WWE 2K25

As a pro wrasslin' fan, it's safe to say that WWE is doing it's best work right now. It's a global phenomenon. They can perform anywhere. They sell tickets. They print money. I'm not ashamed to say that. You buy tickets to see two grown people "settle their differences" in the ring.

If you're an avid fan, like myself, you avoid all spoilers. You go to the shows when they come to town. You may or may not be wearing some of the merch they sell. You also may or may not have a small shrine-like place for The New Day, including an unopened box of Booty O's cereal. (They make sure, you ain't booty.)

You could also be a little critical of their games, because you know the product they're based on needs to be good. WWE 2K25 is the latest iteration, and, like Roman Reigns, it deserves to be acknowledged. 

Now, this is a rather late review. I got the game on release day, so I will not be reviewing this for the people who already have the game. I will be reviewing this for the people who are waiting to lace up their video game boots. I will also be reviewing this from two different perspectives: The pro wrestling fan who can tell you that Shawn Michaels oversold all the moves from Hulk Hogan, and from the video game fan who has been playing wrestling games since WrestleMania for the Nintendo Entertainment System. So let's go from the pro wrestling perspective. 

The entrances are the coolest thing about this version of the game. They have retooled and refocused the effects and lighting. The superstars no longer look like they hate being in the game. So much detail has been put into the entrances it's almost breathtaking. The hair is looking way better on most superstars. The championship belts, though they're a little big for the female superstars, seem to be more reflective of the lighting, and look great, too.

There's still some work to be done with Jey Uso's entrance. I don't know why the national treasure himself gets the short end of the stick, but out of 300 characters, the entrances are mostly spot on. The ability to change camera angles is a very nice touch. The music is always great. I'm going to let the other nit picky things slide. 

There are 300+ superstars in this game. Of course some of those are from different eras. Depending on which version you get, you may end up with quite a few versions of The Undertaker. On the other side, you may get Roman Reigns from last year, and a "current" Roman Reigns.

The move sets are usually the same, as well as the animations. Their ratings are different, but with enough skill, you can win with practically anyone. The fun is playing the game, and beating someone with a superstar who is hardly featured on TV. More so, someone who is no longer on the roster in real life. I still love you, Indi Hartwell. You're still impressive. Play through showcase mode to unlock even more. More on that later. 

The arenas here are spectacular to look at. From the WrestleMania arenas to all the NXT arenas and in between. They all have their different layouts too. Even the old ones interact like they would in real life. If you're in Raw 93, there is no Titantron. There was an era where they had an LED floor, and those are also intact.

WWE 2K25 does a really nice job with the updated look from the Paul Leveque era too. Prime is still there, unfortunately. But again, I might be a disgruntled fan at that point. WCW, NXT, WWE, and even some random arenas are all represented here, in their full likeness. For some reason, they look better than last year's iteration. 

There are match types aplenty. Again, all return from previous iterations. Extreme rules, ladders, Elimination Chamber, and War Games are all here. They've added Underground matches, which are sort of like UFC matches, except in a ring with no ropes. You can only win these matches by knockout, and there are no rules, so I just grab a weapon and hope for the best.

Same goes for the back alley brawls, where you can fight people in the parking lots, and even at the WWE archives. You can alter these match types too. You'll never run out of variety, or how many people you can put in a match.  The game limits you to eight at a time, but you're not going to need more than that. Especially during the Bloodline Rules Match, where you can call out anyone to interfere on your behalf. But so can your opponent. Very cool addition. 

The absolute standout here is the showcase mode. It covers one of wrestling's royal families: The Bloodline. I don't have to tell you that the entire Bloodline saga was "absolute cinema." Every week, they just kept it going, and going and going. For five whole years, they built this entire new legacy up with Roman Reigns, Jimmy and Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa, and even Sami Zayn. The game's showcase mode goes all the way back to before then, with Yokozuna, and High Chief Peter Maivia. You get to see the origin stories with High Chief Peter Maivia, Rikishi, 3-Minute Warning, and even Umaga Anoa'i family.

You get to unlock other superstars involved as well. The twist is that you get to change history. The Headshrinkers lost to The Rick and Scott Steiner at WrestleMania, but you get to "right that wrong," and a whole lot of others. The Rock is definitely here, in case you were wondering. I absolutely love this mode, because gone are the switching back and forth between the live action and the gameplay, and it's all hosted by the greatest talker, manager and advocate in the business, Hall of Famer Paul Heyman.

Now let's talk about the game from a gamer's stand point.

All your sim modes have made a return with some small caveats. First off, GM mode is back. This still lets you pick a manager, or create your own, and run a show of your choice. They've added new managers to the roster. Right now, a friend of mine and myself are pitting Theodore Long and Armando Alejandro Estrada against each other.

Draft, match types, and trades are all still here. Everything has carried over. You can now play another player, or players, online in GM mode—which is odd they just added this. You can also set a time limit for booking the show.

Lastly, the PLE's are now dual branded events, which means you can pit one of your superstars against one of the opposing general manager's. I don't know how this benefits the players, but it's a cool addition, nonetheless. 

The MyRise mode is back, but this time you choose to start with a male or female superstar. You then go through branching storylines, trying to figure out who is trying to take you out on your rise to stardom. Later, you will get to choose a second superstar and team up to get to the bottom of the story.

You can build these superstars from the ground up. From entrances, to names, to outfits, to signs. All the things I never spent more than 15 minutes on is here for all your customization needs. Customization in this game has gone above and beyond  any other game 2K has ever done. I'll never know anything about it, because it's just not my thing.

You can unlock the characters from MyRise to use in the main game, if that's your thing. Don't worry about getting your stats up. You can also take your superstar to compete in Live events and net yourself some attribute points so you can power up your guy. This mode is pretty easy to get through. The characters no longer look like they have no souls, but that's not a massive improvement. 

My Faction is also back, for again, some reason. I get it, but I don't have to like it. This is the card collecting variation of the game, where you can use real money to turn into virtual currency and buy in-game cards to play in one mode. There are persona cards that you can get and use in game, but I just don't understand why the process to unlock these characters is so ridiculous.

It's my least favorite mode, next to Universe Mode, but at least Universe mode lets you choose an already-made Superstar, and just take them through the already-made schedule. I'm not here to tell you how to make your game, but I'll never play these modes, and I know no one who does. MyFaction did add easier ways to get in game currency to get cards, but I don't know if it's worth the grind. 

The elephant in the room is the My City mode called "The Island," and this is not what I thought it was going to be. The Island is full of cool references to past and current wrestlers, and lets you take yet another customized superstar around the island, to use real life money to get accessories.

Again, I get it. You can also play other people online, or carry out a very weird storyline to be the best as Roman Reigns has set you out to be. I wasn't excited about the City in NBA 2K25, and I'm not excited about the fetch quest microtransaction island on WWE 2K25. I didn't spend too much time in the 30 fps Island of Relevancy. Just enough time to make me leave and never play it again. Maybe next year, I suppose. Good idea, bad execution. 

Gameplaywise, the move sets are all here. This is the same setup as it has been. All your grapples, and light and heavy attacks are the same. How to find a weapon and jump off the ring apron is the same way you've done it for years. They have made the team-up attacks a lot easier, as well as the counters. All the mini games are here, like with the pinning and breaking out of submission moves. You can still differentiate between the two variations of how to play these minigames, whether it's mashing to kick out, or hitting a button at the right time.

To keep the game fresh, they've added chain wrestling, which is explained, but still confuses. They've also added "yay/boo" punching to the game, which is hilarious. Finally, there's a weird third-person mode which makes you lose your right stick because it controls the camera. It's cool the first time, but don't keep it. 

I could go on and on about what has carried over from game to game. The entrances, again, are truly a work of art. They are fantastic to watch, and all the pageantry is there. All the pyro and music pops. The commentary is still excellent. The game controls feel easier, and tighter than before.

I have a very huge problem though, and it's so much of a problem that I thought I needed my eyes checked. I even put on my glasses—and it got worse. As the faces on the superstars during the entrances are amazing, the faces of the in-ring characters remind me of WWE 2K20 on the Nintendo Switch. They look pasted on. They look worse when you team up two to four random characters and they have to react generically for their win. And I mean it's scary bad. They look really really bad. You notice it when it switches from the entrance, immediately to the character warming up in the ring. 

With a deep customization tool, there comes more of the bad visuals. Championships clip through jackets. Hair sometimes still has that spaghetti look. There's something going on with the title matches too. Like the characters jump and clip around, cycling through their move patterns. It looks unfinished. When the championship screen comes up, the belt on the left side is curled up.

Are these game breakers? No. Are they visually sore? Absolutely, and sometimes take away from the game. The sweat looks great during run ins and in-game during the match, but not so great on the outros announcing the winners of the match.

The game has been patched three times since I've had my hands on it. Again, improvements here and there, but I don't know if it's enough for me to not point these things out. I have a PS5, not a PS3. I will say the game is fun, and I want to play it a lot more than last year's entry. That's a start, I guess. 

The DLC also looks promising, but I'm a little miffed at the fact that we might be getting NBA stars, and I don't care for it. I'm old and crotchety. Keep your basketball players out of my wrasslin' game.

Billy Gunn, though, is crazy. I would love to figure out how they pulled that off. I also can't wait to get my hands on Hall of Pain Mark Henry, as well as Victoria. I wouldn't be upset with you if you waited until the first two packs of DLC were released. It's not a bad game. I'm picky. I just want this to be good. I just looked at visuals from WWE 2K20 again and shuddered. Another patch please. Keep making it better.