WWE 2K23 Review (PS5) | Push Square

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Minor tweaks and improvements are the usual selling points of annualised sporting titles. Yes, the teams and kits may be updated, player ratings may be tweaked, and 4K beard follicles may now be visible in replays, but that’s usually your lot. Not so with 2K’s WWE series. Standing on the shoulders of WWE 2K22’s solid efforts, the hulking mass of WWE 2K23 can barely fit through the door, boasting such an obscene number of playable modes, match types, and grapplers that it not only wants to consume all of your free time but then drop an elbow for good measure.

Those of you who played last year’s WWE 2K22 will feel right at home with how the game plays, as, for the first time in a good few years, 2K has stuck with the same control scheme. An accessible, combo-based system will see you opening up an assault with a light strike, before continuing with a mix of light, heavy, and grab attacks to produce a variety of violent offence. More complex controls are also in the mix for experienced players allowing for the lifting/positioning of opponents – as well as outside-the-ring offence – and usually involve utilising the right stick or a shoulder button.

Different manoeuvres will target different parts of your foe’s body, and damage and progress towards powerful Signatures and Finishers can all be tracked via the Superstar HUD at the bottom of the screen. In our opinion, it was already a fine system not in much need of refinement, and the fact we didn’t have to re-learn how to play the game this year was a blessing in itself. There are still some rather janky issues in terms of collision, though, as we often found ourselves inexplicably missing the odd punch or grapple, making ourselves wide open for a counterattack.

Fortunately,