After the disastrous WWE 2K20, the annual release of the wrestling simulation was paused for a year to herald a new beginning for the series. Has the revolution succeeded, or does this year’s spin-off also fall short of expectations?
The October 2019 release of WWE 2K20 was a disaster. After the annual sim launched, popular social media platforms were flooded with memes, glitch and bug videos. The game was in a disastrous state and quickly became the laughing stock of the gaming landscape.
The reception of the WWE part was as bad as probably never before and the sales figures also fell short of expectations accordingly. Publisher 2K Sports therefore decided to cancel WWE 2K21 and give developer Visual Concepts an extra year to let WWE 2K22 build on previous successes. But was this break worth it and does the latest wrestling simulation succeed in giving the long-established series a breath of fresh air? Or can we expect another glitch-fest like no other?
Stable technology – with flaws
First of all, it must be emphasised that 2K22 is actually significantly more stable on the technical side than its predecessor. For example, the game looks graphically impressive in parts. This applies to the staging as well as to the models and faces of the licensed athletes. Gone, too, are the days when wrestlers regularly floated through the arena, fell through railings or the models had absurd graphic errors.
But the emphasis is on “partly” and “regularly”. Because even WWE 2K22 doesn’t run perfectly and doesn’t always look clean. Not every wrestler was optimally animated and the game in the tested PC version showed the familiar flaws from the predecessor every now and then – which get in the way of the fun of playing. The graphic errors and bugs have not been completely erased. However, they occur with much less frequency than in 2K20.
On the other hand, there are server problems and game crashes, at least during our test. Visual Concepts will have to work on this again and help out with patches to bring the game’s technology into an appropriate state.
Beginner-friendly gameplay
In addition to the technology, the gameplay has also been fundamentally changed and significantly streamlined compared to its predecessors. Where the past WWE games became more and more simulation, 2K22 is aimed more at beginners and offers a more arcade-heavy experience.
Many systems from the predecessors, such as stamina and mini-games for certain manoeuvres, have been completely removed and the general pace has been increased somewhat. In addition, many moves – such as holds – have been simplified to make them quicker and less complicated to execute. This makes WWE 2K22 feel a little more beginner-friendly than the previous parts. The latest spin-off thus makes it more possible than ever to simply pick up the controller and have some quick fun with the game.
However, this does not mean that the combat system lacks any complexity: With combo breakers and new special manoeuvres, the game now feels even more like a fighting game à la Street Fighter. In addition, each of the over 150 wrestlers in the game has their own skills that need to be mastered. WWE 2K22 therefore falls into the “easy to learn – hard to master” category, even if the standard might have dropped a little for series veterans.
Entertaining career mode as the heart of the game
As usual from WWE games, 2K22 again features a career mode, which is one of the main pillars of the game. In “My Story” you create your own wrestler who rises through the ranks to become a superstar of the sport.
Those who have already played a spin-off of these games will not find too much of a surprise here. Once again, a “from rags to riches” story is told, with lots of cutscenes and hilarious events. However, the developers have enriched the mode this year with sensible innovations, such as easier and expanded individualisation and different stories for male and female fighters.
And that is a lot of fun. Creating your own fighter, who gets better and better and appears in bigger events, is a classic and successful formula – which also ignites in this spin-off.
Packed full package
Those who don’t fancy the career mode, or are simply looking for a change of pace from the story mode, will have no trouble finding it. WWE 2K22 offers a great wealth of different modes, including classics of the genre and old fan favourites.
For example, the game brings back something that has been missing from WWE games since 2007 with “My GM”. This mode works like a simple version of Football Manager: you manage a wrestling franchise, take care of athletes and contracts as well as successful events and much more. Those who enjoy manager games will also have a lot of fun with “My GM”, even if this is rather one of the smaller parts of WWE 2K22.
The biggest modes, besides the career mode, are “My Faction” and “Showcase”. The former is 2K’s answer to FIFA Ultimate Team: you collect progressively stronger cards to upgrade your team and can then pit them against other players’ selections. The idea is quite nice, but can quickly put players off due to aggressively advertised microtransactions and time-consuming management.
“Showcase” is well-known in WWE games and has already been successfully implemented several times. So too here: In this spin-off, the 20-year career of WWE legend Ray Mysterio, who is also the game’s cover star, is retold and replayed. Particularly great are moments when the game switches fluidly between gameplay sequences and real scenes.
If all this is not enough, you can take a look at the extensive editor. From wrestlers to arenas to their own events and game modes, players can determine and adapt a lot themselves. In addition, content can be uploaded and downloaded online as usual.
Conclusion
WWE 2K22 is definitely not lacking in varied and fun content. In terms of scope, developer Visual Concepts has plenty to offer fans. More importantly, the studio has reworked the technology and gameplay. However, the fact that there are still unclean errors in the game experience is disappointing after additional development time.
Nevertheless, the game is a lot of fun in its overall experience. Thanks to the somewhat simpler and faster gameplay, a look at the wrestling simulation is more worthwhile than ever, especially for beginners and those interested. Thus, the reboot has not succeeded perfectly in the final, but WWE 2K22 is a step in the right direction.