Quite a few years ago, the WWE license passed from THQ to 2K. For the first few years, that produced a lot of nice games, but the game was never as successful as 2K’s other sports title NBA 2K. Therefore, it was decided to do the development of the games internally and that was not a good set. WWE 2K20 was disastrously bad and as a result, it was decided to scrap 2K21. This was to eventually make a comeback with WWE 2K22.
And I think they did a good job with that. With WWE 2K22, the developer is certainly not at the point where the series once was. But it is the first time in years that after completing this review I just feel like playing a few more games. And then you got it right. Here are the points that stood out to me.
WWE 2K22 Review
Just plays well again
One of the big problems with the previous games was that it was full of bugs and it was hard to have good fights. You were often punching in the air instead of ramming your opponent. Not to mention the problems I had picking up items. In WWE 2K22, that was really so much less. The bugfest of the previous game is behind us and the fights go pretty well. In doing so, you can perform various attacks and build up your finisher. With that, you can then make the fight go your way. It is also possible that when an opponent performs an attack, that you can counter it with the right timing. This still takes a lot of practice, but eventually you come a long way and you can enjoy the fights in and outside the ring.
Great Fighting (Image: 2K Games)
Short load times on next-gen
Another point that always caused me a lot of irritation in games was the loading time. Or rather the many and long loading times. Now I have played WWE 2K22 on the PlayStation 5 and that game immediately makes good use of the possibilities that the game console offers. For an average PS5 game, the loading times are a bit long, but compared to the older times, it is now often a matter of a few seconds before you go wild. And that really is a huge improvement.
You can start soon (Image: 2K Games)
Showcase mode is top notch
Over the last few years in the series, you often see that you can experience a series of fights with a single wrestler in Showcase mode. That’s the case again this time around. This time, it’s all about Rey Mysterio and his path to the WWE and fame. He talks about how he got to the WWE and his various battles. What is new is that the story is also told within the battles of WWE 2K22. When you complete certain objectives, the game immediately switches to footage of the fights at the time and then back to the game. This is really so tremendously well done and makes you relive historical battles in a fantastic way.
Rey Mysterio (Image: 2K Games)
MyFaction is a fine ultimate team mode
WWE 2K22 also has room for innovation. For example, there is the MyFaction mode, which you can think of as the Ultimate Team mode of the game. But there is no online component attached to this. So you don’t have to build a perfect team so you can compete against others online. It’s more that you want to score cards from your favorite wrestlers in order to complete the challenges that way. There is quite a bit of content in there and the challenge is quite tough especially at the beginning. But it definitely adds value and is good for many hours of fun.
Create your own team in MyFaction (Image: 2K Games)
The career mode is not that engaging
Where I find the top two modes really cool, that’s where I find the career mode in the form of MyRise not so strong. The developer chose not to put a story in there where you start at the bottom and have to work yourself up. Instead, you have more freedom and can do different things. But because of that, everything also feels a bit more like loose sand. I had the same feeling with this WWE 2K22 career as I did with NBA 2K22. I stopped playing it fairly quickly because of that.
MyRise didn’t captivate me that much (Image: 2K Games)
But overall, I am very pleased with what the developer has done with WWE 2K22. Taking the extra time for the game has made the end result very good. The game is available to score now. Want to read more about gaming? Then visit our overview page here.
