To make things clear, WWE 2K22 is a fresh take on an old formula. The influence of the older WWE 2K games is very apparent, but Visual Concepts has introduced enough innovation and new features to make WWE 2K22 a triumphant return, albeit with some missed opportunities. In our WWE 2K22 review, we explain how we think the series has once again found its direction, and that the future of the series is once again looking great. While there are still a lot of improvements to be had, we're at least clear from the days of broken bugs and glitches. Our criticisms of the game now focus more on the features, mechanics, and game design, instead of how broken the game is. There are still a lot of things Visual Concepts can do to improve the experience, but WWE 2K22 brings the series back on track.

Note: A review copy has been provided by the publisher for this review. The publisher has not seen this article's content before publication. This review is based on a PS5 copy of the game.

What is WWE 2K22?

WWE 2K22 is a sports sim game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. This is the tenth mainline WWE 2K game, and the first game to be released on the same year as it is on its title. WWE 2K22 is also the first game to take two and a half years to follow up on its predecessor, as WWE 2K20 was so badly-received by fans and critics alike that Visual Concepts decided to take a year off on their release schedule to focus on improving and polishing the game. At its core, WWE 2K22 is a fighting game, but 2K would like us to believe that it's a sports simulation game, no less like FIFA is to football and NBA 2K22 is to basketball. It was released on March 7 on Early Access for special editions of the game, and officially came out on March 11, 2022, for everyone else on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Gameplay

WWE 2K22 successfully made WWE 2K fresh again. Fans of the series will surely be divided on this, but it's a good thing that Visual Concepts was brave enough to experiment and innovate. This came in the form of new game modes as well as changes in the controls and mechanics. Right off the bat, I'll say that I welcome these changes. There are parts that I found lacking, but these innovations are a step in the right direction.

First off, the new fighting mechanics of the game. I think Visual Concepts shot themselves in the foot by focusing much of their marketing on the game's new combo system. Unlike in previous WWE 2K games and SmackDown vs. Raw games before them that require you to lock into a grapple to execute moves, WWE 2K22 lets players seamlessly transition from strikes to moves like powerbombs and rest holds. I think that this new system was a good change, but I imagine a lot of fans would think differently. Again, I this game will truly divide fans. In any case, the combo system has added a more arcadey style to the game, letting anyone pick up the game and play with any superstar to their liking. That is not to say that there's no depth in the combo system – each superstar has a move list that players can refer to execute cool moves. However, players can still execute moves off grapples, just like before. And that's what 2K failed to communicate to their audience – not all moves come from the combos system – that'd be too ridiculous. Think TEKKEN – executing a combination of light, strong, and grabs can lead to a powerbomb, yet grappling an opponent straight up can still lead to a grapple move. It takes some extra steps, but it's still there. Hence, fans who were worried about WWE 2K22 suddenly becoming a fighting game where you have to memorize to do a simple clothesline – that's simply not the case. But 2K's marketing made it seem so. Overall, I think the combo system added a lot of fluidity in the game, and there is a logic behind the choice of strikes that lead up to a move, so it's not at all immersion-breaking.

Overall, paired with the game's reworked counter system, the new blocking and new dodge mechanics, the game feels a lot more fluid than ever before. Attacks and moves connect as they should – save for the occasional clipping issue that WWE 2K somehow still hasn't fixed two years later. But those clipping issues are no longer as frequent as before – I've only had one so far when I attacked an enemy on the map and they ended up clipping to through the ropes and into the ring. I find the new system to be fun and engaging, and it has both accessibility and complexity packaged together that encourages new players to try it out without worry and reward veterans in knowing the move sets of their favorite wrestlers.

As for the game modes, WWE 2K22 is one of the meatiest, if not THE meatiest, WWE 2K games so far in terms of content. The usual exhibition matches return, although there are a couple of match types that we wish were here, like street fights, items on a pole matches, or even just the War Games. Still, there is a solid collection of match stipulations to choose from, and players can even hold tournaments and design custom matches in the game's Creation Suite.

Showcase Mode makes a grand return in WWE 2K22, this time featuring the legendary Rey Mysterio. The game mode is both cinematic and engaging, allowing players to live through the career of Rey Mysterio from his WCW days to the current era with his son Dominik. I consider this game mode as WWE 2K22's true story mode, as the game's MyRISE mode is horrible. More on that later. In any case, getting to play as different versions of Rey Mysterio – with different stats, attires (that are accurate up to the tattoos), and signature and finisher moves – across his illustrious career in his most iconic matches against his most iconic rivals is a great trip down memory lane. Each match has some objectives though that can sometimes kill the game's momentum – they're necessary to unlock everything the mode has to offer. Completing these objectives lets the game transition between gameplay and footage of the actual matches they're re-enacting, which is a nice touch, especially thanks to WWE 2K22's improved presentation and camera angles.

Universe Mode is also back, with one major change that makes it better than previous iterations. It now allows players to follow a specific superstar week through the week, somewhat like the Career mode in old SmackDown vs. Raw games, minus the meticulous but laughingly badly written script that those games used to have. When playing in Superstar Mode, players don't get to control any of the match cards in a show, they only get to play matches that are assigned to them by an AI GM. Winning and losing matches affect that Superstar's career trajectory. Winning a lot of matches and ending up becoming popular gets them the chance to rise up the cards, eventually arriving at the Main Event and getting into the Championship Picture. The game mode has some nifty bells and whistles – win-loss records are shown, personality traits, career goals, and on-going rivalries. You can still influence the trajectory of your career more directly by using the “Curation Menu”, which allows you to decide the next match types you're getting, the decision to form or break tag teams, or to declare yourself to the Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, or even WrestleMania. Ultimately, you can even edit your Superstar, which allows you to make a fantasy version of Drew Gulak that beats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, you can book it, Vince.

Of course, the Classic Universe Mode is still here, allowing you to book all the matches of all the brands between NXT, NXT UK, SmackDown, and Raw, and any other custom shows that you decide to make. Almost from all aspects, as far as we can see, the Classic Universe Mode is just the same as the ones we are used to. Finally, you can swap between Superstar Mode and Classic Universe Mode at will, which is a very nice touch, if you ask me. You can curate your Universe and book Finn Balor for a bid to becoming a Triple Crown Champion, and then follow his journey in Superstar Mode after you've booked all the matches and made the necessary tag team changes to make that happen. It's this kind of flexibility that makes you really feel in control and is essential in making Universe Mode feel great.

As for the new game modes, there are three: the MyFACTION Mode, MyRISE Mode, and the highly-anticipated MyGM Mode. Let's go over the first two before heading on to MyGM Mode, because we've got a lot to talk about that one.

MyFACTION is basically the WWE 2K22 version of NBA 2K22's MyTEAM. It translates well, and actually feels a lot better in terms of presentation than its NBA counterpart if you'd ask me. Many players would end up obsessing about collecting the cards in this game, for sure, but is it actually a good game mode? That depends on whether or not you're interested in collecting wrestler cards and completing challenges and matches given to you every day. Of course, many would still be turned off by the game's loot-box style mechanics of obtaining new cards, and the currency you earn to buy new packs is excruciatingly hard to grind. So far, there doesn't seem to be an online multiplayer component for this game mode, so you'd feel fine playing through its single-player offerings without the pressure of getting left behind. It offers three kinds of game modes for you to play through, each offering different kinds of rewards and providing different challenges. However, everything you do here is solely for the purpose of gaining more and more cards. If you've played enough game modes like this in the past, you'd know that it's an endless grind that's impossible to finish without forking over thousands of dollars for loot boxes.

Next up is the MyRISE Mode. Visual Concepts listened to the fans and finally made MyRISE Modes with different storylines for Male and Female wrestlers. Sadly, neither of the stories is compelling enough. It's a pain that you'll have to go through the game's supposed story mode with a self-insert create-a-wrestler, as many, such as myself, would have preferred a story mode where I could have chosen any superstar from the game's roster to play as. Instead, we get the same generic “Rise to the Top” story that we get from 2K's games. You've seen this from previous WWE 2K titles, and you've even seen this in the NBA 2K games. Nothing special in this game mode's story at all. Not even its branching storylines help it rise to the occasion.

And finally, the MyGM Mode. Frankly, I'm just happy that this game mode is back. However, it's so different from the GM Mode we grew up with from the early 2000s that it took us a lot of time to get used to the new game mode. MyGM Mode is one of those cases where you introduced a lot of great stuff that would have made it an amazing game mode, except that Visual Concepts missed a few important foundations. Don't get me wrong – MyGM Mode is deep and strategic – it just doesn't feel the same GM Mode that we've been asking for all these years. MyGM Mode pits you against another GM for 15-week to 50-week game durations. You get to draft your Superstars to your brand and even choose your GM and brand – all of these having their perks and bonuses. However, the kind of matches you book here are limited to one-on-one and two-on-two matches. The match stipulations are grounded to the very basics. You can't book multi-person matches, and you can't book Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank matches, at least from our playthrough. Much worse, you're only limited to having two champions: one Male and one Female. You don't have Tag Team Championships, nor do you have any midcard championships, making a lot of the rivalries you successfully create dead on the ditch without a major title to feud over, especially for the tag teams.

That's not to say that MyGM Mode doesn't bring anything to the table. In fact, it has a lot of modern amenities that do make the GM Mode feel like a modern game mode, and not just a re-skin of the old GM Modes. You have the Power Cards that give you benefits throughout your stint. You can hire jobbers and legends. You can customize the logistics of your shows, choosing the kind of arena you'll appear in next and the kind of advertisements and special effects you'll use for that week. Triple H is even there to give you some side-missions that you may choose to do for bonus Power Cards. Your superstars and the rival GM will also interact with you, giving you side-missions that will affect your superstars' morale nad popularity, as well the opposing GM meddling with your operations, such as making one of your superstars unavailable for the next week.

At its core, however, MyGM makes its rating system much more tangible than previous GM Modes from SmackDown vs. Raw games. There is now an actual formula that players should follow if they want their shows to succeed. This comes in the form of matchups between wrestlers – players will have to be mindful of the wrestler type that will be competing – Giants perform well against High Flyers, for example. Players will also have to be mindful of their wrestlers' in-ring persona, taking care to have faces meet heels as much as possible. This gives players a much more strategic tool to gauge the performance of their matches but also takes away some of the fantasy elements of the game. Want to book a bonkers match between Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura? That won't work, because their fighting styles don't match, apparently.

Overall, the MyGM Mode feels like a Minimum Viable Product. It works, and it's fun to play for a while. I've yet to try playing the game with another player, and I imagine doing so would be more fun than just playing against an AI. But at its current state, MyGM Mode feels barebones.

There is also the game's Creative Suite, of course, which will allow players to create their own wrestlers, moves, entrances, championship belts, etc. However, 2K implemented an odd design choice in that players only have a total of 100 CAW slots for the entire game. That's very limiting, especially since a lot of players will likely want to increase the game's current (dismal) 188-man roster with some creations of their own, and 100 wrestlers are definitely not enough for many of us, especially since the WWE 2K22 roster this year is lacking a lot of names, most especially in the Legends department (No Mr. Perfect? Come on). Still, the Creative Suite this year is one of the most impressive in WWE 2K history, with a lot of customization options to choose from. Sadly, however, the rendering of any CAW still pales in comparison to the models made using the game's amazing MoCaps – more on that later. Even with the post-launch DLC packs, which increases the roster to 221-strong, still doesn't feel enough.

There's also an online mode that I've yet to try – which if you'll pardon us, we won't be able to cover for our WWE 2K22 review. There are quick match options, lobby options, and leaderboards. You'll also find community creations in the online menu – where you can download CAW and other custom items from creatives all over the world.

Story

As mentioned above, MyRISE Mode is the game's least exciting game mode. It's very deflating, and it's tedious – to say the least. Its story is not that engaging nor immersive. It is off on a very, very slow crawl of a start, and we didn't bother to go on and play the game mode to see if it goes anywhere interesting. If it didn't capture our attention in the first few hours, we're dropping it, and drop it we did.

Meanwhile, the Showcase Mode storytelling is great. Allowing Rey Mysterio to tell his own story is a superb decision by WWE 2K22's producers. The game mode has a clear trajectory, allowing players to follow a clear story from start to finish. It also has huge payoffs in its gameplay-cinematic blending, as gameplay and old WWE match footage blend together as players successfully execute moves and accomplish objectives in Showcase Mode. Perhaps future DLC producing more Showcase Mode would sell a lot, but I doubt 2K would even be interested in doing that.  Sadly, the game mode only has 12 matches at launch, so it won't last long. We just wish there were more of this game mode, as there are a lot of stories that could be told using this format.

Graphics

WWE 2K22 is a great-looking game. The same technology used to make NBA Stars in NBA 2K22 was used effectively here to make all of the 188 wrestlers in the game's roster look as realistic as possible and to look as close to their real-life counterparts as possible. The presentation is also up a notch here compared to what was in WWE 2K20, especially with all wrestlers sporting an actual photo on the selection screens, instead of in-game renders being used to represent them. All of the effects from smokes to pyros are also visually impressive. Of course, there are still the odd hair physics and movements here and there, but they are easy to ignore especially when everything else looks so life-like.

One great improvement in this game is the crowd. The crowd looks as alive as it has ever been. There's a strong variety of models out there in the audience, and you'd have to really look hard to find any repeating models in the audience. There's also a variety of signage there, with every superstar having their own set showing up in the crowd.

Another great improvement in the game's presentation is its camerawork. Instead of being fixed on a certain angle, zooming in and out only when the wrestlers go out of the ring, the camera now is more dynamic – following the action better. It still has some its kinks and wrinkles, especially in moments where there are a lot of wrestlers on the screen at the same time. The improvement is best appreciated on one-on-one matchups, which, as we've mentioned earlier, makes Showcase Mode such a delight to play through.

Music and Sound Design

The game's sound design is crisp and appropriate, with each hit and move sounding just right. Of course, you usually wouldn't actually hear punches to the face in an actual WWE show, but they're used here to great effect. Of course, sound effects are there in video games as a form of feedback, and you can definitely know if your attacks hit here thanks to the game's sound design.

One of the biggest complaints in old WWE games is the commentary. It's usually dry, feels inauthentic, repetitive, and rarely reflect the action happening on the screen. In the time we've spent reviewing the game, we found that the commentary is now more fleshed out, with special dialogue reserved for known allies or rivals. It also feels more dynamic, with the commentators now reflecting on things that have just happened. Of course, the commentary still ends up feeling too repetitive when you play the same superstars over and over again, as they'd still say the same script on every superstar, but I appreciate how more connected the dialogue is. I had a match playing as Ric Flair where I lost in a handicap match against Moustache Mountain, and Byron Saxton was praising Tyler Bate for the win, only to be countered by Corey Graves, saying how it's “Unfair for Flair” to be cheated out of a win. Dynamic commentary like this can help make the commentary feel less repetitive. Sadly, we're only stuck with three commentators in the game – Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, and Michael Cole. It's a bit disappointing not to have the likes of Beth Phoenix and Wade Barret, or even Pat McAffee on the commentary desk – but it's hardly a deal breaker.

The game's voice acting is okay – to say the least. There are emotions there, and the voice actors are passionate. It's just a shame that the game's MyRISE couldn't do the voice acting any justice.

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Finally, the game's music is a finely-curated playlist. Machine Gun Kelly served as the game's music producer, handpicking songs for the playlist. They sound exactly the same songs you'd expect from a WWE Premium Show, and in fact, some of them are, like Poppy's Scary Mask and Bad Bunny's Booker T. I don't have any qualms with the music – I feel they fit – but I'm not too thrilled either. It just works.

Accessibility

In terms of gameplay accessibility, WWE 2K22 makes itself very beginner-friendly. Thanks to Drew Gulaks' very hand-holdy tutorials, you'd learn the ropes in no time. There are also tutorial cards you can review anytime, as well as each wrestler's move set being available on the start screen all the time. The game also has difficulty sliders – similar to NBA 2K22 – which can help you fine-tune the game's difficulty to your liking. Tap vs. Hold vs. Timing options are also available for the submission and pin mini-games, allowing you to choose which fits your playstyle best. Finally, there are also Toggles for Arcade and Simulation playstyles, as well as Arcade and Simulation Weight Physics – just in case you want to see Rey Mysterio Powerslam Otis.

Sadly, there aren't accessibility options for the disabled in WWE 2K22 – something that is becoming more standard in other games in the industry. No color blindness options, text size toggles,  or HUD sliders.

Verdict – Is WWE 2K22 Worth It? Should You Buy WWE 2K22?

After two and a half years, it feels good to watch WWE 2K entrances again. This time, though, it looks the best it ever has been – from the life-life models of the wrestlers, to the lively crowd, and to the special effects of the entrances. The two and a half years 2K took to improve the game did wonders for WWE 2K22, and fans should feel safe to give Visual Concepts a second chance. Comparing this game to WWE 2K20 will be a disservice to WWE 2K22, as the two just don't compare. However, there are still definitely things that Visual Concepts will have to tweak in future iterations. Some things can be solved by patches, but some glaring design choices, like the design of the MyGM Mode, and the underwhelming MyRISE Mode, still need a lot of work.

Still, the new MyGM and MyFACTION modes are welcome additions to WWE 2K22, and the return of Showcase Mode is a great decision for Visual Concepts. For those who like booking their own shows and publishing them as content on Twitch and YouTube, Universe Mode is still here – except this time WWE 2K22 looks really great, and the gameplay is fluid, making your live streams and video content much more entertaining to watch, in my opinion.

WWE 2K22 is a fresh take on an old formula – and if for anything else, one should be appreciative of how Visual Concepts embraced change and didn't fear innovation. The worst they could have done here is to play it safe and just try to fix WWE 2K20. Instead, they took risks, and I believe those risks paid off.

Score: 8/10

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