The Mishima plot line finally (finally) is promised to come to an end in the forthcoming Tekken 7, a story that has seen fathers throw their sons off cliffs, their sons throw their fathers off cliffs, then their fathers throw their sons into volcanoes… For six games. Tekken 7 also promises new characters, new moves and new mechanics to evolve the series into a new direction.

Running on Unreal Engine 4, the game has certainly taken the realism in its character’s details to a whole other level, with the sweat and pores on characters like Heihachi plain to see. However, that only applies to characters who are meant to be realistic to begin with, as opposed to whatever they’ve turned Yoshimitsu into this game (a octopus demon… alien?).

With the focus on concluding the Mishima bloodline story arc, revolving around Heihachi, Kazuya and Jin, cinematic storytelling has taken a central place in Tekken 7 with cutscenes that blend in and out of gameplay in the single player campaign.

Of course, there are several new characters, including Street Fighter‘s Akuma, who actually has a fully fledged role in the story concerning Heihachi’s wife (their battle in the E3 trailer taking place in the dojo where Heihachi killed her). Other new characters include a multicultural range of additions, from the very cool looking Shaheen and the cat-girl/fan-bait Lucky Chloe. The final roster promises to include over 30 playable characters.

Tekken 7 also looks to evolve the core gameplay with the series with additions to the ‘Rage’ system with ‘Rage Arts’, ‘Power Crushes’ and ‘Rage Drives’. ‘Rage Arts’ are boosts to your attacks that you can activate once your health has been lowered by 70%, and can turn the tide of battle. ‘Rage Drives’ are special move sets that are unique to each character, while ‘Power Crushes’ absorb damage while still dishing it out. All three types of mechanics will affect how normal 1v1 fights play out, and are aimed at making the game more accessible to newcomers.

While I didn’t get much hands-on time with Tekken 7, what little I did have was against other E3 attendees who were far, far better than me. All I can really report back from my brief time with the game is that the Rage Arts were more often than not my only hope at turning a bout around in my favour, and an unexpected way to take your opponent off guard. It will take several more play sessions, and a lot more dedication on my part to come back to you with a better analysis, but despite losing several times, I definitely enjoyed what I played of the game.

Tekken 7 is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC (in a series’ first) in early 2017.