“Button mashing is back”: WWE 2K22 devs explain Combos, Pin Meter, and defensive options in new video

gamepur.com:

WWE 2K22 marketing seems about as rigorous as the real-life WWE schedule. Just days after releasing a trailer, members of the development team sat down for a roundtable-style interview that they call the Ringside Report. The format of this show suggests that there will be many of these going over the different aspects of the game, and today, we got a first look at gameplay.

The devs spoke about how they want the game to feel smooth; they don’t want you to swing for a punch and then miss because of a wonky animation. It’s clear from looking at the footage that compared to years previous, everything flows together in sequence much more.

Some of the biggest changes this time around aren’t additions, but rather scrapping stale ideas that never caught on. Gone are the limited Reversals present in this console generation — any move can be countered at any time. Also gone is the timing-based kickout system, replaced instead with the series traditional staple of button mashing, where you mash A to kick out of a pin; it also seems the referee’s count has been adjusted to be slower to account for this.

Not wanting to leave players without any defensive options, the dev team has opted to use an energy-based system that looks like you would see in a fighting game like Marvel vs. Capcom or Dragon Ball FighterZ. It appears that your character builds up as they take damage, providing the counterplay to allow you to kick out of a move — even if you are awful at mashing.