Wrestling games hit rock bottom with WWE 2K20 and that caused 2K to put their batteries to create an attractive experience that was worth it, the point is that it was a long and very complicated process to fix all the damage from previous deliveries. Eventually WWE 2K22 It was a good title, but what about the arrival of WWE 2K23?
Well yes, the fighting games of the largest “sports entertainment” company once again entered the stigma of annual deliveries, Only this time around, let’s just say the game didn’t hit some sort of slump or severe issue that deteriorated the experience, which is what used to happen.
However, WWE 2K23 it falls into a couple of unforgivable sins, offering few substantial improvements or adjustments to the game mechanics and the return of those annoying glitches that will delight several users of social networks who consume short videos.
What is true is that The new wrestling video game is neither the microvideos that will bring out the worst in him nor the wonder that the trailers on YouTube
There are always areas of opportunity to improve
The previous version of WWE 2K23 It was very good, it imposed entertaining game mechanics, enough not to miss the immediate past. The question is, what can be done to improve what went well the previous year? Well, when playing, nothing happened. The methods are the same and everything works fine, there is no fault there.
What should have happened in the execution of the game was to improve the subject of physics and animation. Improving these sections would even make this series turn into a kind of esport, but it cannot be done because this section was not addressed. For example, the execution of a hold depends a lot on the steps that go from a grab and the variable of whether the movement is countered or not by the opponent.
From there we must go to the rest of the modes, which work, but also feel limited, especially those that go beyond the Showcase, which we will talk about later. It feels like it’s just put back what we already knew but with a different mask. This, by any measure, is wrong, however, let’s put in parentheses that these are modes that work, so it’s not a disaster either.
The area of opportunity to get creative with the game modes could have gone from the very basics, which is using your favorite wrestler and leading him to win the world championship at Wrestlemania or whatever event. Yes, you have modes where you can be the creative one, but it wouldn’t hurt to have an arcade-style option that gives you a much more direct and immediate experience. with a predetermined story, just like the first WWE Smackdown games on the PlayStation.
John Cena’s Showcase and his absentees
On this occasion, John Cena is the one who appears in the spotlight of the showcase and, through this mode, you can relive the greatest battles of the fighter with a PhD in Basic Thuganomics. Appearing in this mode is a kind of recognition that several fighters have gone through. One of the funniest was CM Punk’s, also Rey Mysterio’s, what’s so special about John Cena’s?
Well, in the showcase you have the opportunity to participate in combats in which John Cena was defeated by his most iconic rivals, the point is that they do not appear, for example, CM Punk, who is one of his biggest rivals. Alberto del Rio does not come out, who also defeated him at the time. For obvious reasons, we don’t have this pair in this game mode.
Now recreating these fights teaches you how to master the game, which is pretty dignified and entertaining, but, the backing is horrible, very generic music is used for fights that should be memorable. Why isn’t the audio from the narrators from before being used? Image rights and other issues. That takes the fun out of the showcase.
In general, having John Cena at the Showcase is great, it could even be a spoiler that he may be inducted into the WWE hall of fame at Wrestlemania 2023, or in a year, anything can happen.
WWE 2K23 game modes need love
In WWE 2K23 We have several game experiences and among them are being the general manager, building a faction and creating your fighter. Technically it is almost a copy paste of the previous installment. Each mode makes you live, from different angles, the entire sports entertainment experience behind the WWE, which is not bad.
The point is that the challenge behind each mode will not make you feel accomplished for overcoming it, it’s really circumstantial, without much joke, come on, you need that arcade mode where you want to be, for example, Kevin Owens and dethrone Roman Reigns. Creating a story around defeating the Bloodline would have been like trying to finish The King of Fighters with Omega Rugal as the final boss.
The time you can spend behind the game modes of WWE 2K23 it can be very long, and that’s okay. You will always have something to do and you will surely find a certain challenge programming WWE Raw or Smackdown in MY GM, but it is something that you have already done in other installments. Those who have been playing for years are not going to be very surprised.
Yeah WWE 2K it will continue to be an annual experience, they can make more sense of having previous deliveries. The only way in which it is more or less worth investing time is in creating a character and taking it to the top of the biggest wrestling company, however, it must have a better written story than the one that comes from flaw.
WWE 2K23 has glitches, but they are the least
By the time you read this review, you’re bound to see a lot of micro-videos showing a wrestler twisting his arm or a superstar’s head getting stuck in another’s butt. This is because the animations and physics of the characters aren’t very well balanced and that’s where everything goes to hell.
This is fixed with patches and other updates. Now, I didn’t see that many bugs, just some broken animations using items, but it wasn’t something serious or game-breaking. For example, when you use the Undertaker to do the “old school” move, the animation is done cleverly, but if the referee is around, it can hinder the move.
It is almost a fact that you will see many videos or, the same repeated over and over again. Although those errors exist, WWE 2K23 It works 97% correctly and, in execution, in a very funny way. It is a fact that during the launch season, all the issues will be taken care of and that will make the game even more enjoyable.
It must be admitted that the new graphics engine used to WWE 2K delivers many more benefits than mistakes and that will help this franchise stay afloat for many more years. The important thing is that the creative section can do something more for the game in the short and medium term so that you buy WWE 2K23 have a much greater purpose.
We also recommend: You can’t see it! John Cena will be the cover of WWE 2K23
Graphically it still looks great, but the music is disgusting
The new generation of consoles really hit WWE games because now the wrestlers look so much cooler. Come on, it’s not Death Stranding level photorealism, but overall most of the superstars look great and their special moves are also a blast when executed.
The problem of the game is presented in its music. The experience is horrible, especially when listening to the themes for the game. The composition is poor, boring, without much to do, it’s lazy and the truth is that they have to do something. WWE has very good original songwriters and they could help in the game, but well, that doesn’t happen.
On the other hand, the licensed music has no faults, we can even say that they are very good songs, according to the usual experience. It’s not that it competes with FIFA, Madden NFL or NBA 2K itself, let’s just say that with its resources, the results are good. There is a music curator who does his job well.
The musical element is very important so that the game does not feel so flat and the truth is that it is an area of opportunity that could be improved and it really could not, they did not want to or the creativity did not allow for more and well, before that we cannot do something other than tell the truth.
Should you buy WWE 2K23?
Annual sports games always have to find the best way to convince the user who bought the previous year’s game to keep paying the $60 over and over again. We understand what it means to purchase Madden, FIFA or the NBA game, however, WWE 2K he’s just trying to establish a new identity or one that will appeal to pro wrestling fans in some way.
WWE 2K23 it takes everything good from last year’s installment, updates the superstar lineup, and doesn’t make any kind of adjustments that pose any kind of real risk. In other words, if it ain’t broke, there’s no need to fix it. The game mechanics are still entertaining and playing with friends will provide guaranteed fun, however, the campaign modes did not provide any kind of extra to differentiate themselves from what was seen in previous years. It could have been better, but they didn’t try hard enough.
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We played WWE 2K23 on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by a 2K representative in our region.
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