After the infamous WWE 2K20 misstep, the hugely popular WWE 2K22 arrived last year to course-correct the series and revolutionize the way we play simulations of the squared circle. Hot on its heels and looking to capitalise on its predecessor’s revolution this year is WWE 2K23. But from what I’ve played so far, it feels less like it’s standing on the shoulders of the giant, and rather peaking over cautiously.
As to be expected, WWE 2K23 comes with all the bells, whistles, and powerbombs you’d expect from a new WWE game. There’s a whole new roster featuring the likes of the returning Cody Rhodes and the up-and-coming NXT champion, Bron Breakker. Also receiving a yearly upgrade is the wrestler’s attire, music, and general presentation. It’s all as up-to-date as it could be, but outside of these upgrades, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that, at its core, it was largely the same game as before.
Much like the way lots of sports games iterate on their established winning formula, everything in terms of gameplay in WWE 2K23 has rolled over from the previous game. So much so that despite only having an hour to play the game, I immediately felt at home with the breaker system, combos, reversals, and all the grappling intricacies. If you’re familiar with 2K22, you’ll know exactly what to expect.
For the first time in the series, WWE 2K23 extends the canvas with the addition of an extra ring.
That’s not to say there aren’t a few new clever additions though. The first to stand out is the arrival of the long-awaited and heavily requested match type; WarGames. For the first time in the series, WWE 2K23 extends the canvas with the addition of an extra ring. WarGames features two rings side-by-side with a cage surrounding both, with entrants from either a three or four-man team entering in intervals. From a glance, this could appear like a re-purposed version of any other six or eight-man speciality matches like Hell in a Cell, but there are a couple of interesting details that not only help break this apart from the pack, but also help it stand out in its own right.
Like its real-life counterpart, the WarGames match features an interesting swing in the advantage for either team, with one team being a wrestler short at several intervals. At this point the team with the handicap has to fend off their rivals knowing that they’re at a severe disadvantage, biding their time until one of their teammates can enter the action. That teammate, however, can choose to grab a weapon (or weapons) to not only even the odds but perhaps flip the advantage the other way.
Unlike Hell in a Cell or Elimination Chamber, WarGames’s two-ring setup also affords the player more space to work with, preventing the congestion and clumsiness seen in the aforementioned modes. There’s also an interesting drama that comes from the bout being settled by one pinfall, which could easily happen whilst you’re duking it out in the other ring. This presents an interesting risk/reward conundrum, forcing you to separate from your teammates and potentially miss the important save so you can afford yourself the space to do maximum damage to your opponent. All of this presents an interesting swing in match dynamics and one I’ve not experienced before in a wrestling game. And with WarGames being available as an online mode, I’m excited at the prospect of this back-and-forth concept playing out against other players.
The 2K showcase makes a predictable return to the series, but with its potentially freshest, most exciting pivot yet. Despite the showcase having John Cena – this year’s cover star – as the focus, you never actually get to play as the sixteen-time World champion. Instead, the series of matches now focus on every time John Cena lost an important match, with the player taking control of the superstar who took him down. Not only is the tale of all his losses an interesting story to be told by the man himself between matches, but it also has the benefit of providing variety to the player by not forcing them to play as one character a dozen times in a row.
Even though the mode now offers that much-desired playable character diversity, I’m still slightly cautious about the entertainment value of this showcase. I only got to experience one match from this series which involved the historic ECW One Night Stand match, where Rob Van Dam dethrones Cena as the WWE champion. But from what I saw there appears to be an over-reliance on the (albeit impressive) switch to real-life footage, with several periods of just watching the actual match for minutes at a time. I found myself feeling like I wanted to be back in the action and create these moments myself, not just watching clips of footage that are already burned into my brain. It’s a small niggle from a small sample, and I’m still very interested in playing the full showcase, but I’m slightly worried it’s not everything I hoped for.
I took to this alternate pin kick out option immediately, which surprised even me!
Despite what I said about the gameplay earlier, there is one advertised change that did make a difference to the core mechanics. WWE 2K23 now introduces an optional variety to kicking out of pin attempts, offering the choice for players to flick the right stick in a timed window as opposed to mashing a button. The kick out zone is a sliding bar that decreases in size and moves more unpredictably as the match progresses and your vitality decreases. I took to this alternate option immediately, which surprised even me, but the tactile feel of the flick, the one-to-one representation of the movement, and the last-gasp nature sold me on the concept of accurately reflecting the drama of a WWE match. With the rapid button-pressing option, knowing you’re out for the count is telegraphed early, but the new timed window system always provides the elusive chance of a kick out that you don’t get when the button-pressing demands are beyond the realms of human capability. And what could be more wrestling than the drama of that shocking kick out?
It can be argued that 2K22 set a new benchmark in terms of grappling gameplay, with my personal (and perhaps controversial) opinion being that the series is currently the best it’s ever been. But with this comes the struggle for the next game in the series to do more beyond small iterations, and I feel like this year’s game is in the unfortunate position of struggling to make its own dramatic statement. From what I’ve seen so far, there are certainly some worthwhile and fun steps in WWE 2K23, and fans of WarGames, John Cena, and having an up-to-date roster are in for a treat. I just worry that the final game might not make the impact its revolutionary younger brother did.
Dale Driver is the UK Video Lead for IGN and a lifelong WWE fan/apologist who acknowledges his Tribal Chief. Be thoroughly bored by following him Twitter at @_daledriver.
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