Skipping WWE 2K21 has paid dividend for Visuals Concepts and 2K – WWE 2K22 might just be the best in the series yet.
It’s no secret that WWE 2K20 was a bit of a disaster. Beyond the fact that it failed to innovate or improve the core experience in any way, it was crippled with a plethora of horrendous – though often humorous – bugs and glitches. But after a year’s absence, the WWE 2K series is back with a vengeance. WWE 2K22 isn’t perfect, but it’s one hell of a step in the right direction.
It’s all about the in-ring action, which feels faster-paced and more unpredictable than ever before. The tried-and-tested mechanics remain pretty much the same, with players able to make use of both light and heavy attacks and reversals being pivotal to gain the upper hand when on the receiving end of a beatdown, but now it all feels more dynamic. Players can attempt to break combos mid-flow, for example, and there are one or two other new tricks available to make matches more exciting. It feels familiar but reinvigorated.
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Even better, everything’s simply more polished. You might still see the odd attack that awkwardly doesn’t hit its mark, or an animation that doesn’t look quite right due to character positioning, but we’ve seen nothing here that anywhere resembles the awfulness of WWE 2K20. There truly is a night-and-day difference, allowing you to simply get on with wrestling your opponent.
In terms of modes, WWE 2K22 has a decent offering. MyGM returns after a long hiatus, allowing you to play the role of manager rather than fighter, while MyCAREER has been turned into MyRISE. What’s notable about MyRISE, however, is that it offers a separate story for male and female superstars. There’s a new mode in the form of MyFACTION, too, which has you collecting cards in order to build the ultimate team of WWE Superstars. And surprisingly, it’s single-player focused.
We need to put more time into these modes before we pass our final judgment on WWE 2K22, but it’s promising that we’re actually looking forward to doing so. We’ve already been somewhat impressed by 2K Showcase, which places Rey Mysterio at front and centre. Recounting events from his legendary career, you’ll be guided by the Superstar himself as you step into the ring and do battle.
With numerous objectives to complete in each match, you’ll be particularly impressed with how the gameplay seamlessly transitions to archive footage and then back again, making it feel like you really are recreating past events. It’s neat. There’s just one caveat: there aren’t all that many matches to play through. Still, if you want to unlock everything they have to offer, you might find yourself playing through them multiple times to complete all of the objectives available.
Ultimately though, even if you ignore all of the main modes, the refreshed combat means it’s simply fun to head into a quick match against the CPU or another player. Nearly every match type you can think of is available here, as well as a huge range of male and female WWE Superstars. There are plenty of legends from yesteryear to unlock, too. We just couldn’t wait to take control of The Bad Guy and Razor Ramon, and there are other characters here that you might have a certain affinity for, such as Papa Shango or Diesel.
We’ve been playing WWE 2K22 on PS5 for review, and while its visuals haven’t wowed us, it is a pleasant game to look at. Character models are only really let down by their hair, and in terms of presentation everything is slick and colourful. The most important thing is that performance seems solid, allowing you to get on with pummelling your opponent without any hiccups. And loading times are pretty quick. There doesn’t seem to be any DualSense support though. Or if there is, we haven’t noticed it.
We’ll have a full review for WWE 2K22 soon, but it’s safe to say that we’ve been impressed by it so far. It’s been a long time since a WWE 2K game has had us so keen to jump into one match after another, and that’s largely thanks to the numerous gameplay improvements that have been made. Add in a welcome layer of polish and a selection of modes that have all bases covered, and you have a winner.
WWE 2K22 launches 11th March on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. 3-day early access is available to those who pre-order the Deluxe or NWO 4-Life editions.
