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How different is WWE 2K24 going to feel gameplay-wise when you get your hands on it next month?
WWE 2K24 Developers Bryan Williams and Lynell Jinks recently sat down with WrestleZone Senior Editor Matt Black. When asked how the gameplay is different than what we saw in 2K23, Williams had a lot to say on the subject.
“Oh, brother. Let me count the ways,” Bryan Williams said. “So I mean, as I’m sure you’ve seen from the press release, we’ve added four new match types. Two match types that were in the franchise previously are coming back in the special guest referee match and gauntlet. We also have two match types making their franchise debut in the ambulance and casket.
“All four are tremendous. I know that fans have been requesting the special guest referee I’m sure you’ve probably heard on your socials for years now, and so we are very excited and happy to bring that match back to the fans. We listen to the fans. Sometimes, maybe we don’t get to them or their needs and their wants as quickly as they would like. But we do listen, and when we get there, we make sure that when we deliver, we deliver strong and we’ve done that this year with the special guest referee.
“I’m sure you remember playing, speaking of 2K14, that match type was in 2K14. And I think one of the most obvious differences you’ll notice in this year’s iteration of the match type is that when you select that ref, whether it’s Cody Rhodes, Bianca Belair, and you launch into the match type, that special guest ref will automatically be outfitted referee attire, letting there be no mistaking who is officiating this match.
How special guest referee works in 2K24
“And that’s not to say to go along with all the functionalities inherent of being the ref of counting pins, rope checks, ring out counts, all those things players will have the freedom to enforce or not enforce as they see fit. I think fans are really going to have a blast with the return of the special guest ref.
“Some of the other things that I think fans are gonna geek out about, we have brought back throwable weapons. This is something that hasn’t been in the franchise since Smackdown vs. Raw 2011. This year, any object that you’re holding with the exception of one can be thrown at your opponent. Basically upending what hardcore and no DQ matches have been. Especially in a multi-person situation. If someone’s got a weapon you’ve got to not only watch out for the handheld strike, but the fact that certain objects can be hurled your way.
“And of course, you’ll be able to duck and in some cases even catch thrown weapons. So it’s been fun. I mean, just us testing on the gameplay side. It’s been a blast, and I think fans are really gonna gravitate to that. We have something that’s brand new this year is we’ve added super finishers. And this is really exciting.
Super Finishers
“So the super finisher is something that certain superstars on the roster will have by default, but any character that you create or edit you can freely add a super finisher to anybody’s moveset. Characters can hold up to two. The super finisher is that coup de gras it is the move that when used should effectively put that person down for the count.
“Cody Rhodes for example, we’ve talked about him. His super finish is his Cross Rhodes Trinity where he basically performs the Cross Rhodes three times in succession. He usually only busts it out in the big matches. And so in the game, he’ll have that assigned as his super finish. The way they work is that if you have three stored finisher stock, your super finisher becomes enabled.
“And when you hit it, and I think this is a cool and important thing too, because we really wanted to emphasize super in the super finisher, is that if you use this on an opponent who has resiliency, it’s so super and so powerful that it’ll temporarily knock out characters using a resiliency for a temporary period of time. Because again, we really want to emphasize the power of these moves.
Six new Paybacks have been added to WWE 2K24
“We’ve added some new paybacks too. We have six new paybacks that we’ve added this year. Two that are going to be unlocked through MyRISE and I won’t say what those paybacks are. But when you do unlock them, you’ll then be able to use them throughout all areas of the game. One of the paybacks that we added in particular something that I really like.
“It’s not the most powerful one to be sure, but I’m a character guy, right? It’s called freeze. What it is, is that the character who has freeze can either perform a cowardly kind of chicken s begging off motion. Or conversely, it can be a motion that is something used to intimidate your opponent, and when you use it, it basically forces your opponent to stop in their tracks.
“So if you remember Eddie Guerrero back in the day would sometimes get on his hands and knees and kind of beg off from his opponent. And they kind of looked at him like look at this guy. Well, you can use freeze to do that in-game, and it gives you a chance for a free hit. Because like I said it forces a running opponent or someone advancing towards you to just automatically stop.
“So I really dig that because just outside of its gameplay functions, I think just visually it just adds that much more character to the superstar that’s using it. The fireball is another payback that’s new this year. It’s a staple of pro wrestling, and it has been for a long time. So we added that this year. Iron jaw, which is a payback that you can use to eliminate your stun.
“Like if your character’s stun meter is full, iron jaw can be used to clear it, allowing you to continue reversing attacks. Yeah, just a whole bunch of really cool things that we’ve added to the game. Big, small quality of life improvements that I think the fans are really going to be pleased with. That’s my hope at least.”
Throwing weapons returns in WWE 2K24
When asked if the return of throwing weapons to the WWE franchise means that collision detection with weapons has been fixed, Williams confirmed that to be the case.
“You would be correct, sir. I mean, reimplementing the ability to throw weapons basically meant somewhat of a refactoring of the whole weapons system,” Bryan Williams revealed. “So along with that work, yeah, the engineers, the designers they definitely went through and they kind of reconfigured how weapons feel, work, and interact in the game.
“So I think you’ll immediately notice a difference when you get your hands on 2K24, and you start throwing kendo sticks and chairs and ladders at your opponents. I mean, the hit reactions are great. I’m being honest with you. When somebody has a water bottle and having it bean the opponent upside the head when they’re not looking, it never gets old. It’s great.
“I expect to see a lot of cool videos on social of characters getting hit and tagged with thrown weapons or trying to catch him. I don’t think fans will be disappointed. It’s a great new addition to the game.”
You can check out our complete interview with Bryan Williams and Lynell Jinks in the embedded video below:
READ MORE: Bayley Reacts To First Look At Her WWE 2K24 Video Game Model
What do you make of Bryan Williams’ comments? Are you excited to get your hands on WWE 2K24 next month? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit WrestleZone with a link to this article for the transcription.
