WWE 2K24 Review – A Story Worth Finishing
WWE 2K24 Review
Three things are guaranteed in life: Death, taxes, and a yearly entry of the redneck kung-fu phenomenon known as WWE. And that time has come once again, so, let’s step between the ropes and see what we have waiting for us this year.
Redemption and Refinement
Since the trainwreck of 2K20, developer Visual Concepts has been working their collective butts off to ensure that the franchise doesn’t slip downhill again, and this year is no different. In fact, they have arguably delivered one of the best wrestling games in a long while, taking everything, they’ve built in the previous entries, and solidified and polished everything to a near chrome finish.
While there aren’t any major leaps and bounds here in terms of innovation, what the game has works, and it works really well.
Enhanced Gameplay Experience
Gameplay sticks to the arcadey-style combo-driven experience of the previous two entries, and it feels tighter and more responsive than ever.
The gameplay has been really tightened up throughout the game, with things such as noticeably better AI allowing better matches, and quality of life options like greatly improved tag wrestling where you can actually directly command your tag partner to help you throughout the match.
Whether it’s big meaty men slappin’ meat, high-flyers jumping out the sky, or technical machines putting on a clinic, the gameplay is what it’s exactly it’s supposed to be: fun.
New Features and Mechanics
On top of that, with the addition of new weapons (like microphones and guitars, all of which can also be thrown this time), new gameplay mechanics like super finishers (where you use three saved finishers to deliver the ultimate match-ending move) and a trading blows mini-game where you slug it out with your opponent to get the upper hand, as well as the addition (technically the return) of fun new matches like casket matches, ambulance matches, special guest matches, the game added enough to feel fresh.
Story Modes: Undisputed and Unleashed
Outside of the exhibition matches you can put on, the game’s annual create-a-wrestler story comes in the form of Undisputed and Unleashed. Unleashed puts you in the boots of a female wrestler who’s built herself and a small independent promotion up from nothing and finally makes her way to the WWE where a whole host of new obstacles await her.
Undisputed follows your male wrestler’s pursuit of becoming the longest reigning and most dominant world champion in history. These story modes are always fun, and this year’s is the same, with a solid story that balances the usual serious beats and absurd eccentricities that come with the world of professional pro wrestling.
Modes and Visuals Outside of that, there’s a polished yet still somewhat frustrating (small hiccups and inconsistencies that could sour your experience, but not truly break it) Universe mode, where you can freely create, manage, and play your own WWE universe; the 40 Years of WrestleMania showcase mode that has you play through the most iconic matches of the legendary event’s 40-year history, intercutting real footage with gameplay, and the ever-evolving GM mode, which still isn’t where it once was, but each year the mode gets better and better, with some new additions to gameplay that really make it feel like a way better experience than before.
It’s All About The Performance
Each year, the game manages to look and sound better (commentary isn’t flawless, but it’s improved) than the last, and it’s truly a marvel to see just how good the latest entry ends up looking, with this year’s entry especially taking the visual cake. This ties into what I mentioned of how the game really polished everything it was before, and it’ll be a real treat when the game ditches the last gen to fully harness the power of current gen consoles.
Overall, WWE 2K24 didn’t reinvent the wheel, but rather focused on filling out the cracks in the foundation and slowly building onto an already impressive package to ensure that the product is rocksteady. For some, this might not be enough, but personally, if this means a great wrestling game every year with minor improvements instead of a hot mess full of too many new ideas, sign me up.
