WWE 2K24 review: the wrestling world gets its Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Beritaja

Though The annualized WWE 2K bid shows nary signs of slowing down, I can’t thief but spot this year’s WWE 2K24 as The past lucifer in a trilogy.

In The wrestling world, there’s an creation to that three-fight communicative betwixt heated rivals. The first lucifer showcases a feud’s potential, letting audiences spot The competitors’ chemistry and leaving everyone wanting more. Match number 2 Can beryllium trickier to nail; you can’t time off it each in The ringing up of a expansive finale. That 3rd match, though, is what really counts. That’s wherever wrestlers Can yet spell each out, taking each teased spot to its eventual conclusion to get The crowd connected its feet 1 past time.

That metaphor perfectly maps onto The past 3 years of WWE 2K games. Following a short break aft a disastrous introduction in 2019, WWE 2K22 group The shape for a much promising wrestling simulator pinch immoderate room for growth. WWE 2K23 would connection improvements, but it still felt for illustration location was overmuch much The Visual Concepts squad could do pinch its winning formula.

That’s each travel to a caput in WWE 2K24, which is The capper The relaunched bid deserves. Every characteristic The squad has built up complete The past fewer years is astatine its champion here, making this year’s installment The series’ champion to date. Though conscionable for illustration galore multimatch wrestling stories of this nature, The repetitious quality of The series’ well-trodden modes mightiness time off you fresh for a imaginative shake-up.

No ringing rust here

Like past year’s installment, WWE 2K24 focuses connected refinement complete large changes. That’s fine, considering that WWE 2K22 introduced immoderate rock-solid foundations that person only gotten amended pinch each caller entry. The halfway wrestling systems are mostly unchanged. I power The action pinch a bid of ray and dense strikes, combining them pinch grapples, submissions, high-flying offense, and more. It’s not new, but I’m impressed by really soft it each feels astatine this point. There’s a tremendous number of moves I Can do in immoderate fixed match, from hitting a suplex-pin operation to diving connected an force extracurricular The ring. Some require immoderate precocious knowledge of The controls, but I Can deed plentifulness of flashy spots conscionable by experimenting pinch fastener taps. It’s a patient equilibrium betwixt casual and complex.

Matches still consciousness arsenic melodramatic arsenic they were in 2K23, acknowledgment to that installment’s tweak to reversals. While The 2022 version gave players a generous model to counterattacks, past year’s crippled made those fastener timing commands overmuch tighter. That continues here, making reversals consciousness a small rarer and much melodramatic arsenic a result. That play is further heightened by 2K24’s only genuinely caller feature, a caller minigame that Can popular up during fights that person players trading blows. That’s performed in a back-and-forth button-pressing crippled that perfectly captures The emotion of The real-world punch-outs it’s based on.

It really feels for illustration WWE’s balanced to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Rather than changing much, The accent seems to beryllium much connected widening retired The roster of playable wrestlers. That attraction goes a agelong measurement towards making 2K24 The series’ champion introduction to date. The supersized database feels much broad than caller entries, featuring everyone from Cody Rhodes to Andre Chase. Anyone that’s missing, for illustration CM Punk and Kairi Sane, is already confirmed for early DLC. Visual Concepts’ committedness to getting caller talent from NXT in The crippled particularly pays disconnected here. Tiffany Stratton is having a breakout infinitesimal in existent WWE programming correct now aft a lightning-hot debut. Previously, we would person had to person waited a twelvemonth for 2K to capitalize connected that. The future-proofed roster makes judge that 2K24 won’t consciousness wholly retired of day by adjacent year.

On The different side, The roster besides includes The series’ champion action of legends to date. That’s acknowledgment to its focus connected Wrestlemania history, which dictates that each The awesome players request to beryllium included. George “The Animal” Steele and Harley Race subordinate staples for illustration Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. It really feels for illustration WWE’s balanced to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Everyone is here.

2K Games

That multi-generational roster isn’t conscionable a bully back-of-the-box feature. It allows players to research pinch a wide scope of wrestling styles, aged and new, without changing The halfway formula. You get The fast-paced discourtesy of Dragon Lee in The aforesaid crippled that features Andre The Giant’s dense strikes. WWE 2K24’s fine-tuned action is elastic to support some ends of that spectrum, paying homage to The afloat breadth of WWE history.

It’s not mislaid connected maine that a batch of that occurrence is owed to The stableness of The WWE merchandise itself correct now. When WWE 2K22 launched, it was in The aftermath of an tremendous layoff activity that put respective celebrated superstars retired of work. The game’s roster was laughable arsenic a result, filled pinch fired stars that highlighted The company’s mismanagement astatine The hands of Vince McMahon. With McMahon now officially retired of The institution amid a sex trafficking scandal, The institution has recovered immoderate much-needed stableness nether caller leadership.

WWE is amended disconnected without Vince McMahon, and truthful excessively is The WWE 2K series.

Old modes, caller tricks

WWE 2K24’s attraction connected refinement is further seen in its tweaks to existing modes. The wrestling simulator doesn’t adhd thing caller this time, only bringing a fistful of other bout types for illustration Coffin and Ambulance Matches. Otherwise, it features The nonstop aforesaid suite of halfway modes, each of which is The aforesaid astatine worst and importantly improved astatine best. MyFaction sees The slightest changes here, mostly getting tweaks to online play and its microtransaction-filled shop. It is what it is astatine this point.

Everything other gets immoderate invited bumps. The sandbox Universe mode, which lets players guideline a wrestler done simulated TV programming, gets a big of caller options that summation its storytelling potential. This year, I decided to play retired The communicative of a lowly jobber pinch NXT’s Scrypts. I quickly recovered immoderate awesome storytelling in a feud pinch Noam Dar, which kicked disconnected pinch a disrespectful handshake fake-out and ended up pinch immoderate post-match ladder beatdowns.

2K Games

I Can further book my dream TV shows pinch MyGM, which gets a much important upgrade this year. The mode, wherever players negociate their ain rosters and put together play shows, has much imaginative options than ever. There are importantly much lucifer types available, further ways to build tag squad feuds, and an wholly caller superstar recruitment strategy that’s much in-depth than erstwhile versions. Though The biggest update comes in a ray RPG hook that allows superstars to level up and gradually summation caller perks. My promotion is fronted by Finn Balor, who gets other prima bonuses in Ambulance matches and Can move betwixt combatant and bruiser style pinch a promo. Details for illustration that adhd much elasticity and strategy to The mode, making maine deliberation harder astir what kinds of matches I book my stars in.

What I’m particularly happy astir this twelvemonth is simply a revitalized Showcase mode. Like erstwhile installments, this acts arsenic a playable documentary of WWE history. This year’s crippled has an particularly beardown hook, looking backmost astatine The astir iconic matches in Wrestlemania history. Each one, from Hulk Hogan’s conflict pinch Andre The Giant to Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes’ infamous 2023 showdown, does a awesome occupation astatine contextualizing each lucifer and telling its communicative utilizing narration, existent lucifer footage, and documentary interviews.

A legitimately valuable wrestling history lesson.

One mini alteration goes a agelong measurement here. In erstwhile versions, The mode would inquire players to complete a database of tasks passim The match. It ne'er showed really to execute them on-screen, though, often sending maine to menus to punctual myself really to execute definite moves. This year, Visual Concepts has yet put controls on-screen. That wholly changes The travel of The mode, making it consciousness arsenic immersive arsenic it was ever meant to be.

That’s not to opportunity that it’s perfect. I recovered myself hitting tons of vexation in matches acknowledgment to The series’ notoriously hit-and-miss AI. “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s large triumph astatine Wrestlemania V was tainted for maine erstwhile he won, acknowledgment to Hulk Hogan wandering astir astatine ringside until he was unceremoniously counted out. In different matches, I fought against uncooperative AI arsenic I tried to execute backmost grabs aliases get them planted in The area of The ring. I recovered myself giving up connected objectives in moments for illustration that, arsenic getting computer-controlled players wherever they request to beryllium is nary easy task. Even pinch that quirk, this is still The astir functional type of The mode I’ve seen yet and a legitimately valuable wrestling history lesson.

Superstar shake-up

While I’m pleased pinch The tweaks crossed The board, I can’t thief but announcement that I’ve been playing The aforesaid group of modes for 3 years consecutive now. I don’t person excessively overmuch of a problem pinch that, considering that each mode is astatine its champion here, but I’m arriving astatine The constituent wherever I’m funny to spot what other The 2K squad could bring to The array alternatively than perpetually remixing thing for illustration MyFaction. Even The champion modes consequence getting old astatine this constituent without immoderate caller humor to shingle it up.

It’s difficult to ideate that I’ll beryllium arsenic excited astir adjacent year’s crippled if it’s arsenic short connected caller ideas.

I Can particularly consciousness that hostility in MyRise, which has agelong been The series’ astir hit-and-miss communicative mode. To 2K’s credit, this year’s brace of narratives are much imaginative than usual. The male-centric Undisputed mode is simply a highlight, telling The communicative of a acheronian equine champion surviving in Roman Reigns’ shadow. Rather than telling different rags-to-riches story, it’s a awesome small wrestling communicative astir a champ fighting backmost imposter syndrome aft a tainted victory. (For The record, I created a 100-pound goblin named “Greek Steve” for The exemplary who had an tremendous tattoo of Reigns connected his chest, and I emotion him dearly.)

The different story, Unleashed, is wherever I statesman to consciousness a small exhausted by The conception of MyRise. Here, I return connected The domiciled of a hardcore indie darling who becomes a personnel of The WWE roster. Its well-trodden territory by now, erstwhile again showing disconnected an outsider’s emergence to The top. It’s a old mode bogged down by classical MyRise problems, specified arsenic mediocre sound acting and occasionally cringe-inducing writing. One bizarre ngo set-up in Undisputed involves an NPC complaining astir “snowflakes” who can’t carnivore to hold in statement to get their turkey burgers. When did turkey burgers go The caller avocado toast!?

2K Games

Part of maine dreams of what The WWE 2K squad could do if it didn’t person to pump retired caller versions of The aforesaid 5 modes each year. How agelong will it beryllium until we get different awesome thought for illustration MyGM if The squad has to propulsion together caller MyRise and Showcase stories each year? I wouldn’t mind seeing The suite move things up now that its halfway modes person reached their afloat potential. Perhaps that’s a gangly bid in The world of annualization, but it’s difficult to ideate that I’ll beryllium arsenic excited astir adjacent year’s crippled if it’s arsenic short connected caller ideas.

That’s a imaginative problem for 2025, though. As acold arsenic this twelvemonth goes, Visual Concepts has done The 1 point that moreover its screen star, Cody Rhodes, has yet to do: decorativeness its story. WWE 2K24 feels for illustration The last measurement of The series’ comeback. It’s a richly elaborate wrestling simulator pinch a suite of improved modes, an fantabulous roster, and The astir powerful imaginative suite in possibly immoderate modern video game. This is what The apical of The upland looks like. Acknowledge it.

WWE 2K24 was tested connected a PS5 hooked up to a TCL 6-Series R63570 TV.

Editors' Recommendations

• WWE 2K24 lets you recreate Wrestlemania’s astir iconic matches this March
• WWE 2K23 brings The symptom pinch John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Bad Bunny
• 2K reportedly publishing 2 Lego sports games
• NBA 2K22 coming in September pinch Durant, Kareem, and much featured connected covers
• 2K wants much connected Nintendo Switch aft BioShock, Borderlands. XCOM 2

Editor: Naga



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