Review: WWE 2K23

After the impressive showing for WWE 2K22, 2K and Visual Concepts are looking to carry that momentum over with WWE 2K23. With the mantra of this year’s title being “Even Stronger,” the developers are building on the strong foundation that was established last year after taking a hiatus to steer the franchise in the right direction. Visual Concepts has done just that with addressing some previous issues with gameplay while also introducing new and useful mechanics. It still offers plenty of game modes with some getting improvements and other additions getting introduced for the first time. With WWE 2K23, the quality of the series is finally on par with its NBA counterpart.

John Cena is the face of WWE 2K23 as he’s frankly the whole show. He’s the cover athlete, the music producer and the focus of the Showcase Documentary mode. Upon the initial boot of the game, Austin Creed makes his presence known as he takes the player through a tutorial and also graces the tutorial splash screens that come up throughout the game. All of the video packages that Visual Concepts puts together in these games are fantastic, and this carries over to the Showcase Mode. The Slingshot Tech will seamlessly transition between real video and gameplay as the goal is to beat John Cena in his most iconic matches ever. Cena is no slouch either, as going through and completing in-match objectives will become increasingly more difficult. Cena is the boss of all bosses in this game, but the rewards for competing objectives includes competitors that competed in that specific match.

The Showcase Mode has a few strange caveats this year that I don’t remember being a staple of in previous titles. Each match offers background music that isn’t a part of any other mode. There’s no commentary in these matches and there’s no narration during the match cutscenes when the game switches to the real video. It’s awkward as the only time Cena talks is during his videos in between each match. This somewhat hurts the immersion of the documentary feel, but overall the mode remains true to what it has always been as players will learn information about each match and get to not only experience the progression of each one, but also learn the game and the move sets from various other WWE Superstars in the game as opposed to playing as just the main character like it has in the past. The design of this year’s Showcase Mode was a brilliant decision to make. If you love or hate Cena, the mode still does a wonderful job in its execution as the haters will realize that Cena still wins in the end no matter how many times he gets pinned.

MyRISE returns with new direction and a big bonus. For the first time, players can create a Superstar outside of the mode and import it directly in rather than having two separate creations. Furthermore, the ones that are created directly for the mode can be exported for use in other modes, which is a much-needed and welcome change. Two distinct storylines that feature voice acting from Superstars are available with one being a Woman’s focused storyline and the other a Male. For the Women, you are being guided by your Aunt who has leverage in the company due to her past success. For the Men, you are basically the chosen one and have to live up to lofty expectations so you don’t end up like Curtis Axel. Upgrading your Superstar is the key as the aim for the Hall of Fame begins as both stories come with lofty expectations. While some may think some of this is more streamlined than they would like, the structure in place makes it welcoming for those who don’t want an overabundance of options to deal with. The narratives are well done, once again, as this mode offers even more replayability with the choice of going through with ten different creations.

The return of MyGM last year is just what the doctor ordered as the mode worked well without overcomplicating its design and kept everything structured well. The issue that occurred with time was the desire to have more options within the mode and this year the developers have delivered while keeping everything about the mode under control. The whole mode gets expanded and this starts with the addition of more brands (including WCW) and general managers. Multiplayer is possible or the ability to go up against three other AI brands rather than just one. Players can also go through and select who is available for the draft and also compete in multiple seasons. More is better with MyGM in WWE 2K23 as the approach to managing and playing week-to-week are untouched, but overall more options including different and expanded match types are available. This mode is going to be even more addicting than it was last year.

The other main modes didn’t receive much of a change, though. The sandbox Universe Mode is wide open to build a show and has been a staple for years and has seen a reworked story system and small changes. This mode is more for hardcore fans that either want to play as one Superstar or just create and manage shows with the locks off. MyFACTION was introduced as the card-based microtransaction mode last year and it returns with online play. This is basically the WWE Superstar Card game for mobile but players will actually play matches. Contracts for cards and other aspects seen in MyTEAM in the NBA series are a part of this, but outside of the multiplayer aspect, it remains what it is. The Creation Suite remains overly deep and adds even more that includes the ability to take custom arenas online. There are so many options for adding to the roster so it’s again a big aspect to have.

While most of the mode options have seen growth, how has the actual gameplay improved? Visual Concepts did add the recently-popular Wargames Match which features two rings in a cage in the same arena. The developers were able to squeeze these in and this includes the cages that sit the rest of teams in the background. There is a 3v3 or 4v4 option for multiplayer and this will no doubt be the most popular match type online. The camera pans out wide for this mode and everything in the cage is easily visible. Players can also climb to the top of the cage and weapons can be pulled prior to entering the cage. It only takes one Superstar getting pinned to end the match, though. This match is extremely fun and it would have been nice to have more arena choices for it as there are only two. It’s also not an option for MyGM, which is disappointing.

Once again, the 1v1 matches work the best in WWE 2K23 as keeping things simple between two competitors and the referee in the ring nets the best results. The big change for this year in the physical combat aspect is with the animations. There has been an issue when multiple Superstars were in the ring that interrupting moves wouldn’t be recognized or that the big jump off the top rope would completely miss for some reason. Issues like this have been drastically tightened up and even in some circumstances if there is a warp, the execution still takes place. This would be kind of a killer in multiplayer matches, but it’s a step in the right direction as players will quickly notice things they couldn’t do previously can be pulled off here.

Gameplay has also brought a few important implementations this year. While it’s mostly the same with the grappling and combo system, there have been defensive measures added. Players can be prompted for a possum attack when on the ground rather than just a counter. A new dodge mechanic has also been added rather than just the ability to press a button and counter a grapple. Players can also simply block a move rather than counter it like last year. These are all additional options that doesn’t remove anything from the control scheme of the game. I will say that the counters are more difficult to pull off this year based on the timing window. Lastly, the developers added a new kick-out mechanic when being pinned. This is also optional so if players want to stick with tapping a button repeatedly, they can. But this new slider that requires the user to hit up on the right stick can help make some of these multiplayer matches not continuously go. The more damage taken, the smaller the area and the faster the meter goes for the one being pinned. It’s a good change and worth a try.

Simply put, WWE 2K23 is the best-looking game in the series and is up there with NBA 2K. One could say that it even surpasses it. Just to get it out of the way, the hair physics continue to see improvements, but still have a way to go. Otherwise, the new scanning system implemented this year makes every Superstar in this game look lifelike on current-generation hardware. The details on the body ranging from various muscle tones to tattoos are ridiculously detailed. This even translates over to the custom-created characters as they’re closely in line with the real WWE Superstars. Dexter Lumis is one that comes to mind that he looks exactly like he does in real life. In essence, it comes down to the hair still being a culprit. The overall movement of the animations feels more fluid as well. The crowd remains detailed at a distance and the overall atmosphere of the arenas remains vibrant.

John Cena was assigned as the Executive Producer of the soundtrack on the game. This means everything went through him prior to being selected, but there’s wide variety of good music on the soundtrack that will make you appreciate Cena’s music tastes. Don’t forget, Cena has an actual hip-hop background that was more than just his first gimmick. The dude knows his music and it’s on display here. The crowd remains reactive during matches and there seems to be new individual crowd yells that pipe in during entrances and matches. One thing that does need to be addressed is the aging commentary that still features Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. This may be why some sections of the game are missing commentary and instead have background music. It’s time to get Pat McAfee on board in the commentary booth in the game or at least up-to-date with Wade Barrett and others. The online component, outside of multiplayer being added to MyFACTION is roughly the same. The team did state a big focus was on getting connectivity better and more stable, but this will be too early to tell until everyone starts to hop on once the game launches. There’s nothing superbly added as the structure remains the same.

Closing Comments:

2K and Visual Concepts continue to show commitment to this franchise in WWE 2K23 by making necessary gameplay changes and additions to an already-strong core that was established last year. WWE 2K23 then pushes the graphical fidelity forward to the point that it possibly surpasses its NBA 2K counterpart in the grand spectrum of things. The big help coming with cleaning up previous nuisances with the gameplay are a big help while making MyGM and MyRISE deeper will be much appreciated by the community. The Wargames match is going to be popular as everything about it works and the match itself is extremely fun. The new design for Showcase Mode is also a success, but the biggest improvements come in the technical depart of WWE 2K23. While some modes are left lacking, the others that saw more options are great and nothing needed to be sacrificed along the way.

Reviewed on PlayStation 5