WWE 2K24 Review – A Showcase of the Immortals

WWE 2K24 Review

Over the past two years, Visual Concepts has catapulted the WWE gaming experience to heights reminiscent of the golden era of N64 gaming, setting a new standard of excellence. Establishing a solid foundation on their first outings, WWE 2K24 develops and refines elements to make this the best wrestling game in the modern era.

Stepping into the squared circle feels great. Like 2K23, this iteration includes minor improvements that enhance in-ring battles. Although undoubtedly similar to its predecessors, fans of the previous entries will notice new animations, more variety with counters and an altogether smoother experience that captures the essence of its real-life counterpart. One of the biggest new features is the ability to enter the Trading Blows minigame. Like the wonderful world of sports entertainment, fights can enter a trade-off where each wrestler throws a punch as the crowd reacts to each strike. This requires you to hold the button and release it in the designated area. Doing so lands a clean hit, whereas missing gives your opponent the advantage. While it does shift the pace of the action, it also adds a healthy dollop of drama to create memorable moments.

King of the Ring

As fights progress, often wrestlers have to dig a little deeper and pull something unique out of their arsenal of attack. One way to do this is to save three finishers to perform a special version of your most powerful move. Icons have the ability to deliver a Super Finisher which varies for each athlete. Some will take to the ropes to unleash a vicious avalanche variation while others will perform an alternate finisher. Seeing Randy deliver a Punt Kick or Cody hit the Triple Cross Rhodes helps to make an epic conclusion to matches. Not only do these look cool as hell but they also add a strategic layer to matches. As they pack additional impact than the standard finisher, you must decide when and how to use your specials to thwart your opponent and ensure that the victory is yours. Unfortunately, not all competitors have a Super Finisher which is a little disappointing, however, the care and effort that has gone into those that do helps to further differentiate icons on the roster.

Adding personality, each wrestler is much more expressive in the ring. If they get caught in a surprise move, they react. Although this isn’t a game-changing feature, it makes WWE 2K24 even closer to the television broadcast. The level of detail on stars on the roster is extraordinary. Sweat drips, muscles pop and even the stitching on the character’s attire is visible. While the attention to detail is clear with the most popular wrestlers, lower-tier fighters don’t receive the same level of care. Although they still have a resemblance, they lack the photorealism that adorns the faces of the company.

He’s Broken in Half!

New match types add to the already stacked number of options to give even more ways to kick the crap out of your opponent. The biggest spectacle out of the bunch is the Ambulance and Casket matches. Both have the same objective, throw your opponent into the area and lock them in. To do so, you’ll need to mash the correct buttons in order to fill a meter so that you can shut the door or close the lid. It’s frantic and adds tension to the climax of fights. The main feature of the match can also be used in other ways too. You can climb the ambulance and perform finishers on top or even leap off to deliver a devastating splash.

Not only have new match types been added, but improvements have been made to existing modes too. The Backstage Brawl features much more interactivity allowing you to annihilate your opponent in unique ways. Also, the new Guest Referee option creates some hilarious moments as you can determine exactly how you want the match to go. With other small developments such as the ability to throw weapons and much more, each aspect of the game has been refined to improve the overall experience.

Mr. WrestleMania

At the forefront of this year’s release is the Showcase mode. The documentary-style feature focuses on the pinnacle of Sports Entertainment, WrestleMania, and celebrates its 40-year history wonderfully. Corey Graves takes you through the years introducing key matches and commenting on pivotal moments. While it does stick closely to the previous iterations of the mode, there’s much more variety with this due to it being focused on an event rather than a wrestler. In 2K22 and 2K23, it got a little tiresome using or fighting against the same wrestler. This spans across decades and due to this, you’ll play as a range of wrestlers with different styles which varies each encounter. It is disappointing to not have a match from every show, however, Visual Concepts has selected iconic matches from The Showcase of the Immortals to truly celebrate the Grandest Stage of Them All.

The career mode, MyRise, features two distinct storylines for the respective divisions. While both feature a large overarching story, there are also smaller stories that develop throughout. Due to the branching paths, there are plenty of reasons to replay the story and discover the secrets within. MyGM also returns with a host of expansions including more match types, championships and the ability to train Superstars. Although not as popular as the aforementioned, it’s a unique way of engaging with the sport from a different perspective. Although still a bit too arcadey in my opinion, I do like how you need to set up fights to earn the highest match ratings and gain a larger audience.

Gotta Collect ‘Em All

MyFaction is the card-collecting component in the series. Here you can build your Fantasy faction with wrestlers from the rich history of WWE. With seasonal updates, weekly towers and much more, you can regularly earn cards by pinning your opponent. Although the online and offline mode has an addictive loop with its trading card format, the fact that it includes three different virtual currencies indicates the level of grind required to claim the best cards.

Other elements such as the Universe mode and the creation suite also return to add longevity to the game. The 2K community is passionate and creates incredible characters from across the wrestling and entertainment world. Whether you want that dream match of Ospreay vs Rollins or would like to see who would win out of Braun Strowman and Hulk, you are able to thanks to the incredible creation suite and community downloads. The game offers a fantastic level of freedom so that you can personalize the roster and alter Logan Paul’s rating!

WWE 2K24 develops on the solid foundation from its predecessors. Each thoughtful tweak and refinement improves the gameplay to faithfully replicate the television experience. New additions help to bolster the package giving you plenty of options to engage in the world of wrestling. While it sticks to the established formula, it’s still a confident step in the right direction.

***A PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher***