‘WWE2K22’ brings much-needed change along with old problems
After a disastrous release in 2019, the team behind “WWE2K20” went to work on a new game that aimed to win fans back while also putting a new spin on what many felt was a stale formula. To many people’s surprise “WWE2K22” has done just that, but not without some issues.
The first thing people will notice is the rebuilt combat engine. There’s a new combo system in place that allows players to string together light and heavy strikes along with grapples. It takes a while to get used to, but the combos give combat a faster and more fluid feel. The gameplay as a whole feels faster which is a much-needed improvement. One lingering problem however is that learning all the controls gets in the way of the “pick up and play” casual feel that the developers want.
This year’s cover star is Rey Mysterio who has been a huge name in wrestling since the late 90s. The showcase mode in the game lets players recreate a handful of his most famous matches yet there are issues with this mode. The main problem is how often the match is interrupted with cutscenes that weave in footage from the actual match. It’s a cool idea but the frequency of it makes it feel more like an interactive movie than a video game recreation. The other big issue is that many of Mysterio’s best matches are absent and some of the later ones feel like throwaways that aren’t worthy of being the mode. At worst this game mode serves as a way for a new player to learn the controls.
The real life-blood of this series has been the expansive creations suite that allows people to create and share things like wrestlers, belts, arenas and more. These creations range from real-life wrestlers and shows that aren’t in the base game to ridiculous ideas like Batman fighting Thanos for the McDonald’s Championship. It’s a set of features that adds a ton of replayability and customization options.
Those creation options go hand in hand with the fan-favorite universe mode. There the player is able to create shows, assign wrestlers and championships and create rivalries to simulate the happenings of a wrestling promotion. It can be played in a variety of different ways, but there are some long-standing issues like matches being changed on their own and a lack of variety in how rivalries play out that players wish would have been fixed by now.
There’s also the returning GM mode where two players or one vs an AI can draft wrestlers to a brand with the aim to run a promotion that draws in more fans and money than their opponent’s. It doesn’t sound too exciting on paper, but it’s surprisingly addictive and has more depth than it seems.
“WWE2K22” isn’t a perfect wrestling game. In fixing some long-standing issues there are others that have been there for years that still remain. There’s no doubt, though, that this is the best wrestling game to come out in a long time and hopefully the team behind it will continue to build upon these positive changes. This game earns four stars out of five.
There’s a new combo system in place that allows players to string together light and heavy strikes along with grapples. It takes a while to get used to, but the combos give combat a faster and more fluid feel.