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In this Out of The Park Baseball 25 Review, we'll take a look at the latest MLB strategy game from Out of The Park Developments. Overall, the newest game in the series, which turns 25 this year, returns a familiar experience but with new additions to improve the overall game. With a new Player Development Lab, updated rosters and rules, and even a partnership with the Baseball Hall Of Fame, does OOTP 25 offer enough for its asking price? Let's find out as we review Out of The Park Baseball 25.
Out Of The Park Baseball 25 Review – What Is OOTP 25?
Out Of The Park Baseball 25 is the latest Baseball Strategy game from Out of The Park Developments and Com2uS, a series which turns 25 years old this year. It released on March 15th, for PC and Mac. It costs $49.99 but a launch sale gave it a limited-time reduced price of $34.99. The series first began with OOTP Baseball in 1999. Over the years, the series name slightly changed, from OOTP followed by a number, to OOTP Baseball Manager, and more.
Furthermore, the game received licenses to include real Major League and Minor League teams since OOTP 16. Therefore, you'll be able to use real players and teams from teams all over the globe. Additionally, you can even play as teams from leagues across the world, like the MLB Partner Leagues or World Cup of Baseball.
Out Of The Park Baseball 25 Review – Gameplay
Firstly, allow me to start that this is the first game in the series I've personally played. So I apologize if I sound like an absolute greenhorn to any OOTP fans reading this. That said, I've genuinely enjoyed the time I had OOTP 25.
One of my favorite things about baseball games in general is the offseason. It allows you to control several aspects of the team moving forward. Whether it's your budget, roster, or coaching staff, there's tons of work needed to be done. OOTP 25 basically takes that aspect of control and extends it into the regular season.
Overall, OOTP 25 offers so much to do that you'll likely never explore every single feature before the next installment. Setting up a new career alone feels like embarking on some epic adventure. You have the choice to create a league with fictional, historical, or real teams with their 2024 rosters.
The game even offers multiple leagues, like the MLB Partner Leagues, or Korean Baseball Organization. Overall, OOTP 25 offers a truly expansive experience for baseball fans, new and old, and all across the globe. Speaking of the world, control it all in commissioner mode, which allows you to edit even more properties, this time of other teams.
In return, the game does not let you directly control a player's every move. However, you can influence their play style, development, and much more to mold them into the player you want. Otherwise, you can fill different roles like GM, Manager, or both at the same time. I recommend for newcomers to select maybe just one of these roles, but you're free to choose whatever you like.
One little detail I like about setting up a new game is the FaceGen technology, which creates some impressive fictional player icons. Other sports games either use a blank silhouette or 3d model, but OOTP 25 goes a step further to maintain authenticity. And there's tons of little details that I could really go over, but that would take forever. Outside of actually playing, there'ss very little you can't do it OOTP Baseball 25. So, instead of explaining every little thing you can do, I'd like to go over the new features and how I felt about them.
Overall, the Player Development Lab is probably my favorite new feature in the game. Essentially, you can develop a player any way you'd like. For example, I wanted to improve Kody Clemens' abilities as both a batter and baserunner. However, the game also gave me the option to develop almost anything about him.
If I wanted him to work on his infielding, I could easily adjust the proper settings. If I wanted him to focus more on his outfield play, then that would be available as well. Overall, the new Player Development lab makes it less stressful knowing your guys are working on their issues. Furthermore, it felt fun as a GM & Manager to decide who works on what.
I might mention this often, but I felt like Brad Pitt in Moneyball at times. Overall, my initial goal was to focus on making money for the team by signing cheap players with decent skills in certain areas. I already knew winning a World Series in year one was going to be difficult. Therefore, the goal was to accrue money, draft picks while playing decently enough to avoid a firing.
So far, operation Moneyball seems to be going quite smoothly, and it's because I can focus more on my tasks thanks to the Player Development Lab.
However, OOTP 25 takes some getting used to, especially for those new to sports simulation games. Unlike MLB The Show, or even Super Mega Baseball, this game focuses more on the day-to-day operations of a team rather than the games themselves. While we love both styles of games, there is a bit of a learning curve to OOTP.
Nevertheless, when you do figure it out, the experience is one so in-depth that it blows all other baseball titles out of the water. Furthermore, the game also gives you the tools to put everything in the AI's hands. For example, I didn't feel like controlling certain aspects like promotions or demotions for minor league players or staff. Therefore, I delegated the task to my assistant manager, who at least seems to be active.
Overall, the AI, both on my team and opposing teams, operates very realistically. I had very little issues worrying about my staff glitching out or not performing their duties. Instead, everything worked as we planned out.
For example, in some sports games, AI behavior can be erratic. I could be a fantastic player, and yet still receive e-mails or calls from a coach about not performing well. That is NOT the case in OOTP 25. Your team owner sets realistic goals which seem to be neither too easy or too difficult to accomplish. Of course, my Moneyball team might struggle to win the World Series in just my fourth year. Still, love the optimism.
Speaking of AI and communication, the inbox system is another great feature. I love receiving reports, or reading up on the latest and up-coming developments. Scouting is always fun, especially when you find that diamond in the rough. It makes those blood, sweat and tears of managing a team a lot more satisfactory.
And that's just a small sample of how OOTP 25 makes you feel engaged in the experience. However, my only concern is that, despite all the improvements, replay value does drop low. After awhile, you get used to how the game works. However, after some time, it becomes boring, especially given the length of a full MLB season.
Sure, you can skip ahead and simulate an entire season if you want. Nevertheless, some players, like myself, like watching over the team throughout the season every day. You never know if a scout found the next generational talent, or if a player needs to train on something else. Given that most sports games get boring after awhile, I'm willing to forgive this title, which comes packed with things to do.
Although you don't control players, you can watch games and make in-game decisions. Overall, the games themselves are pretty entertaining to watch, and switching between filters broke the monotony of seeing the same screen over and over again.
Lastly, OOTP 25 offers a Perfect Team Mode, similar to modes like MyTEAM, Diamond Dynasty, or Ultimate Team. Overall, this mode allows you to build a team using player items, much like the other modes do. As you build your team, you learn more about the different features like Team Chemistry and league set up.
However, Perfect Team went above and beyond this year to introduce a Tournament Sandbox mode. Overall, it allows you to create rosters for each type of Tournament. Fans of the mode will likely appreciate the changes better than I did. Overall, I don't usually play online modes in sports video games, but it's nice to see the game offers both single and online play.
Allowing users to play against each other over the internet helps eliminate some of those concerns about repetition. Perfect Team offers both an online component and a whole new team building mode to always keep you working towards greatness.
Overall, the gameplay of OOTP 25 is great, if not repetitive. After some time, you'll find out the best ways to build the team you want, and the experience will slowly grow boring. However, to its credit, every sports game becomes boring after awhile. Nevertheless, a management game that focuses more on prep rather than playing might scare some consumers away.
I say that OOTP 25's gameplay is a blast for hardcore baseball fans. Even the partnership with the Baseball HOF, and many other baseball leagues shows the dedication the developers put into this game. I mean, how many other baseball games let you play as teams from all over the world?
In terms of detail and authenticity, Out of The Park Baseball 25 goes outside of the park, and into the stratosphere! You just need to know if it's the kind of baseball game you want. There's no lack of content, but is the content worth the asking price?
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Out Of The Park Baseball 25 Review – Story
Reviewing a story for a sports game is difficult. Technically, the story of OOTP 25 is essentially what you want it to be. Want to be a GM for the Mariners from any point between 1987-2024 and win a World Series? Do you want to recruit that special player your scout found and develop him into the next MVP?
Overall, OOTP 25 technically tells thousands of stories, following you, your team, and the world as a whole. While you're fighting for a playoff spot, you're also managing the team budget, training regimen. Whether you create your own team or manage an existing one, the story is what you make it to be.
Out Of The Park Baseball 25 Review – Graphics, Audio & UI
Overall, most of OOTP 25 takes place across several management screens, so there isn't much to say on a graphical scale. In terms of the actual game, the players models are pretty solid considering that it's just simulation.
Furthermore, the developer added some new filters to help you create the quality of game you want. While most of the filters are okay, having the option seems pretty awesome. Considering the game lets you create a career from any point between 1987 and now, having all the different filters lets you create a more authentic look.
While I think maybe the models could look sharper, its not what OOTP 25 is about. The game is about
However, despite the tutorials and even videos generously offered by the developers, there was still a massive learning curve to OOTP. Yes, part of it is a skill issue on my end, but I also feel the UI could use a bit cleaning up. Overall, there's so much going on in every screen that you just go absolutely bonkers trying to figure it out.
There's a side menu, multiple drop-down menus, multiple other menus which lead to more menus. All sorts of sliders, settings, and check boxes make it difficult to keep track of everything, and made the experience intimidating at first. Out of the issues within the game, the UI stood out as the biggest problem.
Perhaps my only real note of improvement would be fixing the UIs in a way to make it easier for newcomers to understand. However, I understand that is difficult considering the amount of things you can do. Therefore, I only hope the devs find a way to streamline the information in a much more visually pleasing way in future titles.
It also hurts saying this because I do like the game's visual style. Playing OOTP 25 feels like taking a nostalgia trip of playing an older title, but with new features to keep it fresh. However, the developers do generously offer a ton of tutorials, both video and text, but then most of your experience is learning.
The best example I can think of is setting up an elaborate board game. While your friends are monkeying around, you have to set up the board and pieces. Furthermore, you need to learn how the game works. By the time it's all set up, you become sick of it or flat out tired. However, at least OOTP 25 lets you learn as you play, meaning you can technically just sim ahead and focus on games.
Verdict – Is Out Of The Park Baseball 25 Worth Your Money?
I'd say, if you managed to get the game during the launch sale for $34.99, then I'd say your purchase was definitely worth it. While I was unable to explore every single little detail in OOTP 25, I don't think I ever will. Overall, the game offers a ton of content for those who love the strategic aspect of baseball.
However, I will say that the UI felt rough to navigate, and it might intimidate newcomers to the series. Unless you've played previous installment, or perhaps other manager games for other sports, you'll definitely have a learning curve to overcome. So it might be tough to spend a retail price of $49.99 for a game that might be too much for the casual gamer.
Lastly, my only other concern is the game's replay value. Making and building your own team is a lot of fun. However, how long does that fun last, and are all the new additions worth not playing as the players themselves? We definitely enjoyed the game, but wonder how long our interest will last. Plus, the repetition in building a team, managing it, and simulating over 100+ games per season definitely means there are those who won't get the full experience.
But when you do learn it, you'll unlock a baseball experience that's more in-depth than any other. For hardcore MLB fans and lovers of sports management games, Out of The Park Baseball 25 offers a fantastic baseball simulation experience. From all the new gameplay features, to the insane amount of customization, OOTP 25 makes its 25th anniversary a wonderful one. We certainly hope you enjoyed the experience if you decide to pick it up.
To end it all off, we really enjoyed Out of The Park Baseball 25. Out of all sports management games I've ever played, this one truly offers an in-depth experience that few other games possess. Any negative opinion I have on the game is not about what you can do, but rather how much you want to do with it.
Score: 8.5/10
ClutchPoints received review copies of Out Of The Park Baseball 25 for both PC and Mac. This did not, in any way, affect our final review score.
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