2K20 really miserably lowered people's expectations. 2K22 is massive step up, but does not deserve anywhere near the amount of high praise it is receiving.

Starting with the good - The actual gameplay itself. No longer a battle of who has more reversals, the gameplay is varied, fast, and the funnest it's been in a long time. It has its issues as always, like quick recoveries being way too frequent. The graphics are easily the best they've ever been, especially for entrances, but they're still behind their time when compared to actual AAA games.

As always though, 2K gets one new thing right then tries to fix what wasn't broken - The great new gameplay is ruined by the button-mashing for kick outs and submissions. Controllers aren't cheap nowadays. Mashing is not only just not fun, it's not indicative of skill. The timed minigame from before was perfect, and it is still exists in this game, but is only available for offline modes - A mind numbing decision.

The game modes might be the worst part. Showcase Mode is still a boring checklist you'll never dream of going back to once you unlock all the different wrestlers/arenas. Universe Mode hasn't changed at all. The career mode is the best it's been in over a decade but that isn't saying much, although it is a step in the right direction with the multiple storylines structure. MyGM is a lackluster novelty that gets boring before you even finish your first playthrough. And now we have the brand new MyFaction - A mode that exists purely for microtransactions and is structured as if it were a mobile card game, given how absolutely unfun it is.

I got this for two reasons. 1. It was really fun watching clips of the Hololive girls play the game and 2. Because I wanted to compare it to the upcoming AEW game that should be out within the next few months.

I will say this, if you're looking for expressive gameplay where the wrestling is determined mostly by your skill and knowing the mechanics... you're better off looking elsewhere.

This game feels incredibly stiff, combat is super limited and while there isn't a Stamina Meter like in the SmackDown vs Raw games, a lot of the combat is really determined by mini-QTEs which I just don't think is done very well.

The character creator is fine, though I will say nothing can take the cake on Here Comes The Pain's character creator. It doesn't help that 2K22's isn't super straight forward in my opinion, so you have to go through multiple menus to get to the more direct settings.

Also all of the default faces just look incredibly uncanny, half of them just have this expression of needing to take a shit and it's incredibly weird.

Honestly the best reason to play this game is solely for the Showcase mode. Rey Mysterio is a genuinely interesting wrestler to me, and seeing him talk about some of his most engaging matches while playing through them really gets you engrossed into it. It's again, too bad combat isn't really satisfying here.

I have no doubts that AEW Fight Forever will 100% overshadow this game given it's going back to the roots of these games, and it'll probably overshadow the inevitable 2K23 game as well.

Honestly I just wanna go back to play HCTP at this point. At least I didn't blow full price on this.

Certainly a major step up. I think the big thing is just the gameplay. It's faster, and it feels like it was made to make awesome matches with your friends. As for the new things they added, there's some major flaws. Gm mode is somewhat fun but it's not the gm mode of old, and it's not something I see myself spending a lot of time with. Universe mode is sadly untouched, which is weird considering it's the mode that many people play the most. Showcase is kinda cool, but at points you just want to get to the gameplay. The best part is all the attires and arenas you get. One mode I wasn't expecting to be great was myrise, the story mode of this game. We finally have more choices, it's not a linear path which is awesome. Story mode is usually something I only play once, but I see myself coming back to this. This game has a ton of flaws that I just don't understand, but the core of this game is good, and that's ultimately what you want. If they build on this and fix the minor flaws, 2K23 could be one of the great wrestling games.

I can confidently say WWE 2K22 is a phenomenal game. It's the most fun I've had with a wrestling game since 2013. I have been highly critical of 2K and their WWE games since they got the license in 2014 and at one point I just started to skip them altogether. I am extremely happy I did not skip this one. Well worth the $60 I payed for it. The my GM mode is incredibly fun especially over remote play with a friend. The career mode is well put together with branching stories that really helps you feel like a WWE superstar. This game is exactly what I'm looking for in a pro wrestling game and it's good to see 2K finally get it right.

As I'm writing this, it's about a month out from the next WWE game and the first back on the yearly schedule after a brief hiatus following 2K20. I've noticed over the past couple weeks I've been feeling more antsy and excited for 2K23 than I think I expected to be and I think it's because I'm just now realizing how much this game did that, put all together, is like a melting pot of all my favorite things from previous WWE games. It's like it was built for me specifically.

This is like a perfect blend of WWE All Stars and a grounded reality in the ring. Its got the combos like All Stars, which means if you let it you can have matches devolve into back-and-forth fast-paced brawl at any point but it also has a grapple system reminiscent of some of the older games where all the moves are performed from a lockup so you can slow the pace at your leisure. In a similar feeling from All Stars as well the combos are very solid at reflecting the kind of wrestler you're playing as. A technical guy may have a combo end in a move targeting a specific body part or end in a submission, a smaller high flyer wrestler will be more flashy in their combos like with quick kicks and a fast ending, while a powerhouse will just swing their arms around and then throw you ten feet the opposite way. This probably sounds like pretty basic stuff for a wrestling game but it wasn't until this game specifically that I thought about how each individual wrestler didn't feel as intrinsically expressive in previous games. Now I finish a session thinking about which wrestlers in the game I haven't played with much recently and get a little sad since it feels like a different experience I'm missing out on. Signature moves and finishers are earned independently of each other like All Stars meaning the matches feel less like you're just working through the same pattern again and again.

Showcase mode is something that gets a lot of negative feedback because people want older modes from previous games to return in its place. It would be cool to see some of those have a comeback maybe, but I'll never be sad to see Showcase return. Reliving some of these older moments is usually fun and they come with additions to the rosters that might have never appeared otherwise. MyRise, even though you can only play as your own created wrestler carries with it the absolutely bonkers, wrestlecrap energy of my beloved Road to Wrestlemania mode from Smackdown vs. Raw. The only real complaints I have are towards MyFaction and Universe Mode, MyFaction because it's completely pointless and only exists to be Ultimate Team equivalent that has plagued modern sports games though I wonder if it can ever become that whale hunter those games live on since it could never replicate the reasons people play wrestling games, and Universe Mode is just a technical disaster filled with glitches and crashes that I hope gets a full facelift soon.

Even with the complaints though I can't deny the simple fact that for the first time since WWE All Stars when I end a session of WWE 2K22 I never feel like I've played enough matches for the day and would rather do something else now. Back on the yearly schedule means this kind of turnaround won't happen again for a long time but I'm so satisfied with this new base that I don't feel like I'll need that reset for a long time. I'm just so excited to be this excited again!

It's probably been about 4-5 years since I've played a WWE game and after seeing this on PS+ and hearing that it's actually an improvement over the other games and one of the best in years, I decided to give it a shot. Yep, it's still the same thing. Where are these drastic improvements people are talking about? GM mode is kinda fun, but its literally the exact same as it was in the older games. Showcase mode was disappointing and super short. I didn't bother trying Faction mode since it looks like some stupid cash grab, like a FIFA ultimate team copy or something. The gameplay remains the same. It can be fun at times, but I got bored incredibly quickly, although maybe that's just because I don't watch or like wrestling anymore.

It actually does hit different, in a good way. 2K22 throws out the simulation experience and adopts a refined, streamlined control scheme for faster-paced, arcade-style gameplay. There's a lot to like here from the detailed creation suite that allows for unlimited user created content, to a variety of match types, all the way to a new Career mode and the return of GM Mode.

Controls are basically identical to WWE '13 and though 2K22 is of course a wrestling game, it adds in some fighting game elements. You can press a combination of punch, kick and grapple buttons to throw out quick combos. Breakers have been added, which are rock-paper-scissors guessing style counters that allow you to counter your opponents' attack.

As fun as 2K22 is, several bugs have been present throughout the game which have caused crashes and annoyances. The game modes even feel largely undeveloped. The new MyFaction mode (a WWE card-collecting mode similar to NBA 2K's MyTeam and EA's Ultimate Team) comes off as frustrating and grindy, relying more on cheap tactics rather than skill. The new MyRise Career mode provides fun, but gets repetitive due to the fact that the mode consists of short stories lasting anywhere from 3-5 or so matches, with cutscenes being few and far in-between. GM Mode is severely lacking compared to it's SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 counterpart. NBA Live 19, a game known for it's weak Franchise mode, is more fleshed out than WWE 2K22's take on Franchise. Lastly, while Showcase mode is fun, the mode plays more like an extended tutorial with a checklist of objectives. It's definitely a mode most people will play once to unlock everything and never look back.

WWE 2K22 is a fun wrestling game that feels more like the later THQ WWE titles (SvR 2010 through '13). More time ironing out the issues and developing the modes would have made this one of the greatest of all time.

not sure how much stock youse guys put into a review for a game that has been out one whole day but here we go

looks good, plays good. not all scans are created equal though (samoa joe, andré, i’m so sorry they did u like this)
controls are kind of a mash up of battlegrounds and 2k20, but it actually works pretty well and the action and flow of each match feel very good

finished the showcase mode too, which is a great introductory course to playing the game, but i wish they chose better matches to really showcase the star power of rey mysterio.

overall, i feel like fans that were strongly disappointed by 2k20 will be able to find at least a few things to love here.

WWE 2K22 definitely lives up to it's tagline: It Hits Different!

After nearly 3 years it is totally worth the wait. The gameplay is 10 times better, controls are a lot better with them paying homage to the PS2 era of WWE Games (GOLDEN DAYS!) and the graphics are the best they ever have been.

Online is broken right now due to the overwhelming servers that I can hardly go on Community Creations to look at custom wrestlers and arenas but hopefully they get fixed very soon.

GM Mode rocks! It is so good to see it back after 15 years and even though it doesn't have everything we wanted, being able to have your custom wrestler as a General Manager is so much fun!

Showcase is awesome! Rey Mysterio was the best choice for this year's showcase. A good variety of matches but I do wish they added his match from WrestleMania 22. (Where the hell is Kurt Angle?!)

MyRise? Honestly. Best MyCareer they have done so far. It's so good! They actually got it right this time. Looking forward to playing more of it.

Overall, this game is epic! The best 2K game in a very long time. They finally came out of autopilot and are steering this ship in the right path now. Hopefully now they just keep getting better every year. Go on, 2K! You can do it.

THQ would be so proud. 'sniff'.

2K23 çıkmasına çok az kalmışken 2K22 deneyimim hakkında konuşmak istiyorum. Çocukluğumdan beri profesyonel güreşi izlemeyi çok severim ve eski oyunlarını fazlasıyla oynardım. Eski oyunlardan favorim de PS2'ye çıkmış olan Here Comes The Pain diyebilirim. O oyunun cidden benim için yeri ayrıdır. 2K22'ye geri dönersek gayet keyif alıp suyunu çıkarana kadar oynadığımı söyleyebilirim. Öncelikle daha yeni Hall of Fame olarak duyurulan çocukluk kahramanım Rey Mysterio'nun kariyeri boyunca çıktığı önemli maçları bir çeşit senaryo sunan Showcase modu hakkında konuşmak istiyorum. Rey oldum olası güreş merakımı ateşleyen kişilerden birisidir. Akrobatik ve hızlı olan Luchador kültüründen fırlamış bu adama çok hayrandım. Tabii Brock, Goldberg, Bret Hart gibi efsaneleri daha çok seviyordum ama Rey bir başkaydı. Bu ben de farklı bir yerde olmasından kaynaklı Showcase modunu oynarken aşırı keyif aldım. Eddie ile olan ilk kemerini kazandığı maçından Undertaker ile çıktığı kemer maçından günümüze kadar olan önemli maçları çok enfes şekilde derleyip sunmuşlar. Özellikle maç sırasında verilen birkaç objektif var onları yaptığınız zaman dövüşün akışıyla beraber gerçek maçta olan hareketleri direk orijinal görüntüleriyle izliyorsunuz. Showcase hakkında tek bir şikayetim var o da Halloween Havoc maçındaki Backflip DDT objektifi ya ben bunu yapmaya çalışırken o kadar zorlandım ki eh yeter be deyip ileri ki iki maçı tamamladım. Tabii sonrasında o maça dönüp yaptım objektiflerini.

Showcase dışında Myrise moduna da baya bir vakit gömdüm. Öncesinde erkek bir güreşçi oluşturup başladım kariyere önüme geleni patır patır dövdüm. Bir noktadan sonra RAW, SMACKDOWN ve NXT arasında geçiş yaptıkça kariyer hikayesinin çok fazla aynı olay örgüsüne sahip olduğunu fark edince biraz moralimi bozdu. Tekrar tekrar gerçekleşen ihanetler çok sinirimi bozuyordu. Bu kariyer modumda alabileceğim tüm kemerleri alınca dedim neden kadın kariyer modunu denemiyorum. Oturdum ona başladım yine önüme geleni harcıyorum maçta ama şaşırtıcı şekilde erkek kariyerinde olan ihanet sarmalı bunda daha azdı. Az olmasına azdı ama 2K22'de genel anlamda kadın güreşçilerle oynamanın zevki pek yok diyebilirim. Bunun sebebiyse neredeyse çoğu Diva çok hantal kapışıyor. Yani erkek güreşçilerin en cüsselisi bile oynanış kısmında daha hızlı hamle yapıyor. Bunun dışında fena olmayan tatlı bir kariyer moduydu ara sıra güldüren kısımlarıyla keyif verdi.

Mygm modu ve Myuniverse modlarına gelelim. Önceliğimi Mygm'e yönelteyim. Mygm güreşçi olarak değil de genel olarak müdürlük yapıp maçların düzenini ve kimlerin kapışacağını seçip ilerleyen bir yönetim simülasyonu olarak özetleyebilirim. Bu arada yönetim yapıyorsunuz ama isterseniz ayarladığınız maçları kendiniz oynayabiliyorsunuz. Ben beş yıldızlık gösteri yapmak için kendi elimle oynamak istedim ama galiba öyle yapılmıyormuş. Onu üzücü yoldan anlamış oldum. Genel olarak keyifli bir mod ara sıra kafa dağıtmak için yönetim rekabetlerine girmek eğlenceli oluyor. Neyse Myuniverse'e gelirsek ise tamamıyla müdür konumundasınız. İstediğini şovu istediğiniz şekilde yönlendirip güreşçiler arasında yeni hikayelere yol açabiliyorsunuz. Bu yeni hikayelere yol açma olayı çok tatlı ama fazlasıyla sığ olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Pekte bir şey beklemiyorum aslında ama idare eder bir seviyede düşmanlık ve takım çalışması hikayeleri kuruyor. Böyle olması bana yetti.

Myuniverse modunun en çekici noktası benim için topluluktan indirdiğiniz şovlar ve arenalarla kendi şovunuzu ekleyip kendi yaptığınız veya indirdiğiniz karakterle istediğiniz gibi takılabilmemiz. Bu özellik de beni en çok oyuna bağlayan noktaya geliyor. Topluluk yapımı materyaller o kadar hoşlar ki anlatamam yani genel maç yapmak yerine gidip toplulukta hangi karakterler yapılmış ilginç karakterler bulayım diye o kadar fazla gezdim ki saatlerim çürüdü. En sonunda böyle topluluk gezintilerinden sonra dedim ki sevdiğim karakterler yapılmamış o zaman ben yaparım deyip birkaç tane karakter yaptım. Yaptığım karakterler çoğunluk olarak beni tatmin eden cinsten oldu. Böyle bir oyuna nazaran karakter tasarlamak çok detaylı ve tatmin edici. Mesela bir karakter yaptığınız işte gidip hareket listesini de ayarladınız. Sırada ne var güreşçinin girişi işte ona bile üstün körü bile olsa kendi giriş videonuzu yapabiliyorsunuz. Böyle ufak hoş eklentilerle oluşturduğunu karakterin kalitesini arttırmak benim için muhteşem bir zevkti. Umarım 2K23'te çok çok keyifli bir oyun olur ve inşallah oynamak nasip olur.

I played for about 4 hours in MYRISE mode and encountered so many annoying issues that I quit. Long loading times on the Series X makes switching between menus and matches a slog.
The career mode often traps you in matches you must win to progress rather than having an alternative fail path. The career mode stories/feuds are generally just presented via Twitter posts. There seem to be bugs with the career mode too as in one of the few stories/feuds with cutscenes I won the US Championship after a series of matches. Then the game seemed to forgot that I won it and gave the title to someone else on Twitter. My title win was never recorded and it seemed like the multi part story just didn't happen.
The grappling system has been changed to an old combo system that I haven't seen since the end of the 90s and games like WWF War Zone. The game has a barebones tutorial but doesn't explain many of the control inputs and just expects you to pause the game during a match and look up your moveset and other actions. I preferred the original, more simple but gratifying, Smackdown method of grappling/reversing.
I think it's time to give the licence to someone else.

WWE 2K22 - The Most Authentic WWE Game In History

It's been a long fuckin' wait for WWE 2K22. So long, I barely even remember the marketing and release of the disastrous WWE 2K20 (Which I enjoyed, but I can fully admit it was...bad)

Two and a half years since the last WWE game release, Visual Concepts returns with an entry in the series that really does "Hit Different" and puts all previous iterations to shame, at least in the authenticity and addiction department.

First off, let's talk about the redesigned engine and gameplay. Everything flows so, so much smoother. Plenty of subtle transition moves and blending has been inserted in this game, as well as a new homing and targeting system to help bring superstars to where they need to
be during a certain move.

The combo system fully integrates these changes, as each combo strings together nearly without issue. No matter how you customize them in Create-A-Moveset, you combo should end up looking quite smooth in the ring.

The fighting game influence is the best injection of fresh air the game has added in years. Once a combo is started, it can only be countered by a breaker. A breaker can only be done by guessing the right string of the opponent's next combo. You may also block and dodge the first hit of a combo, making some moments give me flashbacks to Fight Night Champion.

Grapples are now done by either combo-ing into them (e.g X-X-A-B for a grab combo), or starting with a grab lockup and deciding whether to do a Light, Heavy or Whip Attack.
Everything about the game feels incredibly more smooth, precise and fast paced. The complete overhaul in the way you defend, as reversals are less common and harder to pull off, allows for constant back and forth WrestleMania-quality matches against the AI with the right wrestlers. The game feels like it actually has the seeds of what could become a great emulation of ring chemistry. Some characters work together better than others, and can pull off some amazing matches with the right moves.

Showcase features the legendary luchador Rey Mysterio. Anyone can admit the match choice is incredibly weak, but unfortunately this is on WWE and their restrictions, and not 2K. However, the Showcase boss, Dino, seemed incredibly enthusiastic about making a Rey Mysterio showcase in the Ringside Report, and it shines through in the game.

Each match has authentic arenas, belts, and character models. The attention to detail in some of these is absolutely wild. Halloween Havoc 97, vs Eddie Guerrero, has a fantastic detail that if you lose, Eddie actually unmasks Rey like he would if he won the real match.

During this match as well, after it blends into the video footage of Eddie ripping up Rey's mask, the mask will become ripped in the game as well when we return to it.

Although the objectives haven't felt that much more fun than previous entries, the presentation is far better with Rey Mysterio commentating the matches from his point of view.

Another new addition in the series is MyFaction, a WWE version of Fifa/Madden Ultimate Team. This mode allows you to collect superstar cards, build a faction, and level them up.

However in my opinion, the execution is quite weak. It's just a paid reskin of the 2K Towers mode, and now we can't even use any superstar we want.

When MyFaction was announced, I was under the assumption we would be able to face off against other players' AI teams for a leaderboard, but you can't.
You are able to customize your team logo, banner and name at any time, and have multiple factions. These items come in expensive card packs, as the credit payout is abysmal to promote transactions.

One has to wonder though, if I'm never going to see another players' faction, and they're never going to see mine, why am I even bothering? It's like an offline version of WWE SuperCard, which would get quite boring after a few hours. However, if you enjoy this kind of mode of offline towers with loot, it may be for you.

While I have not completed all of MyRise yet, half way through the Men's storyline, I feel extremely disappointed. I'm going to assume this mode's overall weakness is due to WWE releases over the last two years, but it REALLY shows here.

The positive is that skill trees and everything else over-complicated about MyRise is now removed. Your overall is simply improved by earning skill points in storylines, and using them to upgrade a list of 12 stats, pretty simple.

Social Media page allows you to see tweets from the WWE Universe, your opponents, and DMs offering storyline opportunities. Some of these stories build quite well on the history and canon of WWE 2K characters within the previous MyCareer versions.

The negative part is that all these storylines are isolated, and there is nearly no overarching narrative to this mode, unlike 2K20's which focused on the life and career of Red and Tre. In this, your character has almost no importance to the overall lore of WWE. The Roleplay aspect feels almost non-existent, as title wins mean nothing than just another storyline before you jump to the next one and win the next title over and over again.

Universe returns with Superstar Mode, which allows you to follow the career of a single superstar in your sandbox. It's a toggle that can be changed at any time. You can also edit matches during a show in progress, as well as delete them. There are plenty of nice QoL fixes amongst Universe that we've needed
Graphic wise, WWE 2K22 is stunning, even on old generation. My copy was for Xbox One X, and I was blown away at the level of detail. The only negative I see on old-gen compared to new is that shadows get more crushed and the lighting is slightly less higher resolution, but other than that everything is as beautiful as it's intended.

Entrance animations all feel cinematic with the new motion-captured camera data, and the motions are performed with a level of authenticity you'd see in a CGI WETA short.

Hair receives a small upgrade in both physics and visuals and many legends including The Rock and Chyna have been retouched to be up to standard with the rest of the roster.

The audio has improved, as the crowd is much louder during matches, there are more unique chants and the ring foley work is far more apparent to the player. The wrestlers grunt and vocalize far more often as well.

The game is not without it's flaws however, as no new match types were added, some tag entrances were randomly removed, MyGM lacks any sort of depth and there are some minor bugs to be ironed out in future patches.

However, WWE 2K22 is an absolutely stunning video game, and the most broadcast-accurate game ever made. The redesigned engine brings a new dopamine rush that hasn't been felt in over a decade with the series, possibly more. Congrats to the team at 2K, Visual Concepts, and more for making the public realize the power behind your team when you actually have the right people working on it, and not an incompetent studio like say, Yukes.

Review code for Xbox One X nWo Edition provided by 2K Games

Check out my YouTube for upcoming WWE 2K22 Mods: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnUqKyv-zqOoeR1jtrXdXQw/