Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $69.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
2K and Visual Concepts have done a lot to bring their WWE video game series back to the forefront of the market. While the last few titles had a few snags, most have praised them well enough for being good enough to satisfy the masses, seeing a few new features and refinements every year. This year, we have finally been given a new mode on top of the new roster and list of improvements and general fare, so the nervous excitement from fans has been able to build a good bit as they await their yearly entry. How does WWE 2K25 square up? Let’s find out.
Story
There is a lot of lore to chew on this year with WWE 2K25. MyRise acts as the main “story” mode for the game, and I honestly like it more than the last few years as it does a bit extra to sell this circus to the consumer. While players still create a Superstar, they now have a lot more to do in MyRise as a whole. This isn’t much of an origin “start from NXT and to the moon” tale that we usually get, but instead features you as a promising star that just happens to already be on the main roster. After a draft, things change quickly as you work to now establish a top spot, dealing with narratives that feel closer to the actual product on television, with a lot more emphasis on bringing actual WWE talent into the mix in a closer way.
I am sure some may enjoy the generic MyRise modes from the past, but I really felt those were getting tiring. This one isn’t going to shock or leave the player..not bored, as there are some tedious moments that slog, but the mode just feels a bit more inventive this year and more in tune with what we would see on Raw, Smackdown, and so on. That said, I really wish WWE would just let us pick a stock Superstar again. Creating a Superstar is fine, but it takes so long to do due to how deep this system is. Appearance alone can take close to an hour and then you have moves and so on. If we were able to just select someone like Finn Balor and just go it would be a lot better and I think would be the ideal way to continue these modes. Customization is always fantastic in this franchise, but combining it with MyRise and making it mandatory makes it hard to want to just jump in.
MyRise has some neat things such as the ability to get branching storylines based on choice as well as the returning inter-gender rules now affecting match types, and Visual Concepts should be proud that they have improved the wheel here. That said, I am an old fashioned player that likes to just jump in and out of stories like this, and it’s really hard to get launched due to the customization wall that players have to climb over out of the gate. This problem also is here on The Island, a brand new mode built on a very intuitive gimmick. Think of this like WWE’s closest thing they have gave us to a MMO. Players go to The Island, create yet another Superstar, perform “quests” (which are mainly assigned matched), and level up enough to impress The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Roman and Heyman assign you tasks of creating allies, gaining fanfare, and further customizing your character to have a “spot at the table”. I really love the concept, but there are a few hiccups in this debuting mode.
First, customization does feel natural and needed here, despite MyRise already utilizing the same entry. The mode is basically being dropped into an area that feels like a giant city, where WWE have branded everything. This mode is online, so players can interact with each other as they level up, and even find each other for matches which can increase experience. It is all great on paper as exploring at first can be exciting. When you start looking through the many shops that feature licensed brands, you can really see the most monetized effort WWE games have ever put out. Everything costs a hefty amount of “VC”, and that VC is used to get new attires and take advantage of the unique offerings within the shops. I get it, vanity is part of wrestling, but it also feels like it lurks behind something to buy at every point. Seeing your own achievements compared to others is great and you can do this mode without paying a penny, but the high costs of almost everything makes it hard not to itch to spend, making this mode unravel before it gets a chance to impress. MyFaction ties into this a bit this year to curb some of that potential spending with other ways to earn VC, but honestly the stories here are just not very interesting and a little disappointing, leaving the online interaction at the core of what this mode is about. When you add in VC, it kind of seems like a popularity contest for those with the biggest wallet or an empty time schedule. Again, it is a great idea, but one that was created in order to further monetize the game as a whole.
MyFaction and GM Mode rounds out the lot, and feel about like last year. MyFaction wasn’t bad this year, as I like going from match to match with a purpose and unlocking cards is fun, but this is another VC time-buster that just doesn’t do it for me much. GM Mode feels about the same at first, but the addition of online multiplayer is kind of a nice thing to see as you can battle with your friends. Having the ability to set up your own choices while others are doing the same saves time and greatly assists this year, and the additions of more GM choices as well as plot points keep the mode feeling fresh for this year’s entry. I’ll be honest, Showcase mode here has a great Samoan dynasty theme, but it really feels archaic with the same, unnatural “DO THIS MOVE, NOW THIS MOVE, NOW THIS” mechanics that bogged it down before. It really is time to remove this mode or improve it, as it’s just a chore to play.
Gameplay
I know that is a lot of modes, but gameplay still matters, right? Mostly, Visual Concepts have improved well on the same engine from last year. Characters control the same, but feature new animations in some ways and a couple of new match types to change things up. It has been years since players could use anyone inter-gender matches, and this re-addition adds it back as if nothing ever changed. You want females in Rumbles with men? Fine. Females in any match type – including Mixed tag and fatal four ways with someone like The Rock? Not a problem. Sure, the blood is turned off for these moments, but it really feels like this function was never gone. 2K don’t re-invent themselves a lot with gameplay, but adding inter-gender really allows for creative freedom in almost every way, and I applaud them for adding this function yet again.
Most matches function fine. The last couple of years it felt like the exhibition one-on-one matches were the only ways you could truly have fun outside of online as the AI was really bad. It still isn’t perfect, but I had a lot better results dealing with special match types this year. Even tag matches were decent, as Superstars rarely get stuck in loops and that whole “lets roll out” when the ring gets to cluttered with chaos isn’t really an issue this year as at least of this writing, I have yet to have it appear. Refinement really shows with cutting some of the forced animations of yesterday, making match types feel more fluid and enjoyable. There still are some glitches and annoyances, don’t get me wrong, but I really didn’t get bothered too much and nothing really felt intrusive.
I feel like over the past few years, Visual Concepts have been building this engine around the shackles that were already in place. They fixed the submission system with tap breaks, but had stamina meters and silly mini-games still forced in other areas. They allowed players to do a lot of moves through tables, but required set-ups that made special moments feel “scripted”. Now, it seems like most of those hindrances have been addressed, and as someone who has played every entry of this franchise to date and lost a lot of faith over the years, I am kind of happy with how enjoyable the main modes are. Creation suite is about the same, but the complexity does make it feel like a beast, and for the sake of accuracy, that is fine. I just wish there was a little less forcing it into other modes as a requirement. The roster continues to grow, and that is great to see. If we could separate the corporate monetization and random, forced in licenses, this would almost feel like the ultimate WWE game since maybe 2007, but there is still a lot of work to do to get there. We are now moving in the right direction, however.
Audio
The audio is fine. Commentary calls out things as they should, and even though it is a bit odd having Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, and Cole calling Showcase matches with Hogan and Yokozuna, but at least we have better commentary due to the mass amount of voice lines added and kept for this entry. WWE 2K25 does most of its other audio well. Not a big fan of the original soundtrack, but the themes are great, and the other audio for match attacks and so on works well to bring us some satisfying knee slaps to sell the moves themselves. The Superstars within the game who talk a lot during their matches are getting more voice lines during their matches, but the audio is super low for this. Sure, it’s still a sim, but why not up that audio where we can hear the shouts and efforts attempted in the recording booth?
Visuals
As you would have guessed, this is the best looking wrestling game to date. The game looks like it deserves to be running on modern consoles. Some models still look better than others, but there is far less glitching and more polish on animations, making the experience at least appear more fluid. I really want a moment to talk about how amazing The Island looks. I wasn’t sold on the execution with the monetization, but those custom arenas, built for Undertaker, Damage Control, and so on look spectacular and really give us some eye candy this year. Exploring that island is also a blast due to how great the buildings and designs are. It’s rare when I stop and admire things in a mode like that, but seeing the respect for the current product located in murals and little easter eggs goes a long way to show where we are now, which is a great place for wrestling games to be.
Overall
WWE 2K25 is a beast of a game, and despite the natural shortcomings that come with every entry, this is where we need to be at. Maybe the years have made my own perception cynical, as every year I go in, start to like the game again, and slowly gain disappointment as features become a handicap to my own enjoyment. There still are some chains to break through, but more and more things are losing those little annoyances, making for a much more entertaining product as a whole. There is more polish and attention to detail this year, and maybe it is just the inter-gender roles returning, but there is something about 2K25 that just feels more accessible for this year’s version. Praise aside, monetization and random, out of place licensed deals add a film of tackiness to the final product, and that is a shame considering how great this game is under the hood. If you are looking for the best modern wrestling sim you can get, this isn’t exactly it, but it is finally in a place where you can see this franchise start to shine again.
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