A long time ago I was the biggest wrestling fan in the world. WWE's Attitude Era was booming. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin graced my television and my young ears with expletives and new ways to get detention in school.
Fast forwarding many years to the present, I have fallen off the wrestling train. Not for any reason other than I honestly just don't have the time. Shows are 3+ hours long every single week and the others are on Sundays.. I have video games to play, dang it. Oh and work. I guess.
So I get my fix through YouTube videos and games like WWE 2K. Sure, I may not know some of the roster anymore but that's how I get to know them now and either cheer or jeer them depending on my experience within the game. You beat me in a triple threat match after I dominated you through the first half of the match? Prepare to get boos whenever you're on my screen! How DARE YOU?!
The last few years, I have been playing the WWE 2K series through the good and, unfortunately, through the bad. I think it's safe to say that the last iteration of the game was pretty less than stellar. Obviously there were some obstacles and hiccups that sort of drew people back to previous years but the majority of fans were just not happy.
When 2K announced they were taking a year off to ensure that the series was going to feel good again, I was so relieved. And honestly, skeptical. Would they be able to turn this ship around? How can they pump new life into a game that's been around for so long and recently hit a decline? I had so many questions and with the recent trend in games being released, I feel they're justified.
March 2022. I get a chance to play the game early (Thank you, 2K). WWE 2K22. Potentially the game to make or break the series and I am anxious. Will it live up to my expectations or will it crash and burn and leave my wishing I was back in the Smackdown: Know Your Role days?
Good news. THIS GAME IS GREAT.
Honestly. I haven't had this much fun in a WWE game in a VERY long time. Everything from the controls, to the presentation, 2K knocked it out of the park! Even though there may be a bunch of roster members that are no longer with the company (it's not 2K's fault, they have no idea who WWE will release) the joy I get from seeing the ones I DO know is awesome.
Before I take us to a mode review, I'd like to say that the updated controls make this feel more accessible and less of a reversal saving battle. There's a combo system where you can combine light, heavy and grapple attacks to switch things up and keep your opponent guessing.
On the defensive side, you're able to break combos by pressing the same button your adversary is surely mashing. You will stop their combo and open a chance for you to play out your own assault. Also, gone are the reversal bars. You no longer have to save up for a reversal and instead can press a single button during certain grapple moves and escape in glorious fashion at any time. That IS limited though because you can get stunned or put in a hold that cannot be reversed. So the entire match isn't impossible to actually execute anything. It actually makes for more strategic attacks and processes as I figured I was being too predictable in my style.
Submissions are a simple "press this button as fast as you can NO WAIT PRESS THIS ONE NOW" type of deal and I am absolutely fine with that. Too many times I have been burned on submissions in other games for simply not knowing what to do.
You do have some bars to fill though: Signature and Special. There is a new blue meter that can be filled up three times to use for different things. If you have a meter filled, you can get up immediately after being knocked to the mat. Fill up three and unleash your signature to fill up the special meter.
All in all, it feels a bit more arcade like and honestly, since it's a video game, makes total sense. I prefer this system SO much compared to anything in the last few years.
Game Modes:
Let's start with a rundown of some of the modes I spent the most time with:
Showcase
REY MYSTERIO. If you have been a fan of wrestling or lucha, you know the name. You know the masks. You know the high flying adrenaline action that comes with the matches. This year's showcase is all about him. It's pretty sweet. From epic triumph to emotional moments, the showcase has it all.
Great commentary from Rey as you are hearing his thoughts while you're playing. The transitions from actual footage to in-game are incredible and made me want to play more almost solely for that.
You unlock some wrestlers, attire pieces, arenas and more by progressing through the mode and it's definitely worth the play.
MyRise
Ever want to be a WWE superstar? MyRise has you covered. This year has both male and female routes and they're pretty incredible. I created Dr. Plague, a rogue witch doctor with an attitude. This cocky S.O.B tore through the ranks of the WWE Performance center, flew to Mexico and Japan and dominated the best of the best, eventually breaking into the main roster of the WWE and becoming nothing but a legend.
You can do the same. You start off creating a character of your choice with WWE 2K22's pretty awesome character creator. I had a bunch of different personas to choose from and sort of ran my career based off of what I looked like.
You're able to upgrade your superstar from being a bit of a bum to an unstoppable force in a less grindy than normal way.
The mode is fun with a quest/story mission system that lets you know if you have anything left to do before progressing the main storyline. Doing the side missions gains you more fans, level up points and unlockables for your wrestler.
Getting through the story is pretty fun and the paths you can choose from being good or bad (do you fight Road Dogg after calling him out or choosing to be respectful instead) affect the storylines you can complete.
Is it worth another play through to see the otherside? I'd say so. It's pretty interesting. I even often laughed evilly while being an absolute menace to everyone I interacted with.
MyGM
Pick a GM from a list (or create your own) and run the show your way.
Draft from a roster of superstars to be on your show and do ultimate fantasy booking. Match up types of wrestlers to put on 5 star matches and build to your Wrestlemania moments. Will you completely fail and screw up match types and builds like I did? Maybe not. But you will get a smidge of a taste of what it's like to worry about putting on something that won't completely put your audience to sleep.
Check the morale of your locker room, salary of your picks, and even the ratings of the shows you are up against. MyGM finally brings back a long requested mode that I'm sure plenty of streamers and entertaining YouTubers will enjoy.
Keep the fans (and your superstars) happy, keep them entertained and win the ratings wars against your fellow brand mates.
At the time of writing this review, I wasn't able to participate in MyFaction or most online modes as the servers were down. If I have a chance to play, I will update those on a later post.
MANO Y MANO?
The standard match types are here as well! Want some quick action? Jump into the Play Now where you choose the type of match (one on one, two on two, etc) and duke it out to your liking. TLC matches, Hell in the Cell, Backstage Brawl (at one point I threw a man 20ft down to a solid concrete floor after breaking handrails that were there to protect us from our doom), and Royal Rumbles. All the favorites.
The presentation is still here and you can expect the same gameplay if you play the other modes before jumping in here. It's a nice way to even learn a character you might not normally pick to go against your buddies.
CREATE THE NEXT JOHN CENA
The creation suite is in full force as you, well, create whatever you want. Superstars, championship belts, arenas and even the posters people will hold up in the audience. You can make anything to your wildest likings and from what I got to see (this writing is before the actual release) people are already uploading their best go at every fictional (or even real) character you can imagine. Peacemaker and Batman were both already uploaded when I looked. Crazy!
EXTRA THOUGHTS
Overall, the new gameplay engine, the combo system, the updated graphics (some of these wrestlers look INSANELY good on PS5) and the return of GM mode, all make for a nice package. The new camera angle of slightly in the middle of the ropes adds a certain "freshness" to the series which I very much welcome.
The sound is good (I don't normally listen to a lot of commentary because how much new can be said, really?) and sometimes can be a little strange. Grunts happen loudly and often feel out of place but other than that, I have no issues with the sound design. The soundtrack was even produced by Machine Gun Kelly and has some pretty good songs to jam out to while you're in the menu.
I would like to see some current roster members and maybe some more legends to satisfy my old soul. I know there will be DLC down the road but it would be nice to have an updated sort of feel. I am sure the creation suite and vast amount of custom characters can help remedy this, but I am a big fan of "official."
FINAL WORD?
If you are worried about getting a bunch of the same old from the past, have no fears. 2K has done an amazing job here and definitely put this series back on track to where it needs to be. I really hope it's an every other year thing moving forward as I think all sports games can benefit from simple roster additions/updates while the next addition takes time to add some more polish.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting out of WWE 2K22 and I was honestly a little nervous in thinking what I would be getting. I'm very pleasantly surprised and seriously cannot wait to see what is in store down the road.
Run out and grab this game today because I know you'll have a blast.
I give WWE 2K22 a 9 out of 10.
WWE 2K22 is available on: Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows
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