WWE 2K24, the newest game in the WWE 2K series is a wrestling game about muscles, action, and good old wrestling, where famous legends are gathered for an amazing brawl. As a yearly release, games like these will rarely deviate from their predecessors. So in this review, we’ll see how WWE 2K24 holds up, and what improvements have they brought to the series.

Overall Gameplay

As players coming from WWE 2K22, we are already familiar with many of the game’s features, such as combos and the parry system. But back then, the movement for the characters was still slow and stiff, which is understandable as the game went on a two-year hiatus before its release.

In WWE 2K24, the animations have seen a massive upgrade, with the gameplay feeling smooth and crisp, with previously seen choppiness on the characters practically gone. And while animation upgrades don’t seem like a major improvement, they play an integral role in fighting games like WWE 2K24, as the Superstars will now sell their moves more naturally and realistically, emphasizing the power of every hit and bump.

Super Finishers, a new addition to the series, also brings a new level of excitement to the fights. Finishers allow you to finish a match with a move that is guaranteed to knock an opponent out when compared to the normal Finishers, Super Finishers add an extra flavor to the already looking Signatures and sequences. Sadly, however, Super Finishers are not universally available for all the Superstars in the game.

New Mode

New modes have been added to WWE 2K24, namely the Casket Match, Ambulance Match, Gauntlet Match, and Special Guest Referee.

Among the new additions, the Ambulance match and the Special Referee match are among my favorites. Special Referee allows players to not only play as a referee but also assign one for their match. The referee will interfere with the match, adding more of the classic WWE-like drama, especially when you have Triple H as a guest referee pulling out his signature sledgehammer from under the ring.

As for Casket and Ambulance matches, these two modes may seem like a simple button smash galore, with things happening constantly. But all the modes do add depth and variety to WWE 2K24, which makes the game a lot more enjoyable for long-time fans of the series.

Showcase

The showcase feature in WWE 2K24 is similar to that from Era’s feature on NBA 2K.

Titled as 2K Showcase… of the Immortals, the mode allows players to experience forty years of the legendary WrestleMania magic by recreating some of its greatest matches. From Ricky Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock, to Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes, fans of WrestleMania will be delighted to recreate their favorite match from the series here.

WrestleMania is an essential part of history, not just to wrestling, but to competitive sports as a whole. Showcase mode acts as a spectacular way to preserve its legacy, allowing players to relive the significant matches and experience how they changed the wrestling landscape and the popular consciousness of fans.

In my opinion, the mode itself is an engaging way of experiencing wrestling as a whole, and the historical matches provide a nice nostalgic touch for longtime fans of the WWE.

Universe

Universe acts as kind of a sandbox mode in WWE 2K24. Here, players can choose between Classic and Superstar Modes, alongside a sizable roster to freely choose from.

Classic Mode boasts incredibly detailed creative tools, letting players craft belts, wrestlers, arenas, and even move sets from scratch. While in SuperStar Mode, you can watch your favorite wrestler like Cody Rhodes or even Logan Paul dominating the wrestling industry.

While playing the modes, it was a blast to watch my own Superstar, who is the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. navigate through the different matches and cultivate rivalries, such as that with Gunther, and strive for the Intercontinental Championship.

MyGM

MyGM is a feature that is loved by WWE fans, especially when it comes to those who love micromanaging and the wrestling industry as a whole.

MyGM will be pretty familiar for players who have played the FIFA series, as it is similar to managing the club in Career Mode for that game. In WWE 2K24; however, the objective is not the Championship or Trophies, but for TV ratings and money.

In this mode, you will become a General Manager managing a team while choosing one of the five WWE branches like SmackDown, RAW, NXT, WCW, or ECW. You will then recruit various wrestlers and arrange various matches for the fans to watch, the higher the rating for the match, the more profit you will get.

However, this mode does have its flaws, and it is still one of my biggest gripes ever since the feature made a comeback in 2K22, which is that the ‘excitement factor’ really only applies to those who already understand the industry.

For those new to the WWE industry, they will be confused with the mode even if there is a tutorial in it. You have to watch and understand the mode deeply before you can feel the excitement that the mode brings to fans. As such in my opinion, MyGM mode is a rather hostile mode for beginners, as it requires players to already have a certain degree of knowledge of the scene before being truly exciting.

MyRISE

As the name implies, MyRISE is your journey from zero to hero with your own created superstar. Throughout the MyRISE mode, players will encounter many of the familiar faces in the WWE universe, both as allies and rivals.

The storyline of MyRISE is divided into Undisputed (Men) and Unleashed (Women) which offer different paths for players to explore, serving as additional replay value to the mode.

This change in perspective is a welcome shift for the game, as it shows that MyRISE is acknowledging the diversity and talent present in the independent wrestling scene. Giving your custom female wrestler a backstory that includes her time in the indie circuit, it adds depth to her character and makes her journey to the WWE more meaningful.

For what it’s worth, MyRISE offers plenty of content for those looking to claim every title. And this time around, voice acting has been massively improved, with real wrestlers voice acting the characters. Furthermore, character customizations, in-ring visuals, and other details were further improved, contributing to the overall experience.

Final Thoughts

Yearly game releases nowadays have never really been promising for players, as the tight schedule of releasing a game in such a short time usually means identical games being released over and over again.

But for WWE 2K24, quite a lot of thought was put into how they can better improve the different aspects of the game, as shown through the MyRise section, where the voice acting and more in-depth storyline enhances the mode by allowing players to feel more involved in the wrestling scene, instead of the usual route of making wrestlers stronger and getting titles.

The additional modes such as Special Referee also add more flair that WWE is known for, while simultaneously paying homage to real-life WWE events.

Last but not least, by making the gameplay more fluid, WWE 2K24 can sell more of the wrestling action that the WWE series is known for, and while it may not seem like a significant change, this improvement is always felt during gameplay, making it more immersive for players looking to jump in and wrestle.