2K “did the work” to improve on last year, but there’s still work to be done

Just in time for the Road to Wrestlemania, 2K has launched WWE 2K23. The latest entry in the long-running grappling sim has high expectations around it, based on the many improvements last year’s entry brought to the series after years of pretty disastrous entries. Thankfully 2K23 brings some much-needed improvements on the technical side to the (doomed Spanish announce) table this year, with a dramatic reduction to the number of clipping and AI issues the series has become unfortunately known for. That’s probably the biggest leap here year over year, along with some minor enhancements in the GM and career mode, which means that despite being the most solid entry in the series in a long time 2K will still have to put the boots on and (like soon to be world champion Cody Rhodes would say) do the work for next year.

The most important thing in these games every year is the gameplay between the ropes, and 2K23 does an excellent job of building on its foundation this year to produce the most playable and competent entry since 2016. Gameplay mirrors last year’s game, including the improvements made to striking, grappling and reversals and the excellent combo system. Players can still easily position wrestlers around the ring and use very intuitive context specific moves and commands to pull off really cool looking moves and high spots. An example is Rob Van Dam’s corkscrew legdrop from the apron to the barricade. Rather than having to set the opponent up on the barricade, climb up onto the apron, and then pull the move off, players can just lean the opponent against the barricade, press B and watch RVD be “One of a Kind” all on his own. Switching between opponents in multi-man matches automatically with attacks can still be a struggle, but manual control of that helps to smooth out any frustration. There are two pin minigames now, which function very well depending on personal preference. Players can either button mash to escape pins (or thanks to some very solid accessibility options, hold the button if they have trouble with fast button presses) or they can use a timing-based escape option where players need to flick up on the right stick when the cursor is in the moving green area. My preference was the timing-based method, because I feel like it more closely represented the movement on the screen but works quite well.

MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation

Perhaps the biggest improvement in the game year after year is on the technical side. I had dramatically less issues with clipping in this year’s game. They still rear their ugly head on occasion, particularly when weapons or other foreign objects are at play, but during normal match situations the animations and wrestlers are much more solid. Speaking of foreign objects, one area that needs a desperate overhaul is the ladder match. Ladders seem to have way more issues with clipping and just general goofiness than any other object. They are difficult to place where you want them when attempting to climb and are one of the few items that still has a lot of issues with wrestlers floating through and around them, clipping right through them, and taking off flipping into the stratosphere with the right amount of contact. I also hate the “lockpicking” style minigame required to take the belt off the hooks when at the top of the ladder, and only serves to replicate the absolute worst part of real-life ladder matches, the 30 seconds or so that the winner has to fumble around with the carabiner clip holding the belt/briefcase up in the air.

The nice thing about this year’s gameplay is that it’s very simple for folks who don’t know a wristlock from a wristwatch to pick up and play. While not a dumbed down, arcade style game like Battlegrounds it has a very intuitive gameplay loop that will allow even casual players to pull off some neat looking stuff. Even complicated finishers have smart methods of setting them up, so you don’t have to worry about picking someone that has an easy to execute maneuver to be able to do some nice damage.

Speaking of the roster, it’s enormous. Most of the WWE and NXT superstars that you would expect are represented here (with some obvious missing pieces like Bray Wyatt) out of the box. Cody Rhodes is in, which puts him in the “Rick Rude” slot of appearing in both this game and AEW Fight Forever later this year. In addition, there’s a large selection of legends available to unlock using in-game currency (or through the Accelerator that comes with the step-up editions of the game). There are also so many version of John Cena here that’s it’s ridiculous. I mean just way too many versions of John Cena, but I guess that stands to reason since he’s the cover boy and the star of this year’s Showcase mode.

Showcase has been a standout mode for 2K for several years now and this year is no different. You get an interesting twist in this year’s game though. You see, instead of controlling John Cena though major victories in his career, players control his opponents during key losses in his career. It’s a neat twist on the formula, and it allows one to play as some truly legendary wrestlers to have taken down “Big Match John” over the years like Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Batista, HHH, Edge and the aforementioned RVD. Gameplay in this mode plays out just like last year, players are presented with various objectives throughout the match to accomplish (land a heavy grapple on Cena inside the ring, land a heavy combo at ringside, etc.) and as they accomplish these, the match will play out. This year’s game once again relies heavily on the incredible “Slingshot Tech” that was introduced in last year’s game which splices real footage into each match at key points, blending seamlessly from playable segments, to footage, and back again. The slingshot tech takes this mode to another level, and it really adds a ton of incentive to play through the mode for the nostalgia hit.

Another returning fan-favorite is the GM mode. Introduced in last year’s game, GM tasks players with taking over one of the WWE’s brands (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK, or WCW) and running shows against the competition week to week to try and draw more fans and make more money. They’ve added to the roster of GM’s in this year’s game, and now players can choose from returning mainstays like Sonya Deville, Adam Pierce, or Stephanie McMahon, or go for one of the new GM options like Mick Foley, “Easy E” Eric Bischoff, or (representing Up Up Down Down) Xavier Woods or “Price Pretty” Tyler Breeze. GM mode plays out very similar to last year, budgeting money, booking matches, making sure you’re pitting Superstars with complementary skillsets against each other, and building rivalries. Unlike last year, players can continue the GM mode for multiple seasons, which is a tremendous add from last year’s bare bones, one season affair. Unfortunately, the mode is still missing secondary titles on both the men’s and women’s side as well as any representation for the tag titles. This is once again a huge miss for the mode and it makes tag matches and lower card matches feel less important than they should. This is a must add next year in my opinion for this mode to feel like a complete feature. As it stands now, it’s a slightly better but still underwhelming experience.

If you like the idea of controlling a never-ending version of all your favorite WWE shows, then Universe mode is for you. If controlling the sandbox version of all matches and events is a little intimidating, the good news is that the Superstar mode from last year (where you pick one WWE superstar and follow their career) has also returned. Superstar mode is a great way to play through the “Seasons” of WWE and where I personally spent most of my time. My only issue with the mode is an issue with the WWE television product as well, and that’s that you’ll end up wrestling against the same opponents every week. It gets a bit tedious having mid-card matches against the Miz every week for 3 months straight, but again its true to life for the product on TV so I guess I can’t fault the devs at 2K too much.

Career mode is split into two separate stories this year. The men’s story is called “The Lock” and follows a Superstar who (like AJ Styles, Cody Rhodes, or Kevin Owens) has made a name for themselves around the world before landing in WWE. Players will struggle through getting a gimmick of “The Lock” (a play on words between an actual physical lock that is worn around the neck and the fact that players’ character is a “Lock” to win the world title) while wanting to make a name for themselves as the character that everyone recognizes from their time elsewhere. The women’s story is called “The Legacy” and deals with the Superstar fighting out from under the shadow of their aunt, who is a 6 time women’s champion and a WWE Hall of Famer. Both stories are engaging and worth playing. Gameplay in this mode plays out basically just like last year, interact with Superstars and other folks backstage to set up side matches and main story progression while earning attribute points to beef up the Superstar.

MyFaction also returns, and quite honestly this mode feels completely extraneous to me. I know some folks love their collectable card games in 2K’s sports offerings, but I just could not care any less about them. If you’re like me, you’re unlikely to find anything new and exciting here. If you love them, the good news is there’s some new stuff here for you. Players can play online now in a couple of different options, and there’s a whole slew of new cards to collect and events to take part in. For me though, it just feels like playing the rest of the game only without as many options for playable characters.

Every online mode you’ve come to expect is present here, Quick Play being the foremost among them for matchmaking. Players also have the option to set up a lobby and to check out the leaderboards, but really the bulk of the time is going to come down to getting randomly matched up with other players and duking it out across some steady netcode.

By far the biggest draw to these games in my opinion is the insane creation options, and WWE 2K23 doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Players can create Superstars, Arenas, Championships, Shows, Images, and even MITB briefcases and then share them all with the world on the Community Creations boards. I’m pleased to report that there are already a ton of great creations out there, and I would expect even more as the game gets more widespread. The only flaw in the creation suite in my opinion is that you can’t use custom arenas until you’ve created a custom show including them, but that’s not a super big deal and doesn’t take a ton of time to do.

All in all, I am really encouraged by this year’s game. They’ve made some significant improvements on some important legacy issues that have held the game back for way too long. There is a ton to do here and a lot of different ways to experience the core gameplay. Showcase remains a highlight and the expansion of MyRise continues to flesh out the series as a single player experience. I’d like to see GM mode get a significant rework next year to make it feel like a more fully fledged option and continued work on the physics around foreign objects if you are a fan of wrestling games at all, WWE 2K23 is an easy recommend.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.