expected to require over 100GB of storage, which is a norm for AAA games these days. However, if Tekken 8 were to feature different game modes as separate downloads like Street Fighter 6 did, it would let players efficiently manage their storage.

The latest addition to the long-running Tekken franchise already shares a few similarities with Capcom’s Street Fighter 6. It wouldn’t come entirely as a surprise if Tekken 8 decides to go for that route and features its game modes as separate downloads. However, note that Bandai Namco has not yet made any announcement regarding this as of yet.

Many players only play the story mode once, while a majority of players only focus on multiplayer gameplay. Now when every other AAA game is hogging over 100GB of storage, it is more important than ever to manage your storage efficiently. The ability to have control over which stuff to download makes the game even more attractive to the new audience that does not have a lot of free storage or a super fast internet connection.