A backflip from the top turnbuckle into an angry crowd

WWE 2K20 is the 21st entry in the franchise’s long history, but you could be forgiven for thinking it is the first.

After a hugely promising upturn in the series with WWE 2K19, this year’s iteration has received a disastrous reception.

The game’s graphics, physics and numerous glitches have seen it panned by most. It comes as WWE 2K20 is the first game in the series to be solely developed by Visual Concepts (previous entries were co-developed by Yuke’s).

But is it really all that bad? Well, unfortunately, yes, although scores of 2 and 3/10 bandied around by some outlets are a touch over the top.

Let’s start with the positives. WWE 2K20 features a female mycareer story alongside its male story, a first for the franchise.

The women of WWE are really given the platform to shine in showcase mode, and this is a major plus for the series.

Samoa Joe’s performance in the men’s mode is an enjoyable experience, too.

And playing against a friend on the same machine still retains that sense of fun, which has made wrestling games so special since the SNES days.

But those are not nearly enough to save the game from a savaging at the hands of critics.

It is the sheer avalanche of bugs and glitches that have tarnished WWE 2K20’s reputation amongst gamers the world over. Initially, some of the crashes and bugs actually prevented you from playing some parts of the game as they just did not work.

The gameplay and combat which took such a huge step forward last year feels like it has taken ten steps back. It feels sticky, sluggish and altogether unresponsive at times.

This is my biggest peeve of the whole experience. If you don’t get the fundamental gameplay right, then you have no chance.

My career is probably the best part of the game, and even that proves an underwhelming grind at the best of times, so much so I struggled to persist with it for the purposes of this review.

WWE 2K20 has left me so frustrated. Last year’s game looked like it had tee’d the franchise up perfectly to head towards the forthcoming new generation of consoles with the world in a choke hold.

But this is an unfathomable and embarrassing leap from the top turnbuckle backwards, into a crowd full of angry WWE fans demanding their money back.

An amazing roster of no less than 238 superstars is rendered futile by the poor visuals and gameplay that we can only hope and pray are rescued by extensive patches.