Tekken has always been a signature must-have for every Playstation release. There have been 6 canonical releases as well as spin-offs like “Tag Tournament”.

It was 2009 since we saw the last Tekken on a console so news on Tekken 7 on current gen systems came as a much welcomed surprise. True to it’s arcade roots, the game brings fast-paced, smart and intuitive game play back to home consoles.

The game has a roster of 44 characters, each with a unique fighting style that covers pretty much everything under the MMA sun.

Aside from the usual single player and vs. modes, Tekken 7 offers a “Treasure” mode which allows you to win customization options for your characters that range from simple shades to outrageous accessories like stuffed toys that cover your head.

This Tekken and it’s massive HD requirement enable the game to show stunning graphics and incredibly high detail models with great hit effects. There is even a VR mode for those that have a PS VR – although it feels more like a cool gimicky way to practice moves from a different perspective.

The game also introduces a new mechanic called Rage Arts . After incurring near death damage (25% health), your character starts glowing red and a new  combo busting super attack becomes available to use. The cinematic Rage Art does tide-changing damage and makes the fast-paced action even more frenetic. There is a secondary “Rage” attack called Rage Drive which requires character specific input and the results are equally devastating.

The story mode has always been a convoluted b-movie mix of revenge and fighting tournament- then again, I honestly think that there is no one that expects anything more of the soap opera twists that the game so readily delivers. There are also a lot of cheesy/campy side stories that sort of introduce the new characters and how they fit in the Tekken Universe.

The best thing about Tekken is that the game itself is quite accessible compared to other fighting games. Moves are easy to learn and execute and building up to multi-hit combos feels less of a chore compared to say Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat.

The major downside is that online play is still quite glitchy. It took me more than half an hour to even connect properly to a match then I still got disconnected mid-way. Hopefully they patch it soon but so far I’m perfectly fine chugging along through the treasure mode.

At the end of the day, Tekken 7 isn’t a must buy but it certainly fills in the gap for a much needed new/old fighting game that runs on the latest systems.