New Chapter, Same Story
It’s that time of year where WWE is once again in the conversation. From headlines to the anticipation of Wrestlemania, the upcoming release of WWE 2K24 has certainly been caught in the spotlight for a variety of reasons. As Visual Concepts has taken on the developmental chores for a while now, the series has once again looked to release annually, for better and for worse.
Over recent years, especially after the disappointing release in WWE 2K20, the first game that was developed solely by 2K without the help of Yukes, the team has really hit their stride with the last few entries, revamping its gameplay to feel more arcade-like and faster-paced. Thankfully, WWE 2K24 continues this upward trend for the franchise, even if it feels more focused on celebrating Wrestlemania and a few quality-of-life changes than revolutionizing its core foundation. It’s more about renovation than innovation.
While being iterative instead of innovative isn’t necessarily a bad thing, this focus does arguably result in the best WWE 2K game yet, even if does run the risk of being too similar of a product to last year’s great effort. This also results in the basic gameplay feeling the same, with your standard light and heavy strike attacks, alongside the grapple button, only seeing a slight addition in a punching mini-game to break up the moment-to-moment gameplay. This mini-game isn’t a massive improvement really, as missing a series of three punches simply leaves you stunned and vulnerable to be attacked. Functionally, things feel almost identical to last year's game, but some new animations sprinkled in that do highlight the continued improvement 2K has made to this game’s overall presentation.
We also see some new and returning match types here that were not in WWE 2K23. Firstly, we have the return of the Special Guest Referee match, a long-requested feature from the community. This match allows you or a friend to take on the role of the referee, leading to some truly chaotic and funny moments. Secondly, the Ambulance match, allowing you to shove your opponent into the back of a parked ambulance.
We also see the return of the Casket match, a bout made famous by the legendary Undertaker. This match has you attempting to get your opponent into a casket and close the lid. While this match is a classic, and worth the addition here, it is not without its unique issues. You’ll first open the casket with LB, which is fine; however, you must be standing outside the ring to do so. Since you have to be inside the ring in order to roll your opponent into the casket, there is no way to open it from inside, resulting in having to leave the ring, open it, and then get back into the ring to do the deed. It’s bizarre that there is no way to open the lid from inside. It’s a small but frustrating detail.
New matches aren’t the only improvement this year as we also have the long-awaited return of the ramp-facing camera option. While a camera angle doesn’t necessarily change the gameplay per se, it does add a less televised approach to the presentation and a look similar to that from the great PS2 release in 2003’s Here Comes The Pain. Along with a new camera angle option, we have a number of officially licensed referees which helps add to the realism of this stunning-looking release. Seeing a referee, like Charles Robinson, who I’ve watched on TV for years, be fully realized in the game was a nice touch that added to my own overall experience.
While the referees all look great, they simply don’t match up the presentation built around the WWE superstars themselves; many of which are making their series debut here or returning after not being featured for a long time. Superstars like Chelsea Green, for example, makes her first appearance in the virtual ring, or the return of Ken Shamrock who hasn’t been in the games for a few years now. It’s great to see, especially with the most detailed character models ever in a WWE game. The game also sounds as great as ever. From entrance themes, to slams on the mat or even commentary, everything sounds as I would expect and want from a new game in the series.
Depending on the arena you use for your match you may even get a different ring announcer introducing your superstars. And, for the first time ever, there are three announcers in the game this year. Mike Rome handles the Smackdown arena and any of the bigger events like Wrestlemania or Summerslam. If you decide to have a match in the Raw arena, you’ll hear the lovely Samantha Irvin, with Alicia Taylor present for NXT. It’s a small change, but it helps with immersion and improves the quality of life, especially if actively take in those shows. I don’t have to hear exactly the same intro for each wrestler in every match I have with them.
Just like the gameplay, the modes on offer don’t see massive changes this year. MyGM is identical with some fancier-looking menus, but I was doing the same things as last year. MyFaction; the card-based mode from last year seems to be exactly the same with some new cards and different challenges given its almost live service nature.
One improvement I did spot within MyFaction; however, was a massive one. This year you can get ‘persona’ cards and these are effectively different versions of the superstars in the base game, maybe with their old gimmick or some different clothing. These ‘persona’ cards allow you to use these alternative versions of several superstars in other modes of the game; they are no longer locked to just MyFaction mode like in previous years. Hopefully, this is a sign that we will get even more additional superstars outside of the announced DLC offers throughout the year. It also gives much more incentive to engage with MyFaction mode to find these ‘persona’ cards. Of course, you do that through completing different challenges or getting packs in the store which can be done with both in-game currency and through microtransactions. Sadly, this is the unfortunate reality we seem to live in with games these days.
Showcase mode also functions the same this year, but it feels bigger and more like a celebration. That’s because you will playthrough some of the best Wrestlemania matches in history, and the timing feels perfect with it being Wrestlemania’s 40th anniversary this year. I had a blast playing this objective-based mode which is presented by Corey Graves. I won’t spoil what matches are in the showcase, but I enjoyed every single one with some fun surprises thrown in. This was by far my favorite showcase mode yet and I hope we see more like this in the future. Maybe a CM Punk showcase next year?
Then we come to MyRise, WWE 2K’s story mode, where you create your own superstar and take them through various storylines. Once again, we have two stories to play through. Undisputed is the male storyline, which begins with you being thrust into a championship tournament at Summerslam. The female storyline this year is called Unleashed, where you start off as a wrestler on the indies and go on to try to make a name for yourself within the WWE. I have mostly played the Undisputed storyline and I’ve been loving the stories, I just wish the presentation had received more updates.
Apart from the addition of WWE’s The Bump, a talk show to keep you updated on each of the stories, the presentation is largely the same within MyRise and way too much social media focused. I’m keen to continue playing to unlock more customization options in the creation suite for my superstars, which remains the best character creation toolset in games. With seemingly more options than ever, I wish I was better at using it. Thankfully for me as always there are a handful of great templates to start from and those made by the community, even if in previous years, we often see dozen’s the same character with slight tweaks from creator to creator.
While I wasn’t able to test the multiplayer portions of WWE 2K24 during the review period, this is certainly a new chapter in the ongoing story of 2K’s improvement to a fantastic reboot of its series. For my money, Visual Concepts has crafted its best wrestling game to date, even if much of this year is largely incremental improvements rather than large strokes across the game. With a fantastic Showcase mode celebrating the spectacle that is Wrestlemania; the same fun, fast-paced gameplay is here alongside vastly better presentation during matches within new and returning modes. The team at Visual Concepts clearly listened to fan feedback and each year is building on the strong foundation they started with in WWE 2K22. Personally, I can’t wait to see where this franchise goes in the next few years as its storied history continues.
Developer - Visual Concepts. Publisher - 2K Games. Released - March 5th, 2024. Available On - Xbox One/Series X/S, PS4/PS5, Windows. Rated - (T) Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - A review code for the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
I’m Jordan I have a background in game design and am deeply passionate about accessibility in gaming. My favourite games/franchises include Shenmue, Red Dead Redemption 2, Plague Tale: Requiem, Metal Gear Solid 3, Yakuza, Splinter Cell, and Assassin’s Creed.