MLB The Show 23 Review (PS5) | Push Square

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It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the developers of sports games to offer transformative new experiences in annual releases. With budgets soaring, deadlines looming, and a demand for live service support all season long, franchises like MLB The Show 23 feel like they’ve been caught flatfooted. But San Diego Studio’s baseball sim has an ace under its pinstriped sleeve this year, and it’s called the Negro Leagues.

Presented like a Netflix documentary, this is the first instalment in a multiyear commitment, which will see the stories of some of baseball’s lesser known heroes brought to the forefront. Anchored by the amiably enthusiastic Bob Kendrick – president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum – each chapter includes a series of interactive moments, each focused on a different player. You’ll learn about Satchel Paige’s imaginative pitch names, Rube Foster’s rise from star pitcher to front office, and Jackie Robinson’s socially seismic transition to the MLB.

The presentation packages that the developer’s put together are utterly outstanding, with original artwork paired with archival footage and photographs. And the commitment to quality doesn’t dip in-game either: San Diego Studio has modelled six entirely new, period authentic stadiums, complete with accurate uniforms, crowds, and even pitching animations. It truly feels like you’re playing an entirely different era of The Show, which is the highest praise we can attribute to it.

Brilliantly, the developer retains the commentary services of Jon ‘Boog’ Sciambi and Chris Singleton for the Negro Leagues, but uses them to add flavour to some of the stories setup by Kendrick. So, instead of them delivering traditional play-by-plays, it’s structured like they’re