WWE 2K22 Review

"Return of the WWE"

Campaign

March 15, 2022 at 7:16am
By Jason Stettner

It’s been some time since the last WWE game released and after that gap the series has returned and to the next gen consoles as well. This game features a plethora of unique modes to enjoy, a suite of customizable options and many multiplayer choices to dive into. The first mode to highlight is just play now. This is an area where you can setup any sort of situation from one on one to tag team to royal rumble or even a good old setup of tables, ladders or chairs.

Then there are online modes to compete against others as local is limited to four players to the ring whereas online goes up to eight players at once. I should note that local play does allow eight opponents in the ring at once, but only four can be controlled by actual people. The next mode to highlight is Showcase mode which celebrates Ray Mysterio’s twenty year legacy.

It presents setup events from the differing years with unlocks being present. MyGM is another option where you setup matches and generally the events after picking a team from WWE you’d like to represent. There’s a sort of draft and then you watch or simulate matches going on. I did feel that this mode could have used more in-depth features so hopefully that gets improved upon in further entries.

MyFaction is a new card based mode similar to Ultimate Team where you create squads using various cards, I wasn’t huge on this but know the concept is very popular in sports titles these days. MyRise is a mode where you get to enjoy the road to the top of the WWE world as you start from the bottom in a scripted series of story like missions with a created superstar, this might be interesting for some to enjoy.

Finally there’s Universe Mode where you manage brand options and setup competitions which was somewhat neat though from what I understand there’s nothing too wildly new there. The online creative options allow you to download from a massive roster of cross-platform created options. This includes the likes of superstars which get downright hilarious.

I’ve got Kermit the frog as a custom superstar or say Superman or Donkey Kong and so many more. It’s just ever so funny and entertaining, perhaps the true value of the package for many like myself. You can customize other things such as arenas to a great depth and smaller stuff like entries or say championships. You can easily download, upload and even import images to do whatever with which is great. I loved this feature, it was fantastic and insanely varied to the degree that I probably couldn’t even properly describe it with words. It’s an impressive aspect of this game for sure.

Gameplay

This does somewhat come across as a cross gen experience. It definitely looks great I’d say, but at the same time I feel they could push things further. It is Optimized for Xbox Series X with a 4k resolution at 60fps target yet at the same time since it’s so narrow in scope I feel they could have done more with that aspect of it. There is decent crowd density, but they could have been more varied. The details for the differing wrestlers looks great, as do the scans for official roster inclusions.

The custom fighters are also very high quality in design, it’s insanely impressive in that regard. The material texturing looks good, as does the lighting for the most part. I would have liked the mat of the ring to be more dynamic to impacts since the ropes have such sways to them. This does seem to feature a healthy roster of both men and women wrestlers so that’s varied for sure.

A good selection of arenas are also present. The loading was strangely slow at times on Xbox Series X, particularly upon the initial load up which was strange. This aspect wasn’t present when playing it on Xbox Series S from what I noticed. The combative elements have been refined here, more straight forward buttons and for the most part that was fine. I did struggle with grapple control aspects but everything else came across as relatively smooth.

The Conclusion

WWE 2K22 delivers a great time with a plethora of unique modes, generally great visuals and an insanely awesome character creator. The customization options are just stunning in this game, it’s so much fun to play around with those settings. You really do get a ton of selections to enjoy in what’s quite a well rounded offering.

Some more depth here or there and you’ve really got a stellar package going on. As someone that’s not necessarily huge in wrestling and what not, I actually really enjoyed this game far more than I anticipated. It mostly looks great, plays very well and can be an absolute blast of a time. They really did do some good work here improving the offerings and providing something that’s perfect for WWE fans.

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WWE 2K22 Review on Xbox Series X
Review Code Provided by Finn Partners

Rating Overall: 8.0