Recent reviews by d.fekt

Not much to say without spoilers, but the game is unique. Engaging story and fun choices. After you finish the first playthrough, play it again, trust me; you'll be surprised.

===== EDIT UPDATE ======
Literally a few hours after I wrote the review below, they updated the game with a large set of changes, adding a proper arcade mode, as well as Anna Williams, and Lei Wulong,(as paid DLC, mind you)

Never-the-less, this is big and only makes me recommend the game more.


======= ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW ========


Tekken 7 is sort of like the awkward child who hasn't yet figured out exactly who they want to be yet.
The previous Tekken games were not afraid to break new ground and be unique, with new and interesting game modes that had never been tried before: such as 8 character team-battles, Tekken Bal mode, Tekken Force mode, and ofcourse Tekken Bowl.

These were groundbreaking at the time and offered unique things, in addition to the innovative fighting mechanics, and completely open and boundless arenas which set the game apart from Vitua Fighter (which had ring-outs).
The cast of characters was varied and vast, each having their own unique backstory, whichcontinued to evolve over the series life.

All of this combined, created a game with a lot of depth and reply value.

I mention all of this, to say that while Tekken 7 retains *some* of that, it falls short in other areas for anyone who is expecting a classic Tekken experience on PC.

MODES:
The area where you will notice this the most, is in the available modes.
If you are primarly someone who is only interested in playing online, you will be fine for the most part (more on that in a bit). If however, you also want a rich OFFLINE experience, you will be disappointed.

Standard arcade mode (EDIT ARCADE MODE NOW EXISTS), Tekken Force, Team Battle, and Tekken Ball are all absent from this game. Frankly I was shocked when I noticed they were all gone; I figured that I just needed to unlock them like in previous games in the series -- but no, they are truly not there at all.
Tekken Bowl is available, but only if you buy it seperately as DLC, or you have the deluxe version of the game. This is kind -of a slap in the face to anyone who is used to it being included in the main game as it was before. Furthermore, that is a single-player off-line only experience. There's really no excuse for that.

CHARACTERS:
Then we have the characters. Long-time fans of the series will be startled to realize that some staple characters are missing, and they might also be surprised at who has joined the cast:
Lei Wulong (EDIT Lei is now added as DLC), Jun Kazama, Roger/Alex, Mokujin, Kunimitsu, Bruce Irving, Ganryu, Ogre/True Ogre, Prototype Jack, Michelle Chang, Angel, and Dr. Boskonovich, are all missing from this game.
Yet instead we have Akuma, Geese Howard, and Noctis, at the time of me writing this. All characters from different games entirely that have mechanics which arguably do not fit in with the traditional Tekken style of play -- and while it's clear that a lot fo work has been done to make them not seem out of place (credit where it's due) -- this is one of the main reasons why I said what I did at the start... Tekken 7 is the awkward kid in the series, that doesn't really know what it wants to be yet.

In addition to the odd changes to the cast, the game features the addition of "Rage Arts", which are powerful super-moves that can be done when health is low. This is something which appoears to be lifted straight out of other fighting games such as Street Fighter or Fatal Fury.

STORY MODE:
Now the story mode of Tekken 7 is quite good. I won't list any spoilers here, I will simply say that it is clear that a lot of work has gone into it. It is enagaging, fun, and you will see a plenty of character interaction and the way all of their stories have been woven together in an intricate thread. This is NICE!
The problem is that it doesn't have replay value, once you have seen it, you have seen it. This is where the extre modes I mentioned earlier would've served to bolster the game over-all.

The online modes are the standard fare. Ranked and unranked single battles. There's nothing to prevent you from being matched to the same random opponent over and over again unless you create your own room and cherry-pick who can enter it.
I have yet to be able to find any tournaments, so I can't comment on that mode, though from what I've seen, it's standard elimination bracket-style, like you would find in games such as Smash Bros.
The one thing about online random matches here, is that you cannot see who you are being matched with before you accept. This can lead to being matched with the same laggy opponent over and over. This can get frustrating, so just be aware of it.

SUMMARY / CONCLUSION:
So to summarize all of this:
Would I recommand this game? YES. Tekken 7 is not a bad game at all. The online is "decent". The story is "Good". And to anyone who is a newcomer, there's still plenty of characters to play with, and customize with mostly decorative items, if that's your thing, as pretty much every fighting game has now.

For those who have played the past games though -- you eill understand my main point throughout though, that this game, while still Tekken, almost seems like it is trying to be something else, with some staple characters gone, guest characters added, the missing "Tekken-ish" modes, and the addition of Street-Fighter-like Rage Arts -- Tekken has lost a bit of its soul. It has sacrificed a part of its self, in order to fit in -- and that's something that I hope never happens again.

TL;DR
Reccomend? YES
Story: 4/5
Online: 3/5
Characters: 2.5/5 (odd cast)
Remarks: Good game still, but starting to lose itself in order to fit in. Newcomers will be fine, veterans will miss some features