After the disastrous launch of “WWE 2K20”, a failure in trying something different with “WWE Battlegrounds”, and long-time developer Yukes opting out of making anymore WWE games (putting former assistant developer Visual Concepts in the figurative driver’s seat), “WWE 2K22” was a make or break situation for the series. Revamping the gameplay by adding more of an arcade presentation where striking combos were the route to successful grappling, adding new modes like “MyGM”, and giving fans so many tools to create mostly whatever was in their imagination, “WWE 2K22” righted the ship before it completely sank.
Like nearly every year, I put my money down close to the release of “2K23” after enjoying the previous entry so much (in this case the digital-only “Icon Edition” – making it the most I’ve ever paid for a wrestling game), pre-downloading it so when I got up bright & early on Tuesday I could see whether or not “2K23” was all that I wanted – a better version of its most recent predecessor – or a waste of good money during one of gaming’s most hectic release schedules.
Did I Complete “WWE 2K23”?
As per the norm, “WWE 2K23” provides a hefty trophy/achievement list demanding the player take part in all the modes including the returning online-based, mostly offline, card-focused offering, “MyFaction”. “Showcase” mode returns this year presenting an abridged look at the biggest losses in the WWE career of John Cena; featuring its stereotypical objective-fueled gameplay design alongside introductory interviews before each match and a shocking trio of final bouts unlike anything seen in previous “Showcase” presentations. The “Showcase” mode can last about three hours if everything goes right for the player as none of the objectives are optional in this iteration.
“MyRise” returns as well with players having the opportunity to control a male or female created wrestler that can either be crafted for the mode and exported whenvere the player sees fit or import one of their creations for the “Creation Suite”. Unlike last year, “MyRise’s” gender-based narratives are strictly separated with the male version being “The Lock” story, while the female story is “The Legacy”; the latter initially focusing on a previous “MyRise” NPC that didn’t have the friendliest of attitudes. Each “MyRise” story is extensive with dozens of optional matches, stories, and challenges to gain “Attribute” points to improve the grappler’s overall stats (while you can import a created wrestler into the mode, everything but their player-assigned stats carry over); giving players the option of focusing on the main narrative or seeing everything the mode has to offer – a feat that will take anyone twenty to thirty hours per playthrough.
Another replacement in name, but not necessarily in full presentation was “2K22’s” “MyFaction”; which also returns here – an expanded version of the “2K Towers” from the previous games. Players will use earned in-game currency or spend real money for other digital dollars to purchase card packs. These cards have color-coded rarity stats that play into the fact gamers will actually play with the wrestlers represented via said cards. The grind-heavy “MyFaction” mode demands that players log-in weekly, if not daily depending on their want to gather cards and attain the several achievements/trophies associated with the online-dedicated, mostly single-player mode with the only option of playing against a real person is through the added “Quick Play” option that has bi-weekly-changing match stipulations instead of the alluded to option of taking a whole card roster of four and battling another human player’s stacked card deck in anything from eight-man elimination battle royals to “War Games”.
And then there’s “MyGM” mode’s second go-round – a management simulator that is both expanded and dumbed down compared to its spiritual predecessor and inspiration not seen in a WWE game since “Smackdown vs. Raw 2008” until last year. Removing the option of having fifteen to fifty-two week seasons by focusing on a solid twenty-five show run, players are given the opportunity to take on up to three other general managers; though human GM opponents are local only with no online features associated with the mode. Various updates from the previous version including the addition of secondary titles, more match types, and the ability to start a second, third, or even tenth season on the same file adds much more replayability to the mode that wasn’t available in last year’s iteration.
“Universe” mode keeps the addition of “Superstar Mode” from last year where the player focuses on a single wrestler without the ability to simulate or skip that character’s matches. Additions to “Universe” mode include adjusting rivalry levels to increase the chances of different cutscenes (or just manually deciding to, say, instigate an impromptu attack featuring a ladder with the intent of planning a Ladder match for the upcoming Premier Live Event).
There’s also the ability to fight others online with this iteration not forcing gamers to slog through dedicated online fights that are usually hampered by lag and input delay for trophies or achievements – though it must be noted the few online matches played in “MyFaction” were shockingly smooth and felt nearly as good as playing offline.
The journey to platinum status is still ongoing for yours truly after over thirty hours mostly thanks to the extensive “MyRise” and “MyFaction” requirements; though this year’s completion requirements are in no way as annoying or difficult as “WWE 2K22’s”.
What Makes “WWE 2K23” Unique?
Deciding to overhaul the stamina & simulation-based gameplay seen in WWE games since “2K15” last year worked exceptionally well. The striking-based system like the old “Smackdown” games allows the grappling to be more of an exclamation point on the action. Players can string together combos featuring light and heavy strikes topped off by a quick grapple. That’s not to mean players still can’t grab an opponent and toss them around the ring without punching & kicking them first. Using the grapple button no matter the situation, the player’s character will grab their target and wait for their controller to hit a button input like light or heavy strike alongside a direction via the analog stick. Double tapping the grapple button will allow players to whip an opponent into the ropes or against the turnbuckles.
A big change to what the series once was is the implementation of mostly infinite reversals. Players can pull off reversals at almost any time including when someone attempts a signature maneuver or finisher without the fear of using up that last bar in the reversal meter. Almost unlimited reversal options aren’t the only defensive measures in a player’s repertoire as wrestlers can now block when holding down the reversal button before a strike is thrown from the opponent, bob & weave as the player rotates the analog stick while blocking, and even dodge roll. “Combo Breakers” exist by pressing the same strike button at the same time as an opponent is throwing the type of strike or performing a grapple attack; becoming a valuable tool in stopping combos mid-string.
In place of the reversal and stamina meters is the “Special Meter” that fills up via the momentum bar below it. The “Special Meter’s” segmented bars can be used in various forms including a single bar allowing a wrestler to escape the ring in one swift motion after being driven against the canvas. Two special bars will be necessary to execute the returning “Payback” maneuver including spewing green mist or landing a low blow. Surprisingly, “Payback” options haven’t been expanded in numbers, but available slots as each wrestler can have up to two “Paybacks” slotted at a time. With three bars a wrestler has the ability to pull off those signature maneuvers or a potential match-ending finisher.
The combat system is lot more player friendly and reminiscent of the per-eighth generation entries for better and for worse. The detrimental aspects are issues like hit detection still being a problem (struck characters shuttering before everything resets as if no one did anything beforehand), the somewhat odd control layout changes from the previous entry including holding down the R2 trigger on the Playstation controller and hitting one of the strike buttons to perform a signature move or finisher especially a running variation, and the main camera still being placed lower than it was pre-“2K22” that it becomes difficult seeing reversal opportunities during multi-person bouts. For some, the return of the button-mashing interface in regards to stopping pins or submissions may be disappointing. Thankfully for those who don’t like the button-mashing system, players can switch it back to the timed mini-games of past “WWE 2K” games.
The modes are hefty as always with modifications to last year’s two big additions. “Showcase” stays true to the formula established years ago with the player going through, in this case, sixteen matches with the last three being fantasy based after the player has taken control of nearly a dozen superstars who’ve beaten John Cena during his hall of fame-worthy career in non-chronological order. “Showcase’s” presentation, be it the pre-match interviews with “Big Match” John himself or the in-game cutscenes, are mostly masterfully done other than the generic music that plays throughout each match (something that wasn’t the case in any iteration before this one).
The biggest issue with “Showcase” mode is here again in that there aren’t any checkpoints between the objectives needed for completion to activate the next cutscene. Without these checkpoints and the matches themselves potentially going unusually long because Cena refuses to accept that a finisher like Triple H’s Pedigree puts him down for the three count can make the mode incredibly exhaustive especially if something goes wrong and the player has to restart the entire match.
Like “Showcase”, “MyRise” is a familiar take on what’s been done in the past with “MyCareer” even with the two gender-oriented dedicated stories. Unlike the rags to richest stories seen in past iterations of this mode, “The Lock” comes into WWE with a ton of hype thanks to his unseen exploits outside of the WWE Universe. After winning the Intercontinental title on his first night, “The Lock” has to struggle with learning how to handle the figuratively shark-infested waters of WWE while avoiding becoming a joke because of his very Vince McMahon-esque gimmick.
“The Legacy” focuses on a woman nicknamed “Little Justine/LJ” in honor of her aunt Justine (the same NPC Justine from last year’s “MyRise”) trying to live up to the lofty success of her hero while creating her own awe-inspiring career. Though both “The Lock” and “The Legacy” stories have the option of making decisions that can create branching narratives, it is through “LJ’s” actions that these repercussions appear sooner and more profoundly (a great way to encourage players to complete multiple playthroughs with the same or different characters).
Getting fans to like a wrestler by competing in dozens of matches is removed in this version with gamers just talking to NPCs or answering their DMs to unlock new stories and challenges. The general continuity problem that plagued last year’s “MyRise” has mostly been alleviated in regards to main story missions (though some issues with NPCs and wrestlers not making sense alongside the main story beats when it comes to challenges or optional stories is still a problem at times). One of the biggest changes to “MyRise” is the addition of match objectives like those seen in “Showcase” mode, but lesser in number. Most match objectives are as simple such as pinning or submitting an opponent, but others are heavily reliant on the AI cooperating with the player by dishing out enough punishment to activate a cutscene. While these objectives are meant to add to the drama, at times it makes a match feel flat instead of exciting.
As mentioned, the biggest change to “Universe” mode is the ability to mold and curate rivalries to a player’s joy. There are still some functionality flaws including the inability to add pre-made tag teams to stables without breaking up said team and champions not registering as being titleholders.
“GM Mode” made its return with “MyGM” in “2K22” and is back here in grander form. At the start, the player is given the option of choosing their brand (“Raw”, “Smackdown”, “NXT”, “NXT 2.0”, or “WCW”), an opposing show(s), the player’s representative General Manager including a created GM, rival GMs, and how much the starting budget is (up to $3,000,000). As the season progresses after the initial draft (players can choose at least nine wrestlers initially for their brand) so does the availability of different arenas to rent, utilizing bigger pyrotechnic set ups, and seeing the new pool of talent not drafted to any show that can be hired anywhere from a month to indefinitely.
Managing egos and keeping promises to wrestlers can improve morale, or be hampered by losing streaks or the head honcho Triple H deciding a star shouldn’t wrestle on the same week the player’s GM promised a particular wrestler a title opportunity. This talent management system is coupled by the implementation of “Power Cards” that can be purchased with the brand’s budgeted money or by completing certain weekly goals dictated by Triple H. These cards vary in their application such as giving a wrestler a day at the spa that restores their stamina to avoid said Superstar suffering a major injury, or hindering the opposing GM’s show by doubling its cost for the week (but be careful because an AI-controlled GM will gladly hit the player where it hurts with their own “Power Card”).
The completion of PLEs will allow for the player to take part in a “Superstar Shake Up” where the player is given the option of choosing one card that acts as passive buffs that can last anywhere between a few weeks or throughout the entire season like all champions have boosted popularity. There are also season-long objectives that can be completed to earn Hall of Fame trophies. These trophies gained from meeting particular criteria like “Earn $15000 in a season” can be huge difference makers in the brand rankings if the opposing shows have nearly the same amount of fans & money in the bank as the brand with more HOF trophies will always be ranked higher in these numerically close situations.
There are quite a few improvements to the mode compared to last year’s including the addition of more match stipulation types including multi-person battles; though, for some odd reason, the developers decided having title matches in Triple Threat or Fatal Four Way bouts wasn’t a good idea (something that, hopefully, will be changed in the near future with a patch similar to how they improved “MyGM” with patches in “2K22”).
With the option removed of having up to a year of shows – instead focusing on twenty-five weeks – the addition of multiple seasons is a major benefit to mode’s overall lifespan. But with this reduced schedule removes the chance players would get multi-brand Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, or Money in the Bank matches similar to what was seen in “WWE Smackdown vs. Raw” fifteen years ago. There’s also a lacking of having War Games in “MyGM” – a big miss considering the match stipulation was not only one of the most requested in WWE game history, but also one of the biggest focuses of marketing “WWE 2K23”.
“MyGM’s” class system returns with each wrestler having a specific class including “Striker”, “Giant” and “Specialist”. Depending on the classes, certain wrestlers won’t have good matches together especially if they’re in the same class. Instead, the mode wants players to match wrestlers like “Giant” and “Cruiserweight” to produce the best match possible. In the old “GM Mode”, a wrestler’s popularity influenced the match rating and it made the mode that much more entertaining as players could see the rise and fall in popularity of certain wrestlers while micro-managing matches & rivalries.
Playing through the matches instead of simulating them will not change the match’s star rating, just the outcome; making it no point to actually play through “MyGM” mode bouts unless the player wants a particular person to win. This rigidity of making a player work in the system instead of crafting their show is the biggest detriment to what should’ve been a lay-up of a mode presentation considering the template was already there with both the original “GM Mode” from 2005 and “Universe” mode with the latter’s customizable options. Though “MyGM” still has some significant flaws shortly after the game’s launch, it is worlds better than the previous iteration.
“MyFaction”, on the other hand, is mostly the same with only a couple of new additions in terms of gameplay including the online-oriented “Quick Play” and the miniature version of “Weekly Towers” called “Live Events” that have changing rewards in shorter or longer periods of time compared to the aforementioned “Towers”. Beyond “Quick Play” and “Live Events” are the returning three core single-player options in the mode: “Proving Grounds” (matches of three difficulty levels where the player earns medals used to unlock the next “Proving Grounds” chapter), “Faction Wars” (players take their entire four-person team to fight another quartet in an eight-man tag in a figurative arcade ladder), and “Weekly Towers” (a static series of repeatable matches with rewards that change weekly). Not long after launch, some card options are still locked to, apparently, avoid people from spending all of their real money to buy the most high-end cards and dominate the online competition or cruise through the offline modes.
There are some more big issues with the mode again including certain characters (mostly legendary figures and old attires for modern WWE wrestlers) and arenas being locked to this mode. This disappointment is coupled by the fact “MyFaction” is a pure grind in regards to minimal completion including the “Lifetime” set of challenges where players will have to do everything from completing eighty-four “Daily Challenges” (there are only three “Daily Challenges” available a day) and earn a cumulative 50000 “MyFaction” points with most matches dishing out between 100 and 300 “MFP”. Essentially, “MyFaction” is still an extensive mobile game that replaced a pretty enjoyable, simple system that was the “2K Towers”.
The usual online modes are also available including “Quick Play” where gamers can just jump into a bout about to happen, “Lobbies” for players who want to play together while changing match stipulations, and “Tonight’s Main Event” that features an ever-changing stipulation for players to participate in such as having an “Extreme Rules” match with only custom wrestlers. Of course lag and connection quality can mean the difference between landing that detrimental reversal or succumbing to a finisher; though this iteration is a lot better than even “2K22” in terms of giving players an offline experience when player with people online when everything is functioning unlike a significant problem early in the launch where something like an Irish whip disconnects any online game.
Creation options are both plentiful and working to recapture the magic of the previous games. Character creation is still really good including the option of adding imported pictures like faces & logos; the latter being associated with other creation offerings including “Create-An-Arena” and “Create-a-Money-in-the-Bank-Briefcase”. On the opposite end of the creation satisfaction spectrum is the return of the “Advanced” option in “Create-an-Entrance” where players can mix & match entrance motions, pyro & lighting. Though the “Advanced” option is back, quite a few implementations like certain fireworks and camera angles are still gone.
Technically, “2K23” is a lot better than its predecessors including less animation & graphical glitches (though there are some mostly connected with reversals) and game-breaking bugs. The biggest issue with crashing comes when creating wrestlers. After a couple of days, the “Creation Suite” became unpredictable; crashing no matter if a player is putting in ten minutes or an hour crafting their newest wrestler with the only option of saving is by exiting the “Creation Suite” and going back to the main menu.
Those who per-ordered the higher priced editions were allowed to play the game three days early. In that time, though, server stability was a problem; hindering the playability of “MyFaction”. Frame rates were surprisingly consistent even when eight wrestlers were fighting at the same time. The graphics are mostly incredible with a majority of the wrestlers looking like themselves; though quite a few of the legendary wrestlers have better versions created by players ready to download than what the developers crafted. The new commentary lines are rather good, but not necessarily impressive. The sound mixing is definitely inconsistent between wrestlers including some dialogue scenes in “MyRise” where it sounds like they’re in a tunnel.
All “WWE 2K23” had to do was continue the upward trend of what was started with “2K22”. Overall, “2K23” accomplishes this goal by improving everything from the gameplay to the mode offerings even if some of those changes are miniscule in nature.
Should You Play “WWE 2K23”?
If you’ve been craving a fun wrestling game not strictly rooted in simulation, having a plethora of modes (though some are stronger than the others), and looks fantastic, this is the WWE game you’ve been waiting for without fear of constant functionality problems and the potential of certain improvements like those in “MyGM” being patched in as the weeks progress. For those who loved “2K22”, “2K23” is a must-buy to the point there’s no real reason to go back to the previous version other than liking the roster more (something that the talented CAW creators can fix). This may not be the wrestling game equivalent of “Wrestlemania 17”, but will go down as one of the best in the franchise.
