Wrestling is no stranger to video games. Since the 8-bit era, pankration legends from around the world have been immortalized in various games for decades and WWE 2K22 could not be the exception to the rule.
Now, it took us more than a year to have a new installment under the license of the largest “Sports Entertainment” company and it was precisely because the quality of the series was in a tailspin and it was necessary to put a brake on it so that the experience was worth it again.
The result is interesting, because more importance is given to game mechanics than to appearance. That translates into a much more entertaining experience that more than one will want to enjoy.
So is it worth it? Does it make sense to jump back on the wrestling game ship? This and other questions will be answered in this nice review dedicated to the WWE game that was released just before Wrestlemania.
Necessary adjustments
Well, the first thing you should know is that the game is no longer the same, even the camera in WWE 2K22 it is different. Let’s just say that the development team succeeded in creating more intense and counter-heavy game mechanics. You have to do simple or strong keys, just start a chain of combos with weak attacks and then a harder shot.
The joke here is that for every action there is a counterattack, which certainly sounds logical. If you’re going to suplex an opponent, they might have a moment to counter it. The point here is that the game can turn into a festival of dodging or, failing that, one counter after another as it happened in the deliveries of the time of Playstation 2.
Fortunately this did not turn into a rock, paper or scissors. On the contrary, it goes more on the one hand that you are creative; if you start with a weak punch, finish it off with a strong grip. If you make strong grabs, switch to a weak grab to unsettle the enemy. This makes for a very entertaining gaming experience, even when there is only pandemonium in the ring.
It is very pleasing – really – that at the game level, WWE 2K22 be fun, because it had been several years since the licensed wrestling titles had severe fights. It wasn’t just that they had glitches and bugs anymore, they weren’t entertaining at all and that factor that made you play was lost, even if it was for “for the lols”.
The improvement is remarkable in WWE 2K22
From the gameplay mechanics, let’s move on to how it looks. This is a debatable detail, because the PS4 and Xbox One generation gave us WWE games that didn’t look so sad visually. Go! It is not so easy to recreate a real character in a fighting title without fail.
For this occasion, the development team behind WWE 2K22 I use a new graphics engine. This causes the next-gen version, at least on PS5 which is where we tested it, to look pretty good. We carried that over to the physics as well, which is where the game doesn’t feel as clunky anymore.
You see, many sports games tend to give more importance to an animation than to the physics of the characters. This is where 2K’s wrestling game does very well because it combines both. During the punching and grappling duel, the animation wins, however, it’s the placement of the characters in the right place for the physics to work.
Sure, it’s not a perfect system, sometimes the hitbox won’t make sense, however, it’s this lack of perfection that helps keep you from taking the game too seriously and enjoying it for what it is. There is no point in getting stuck in a competitive aspect in which WWE 2K22 will never get in.
We fell short with the modes
One of the problems that plagues WWE 2K22 is that beyond covering the different types of fight offered by the company of Vincent Kennedy McMahonThere’s no real story or development mode where you feel like any company wrestler trying to be the new face of sports entertainment.
Sure, you can relive the illustrious career of the legendary Mistery King through a series of fights that made him famous, but it took not one, not two, there were several fights that consecrated the native of San Diego and that do not appear in the game because certain fighters are missing to tell the story.
The General Manager mode fully complies with the idea that you are the one who schedules the fights and make the WWE brands bigger. The point here is that there are certain creative restrictions and ultimately everything follows the script of this company.
Then we have the factions, but, they also fall short. Wow, here the hand of 2K micro transactions is felt too much and that can damage the gaming experience. Remember that this is not competitive, there is no way. Not even the parameters of the fighters are updated.
Wrestling games become fun again
WWE 2K22 It reminded me of all the hours I put into PS2 SmackDown series games or when the franchise was only called WWE 2K+ for the year in question. These titles put a lot of emphasis on giving the player something more than the experience of what one sees on television, it is rather, having fun while playing.
Sure, it’s not the same keys that the fighters apply or the exact walk of the stars in the ring, but the action tried to be entertaining most of the time. Detail that helped more than playing with friends for hours. In case of WWE 2K22 It’s very special because we go back to that time when we really felt that it was worth spending time playing.
Just to give you an idea, the community is making an effort to make worthy creations and share them. The result is what follows from favorable when you not only find cartoon characters, but also when there are – in great detail – fighters from other times or regions that come from the hands of the fans.
These kinds of tools help the player to get hooked and invest much more time in a game that, ultimately, is anything but cheap. So, with all this exposed, the ideal is to address the question.
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Should you buy WWE 2K22?
Time proved the development team behind WWE 2K22. They did not fail to implement a new graphics engine, they tried hard to make the fighting game as good as possible and they succeeded. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it did turn out to be an entertaining experience.
WWE 2K22 is a great wrestling game. His grappling and hitting mechanics are entertaining. The attack physics and animations work in perfect harmony and making a 619 is fun again. The development team delivered on their promise, and once again, you’re going to be entertained jumping off the top rope over your opponent like Rey Mysterio does.
Should you buy it? Definitely. If you see an offer with the season pass, also go for it because very worthy fighters are coming with whom you must play.
We play WWE 2K22 with a code provided by a 2K representative in our region.
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