12 hours ago
3 ARTICLE AD
Professional wrestling is cool again. It has been for a few years, but now it really feels like it’s migrated into the mainstream even more, especially this year. As the WWE 2K series has evolved since getting back on its feet in 2022, it has made incremental additions to gameplay, enhancements to presentation, and committed to bridging the gap between lapsed fans and the modern-day spectacle that is WWE. That last part, in particular, feels key.
Last year, the 2K series leaned into 40 years of WrestleMania, taking fans through the iconic show’s biggest moments as either a refresher for long-term fans or a crash course in the history of one of wrestling’s biggest events. WWE 2K25 learns from the success of last year’s game with an intentional focus on current day wrestling, with a heavy emphasis on the past.
Showcase
The history of WWE can be felt across nearly every game mode. It’s especially present in Showcase Mode, which does an unbelievable job telling the story of the Bloodline.
This year’s version of Showcase Mode focuses on the Anoa’i family in the form of both new and never-before-seen matches. It’s not a linear story that takes fans each step of the way, rather it bounces around on the timeline, mixing in opportunities to recreate history, occasionally to change it, and sometimes to create all new memories. Paul Heyman is an exceptional orator and genuinely the only person for the role.
As a fan of more than 30 years, I found myself enthralled with the history lesson, taking a deeper dive into the Bloodline than I had before. I expressed my displeasure in my first look at the game over 2K’s removal of the Slingshot Technology, and I can’t share how deeply I enjoyed that in prior years. The game mode is phenomenal, but it feels like it’s missing the heart of what made this retrospective so special without real footage woven into the action.
The Island
The Island was a real unknown ahead of the game’s release. I knew the gist of it — you’re working to earn a contract from the Tribal Chief, playing in an online forum that has elements of past- and current-day WWE all over it. While the storytelling is an absolute blast (and the inclusion of R-Truth battling for a WWE contract when he in fact already has one made me laugh), your character’s development and by proxy your success in online ranking relies entirely on the accrual of virtual currency.
The continued reliance on microtransactions isn’t going anywhere in the video game world. After a few hours of working through the path laid out by Reigns himself, I found myself less interested in attempting to build my character. Rather, I was happy to migrate back to Showcase mode and to give other game modes a test run.
MyGM
For as much as I loved MyGM mode last year, I’m absolutely hooked this year. The ability to feature defunct promotions and former GMs, the addition of online gameplay, and most importantly to me, the addition of cross-brand PLEs make this the standout game mode.
Everything is on the table in this one, beginning with a brand draft and followed by hours of dream booking, trades, putting on wrestling classics, and creating unlikely storylines.
Bloodline Rules
The Bloodline Rules match was beautiful chaos that will make WrestleMania 40 one of the most memorable main events of all-time. The inclusion in this year’s game feels like when the ladder match made its way to No Mercy way back in the day. It’s just totally different from other match types, is an added match type based on something you have an emotional attachment to, and provides the level of unexpected that makes WWE so special.
The match starts 1-on-1, and each character has three run-ins stored, allowing opponents to gain the upper hand over the span of the match with the help of their alliances. Your alliances are totally random — in my match as R-Truth against his hero, John Cena, Cena’s partners were LA Knight, JD McDonough, and Dom Mysterio — making it an absolutely unhinged match. Simply put, I love it.
Gameplay
We shared previously that the incremental updates to the gameplay felt like a star of the show, but in the finished version, it truly shines. Third-person camera is a game changer, from entrances to the actual gameplay. The way characters interact on ledges and barricades also offers a unique expansion to both ringside and backstage areas.
Trading blows and the return of chain wrestling provide a ton of realism amidst the controlled insanity you can manufacture. The enhancement that tops everything this game has rolled out is how characters develop cuts and bruises throughout each grueling match.
In past years, you might get cut open and be pouring blood by the end of the match, but otherwise you wouldn’t know your character had been through a war. Now, it’s apparent from the first shots of the match, with bruises welting from chops to the chest and blood pouring from your head if you’re cut open.
Final Thoughts
My limited time playing MyRise coupled with my experiences across the rest of the game make me confident the mode is just as exceptional as the rest of the game. Overall, 2K25 is a game you can spend hours kicking around in one-off matches or building a world beater through any of the aforementioned game modes.
While there’ve been a handful of glitches or modes that have required quick patches, this year truly feels limitless with potential. I’m not sure how 2K tops this, but the last two years have shown they’ve earned the blind trust to knock it out of the park again next year.
WWE 2K25 is available worldwide on March 14. The game has a standard, Deadman and Bloodline edition available for pre-order on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam.
Raj Prashad writing credits include pro wrestling, MMA and basketball coverage. You can check out more of his work here.
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