WWE 2K22 Review: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

thegamer.com:

WWE 2K22 isn’t good enough. Review done - come back next year to see how the next one shapes out.

Oh, you’re still here? Okay, I guess I’ll take this seriously. As a lifelong wrestling fan and passionate critic of 2K’s mediocre licensed output in recent years, when 2K20 forced them to take a year break due to an abundance of bugs and glitches I was elated. The quality was so lacking and fan reception so vocal that there was no choice but to take a step back and reconsider what it meant to be a wrestling game in the modern era.

The end result is WWE 2K22, a competent brawler that feels like a substantial improvement over what came before it, but still clings to the past in ways that prevent it from achieving greatness. A conscious effort has been made to update the gameplay systems to resemble nostalgic classics like Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain and WWF: No Mercy, but all the modes and surrounding content still feel lacklustre. It’s also dripping with a cynical approach to microtransactions and live service-esque modes that twist what could have been a brilliant wrestling experience into a glorified mobile game. ‘It Hits Different’ is the big marketing tagline, but I’d describe it as more of a gentle prod.

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When first booting up WWE 2K22 one of the first things fans will notice is how familiar it feels. The user interface is swift and sanitised, composed of multiple tiles with gamer flames igniting in the background. Despite a newfound sense of attitude and a greater respect for its source material, this is a game that firmly belongs in the 2K lineage, and isn’t interested in harkening back to the THQ days of banging soundtracks and ruthless aggression. It gets close,