WWE 2K23 review: The champ is here!

pocket-lint.com:

WWE games have had a rocky past but nothing quite so jagged as the last few years. The transition from traditional developer Yuke’s to today’s Visual Concepts was far from smooth, leading to arguably the worst, most bugged outing in the history of the franchise. WWE 2K20 was about as poorly received as fake Razor Ramon and Diesel during the Monday Night Wars. And, like that mind-boggling, mid-90s decision by Vince McMahon, it almost took the franchise down.

However, after an extra year of development and a lot of soul-searching, the series returned last March with a bang and conversely the best WWE game for close to a decade. Not only did WWE 2K22 add a whole load of fun new modes and gloss, it got the basics right. It was a huge, positive step back in the right direction.

Because of that, we weren’t expecting its successor to be as ground-breaking – and it isn’t. But it does tweak and improve on certain areas, while continuing down the path of reinforcing the brand in gaming terms. In many ways, WWE 2K23 is Visual Concept’s FIFA. It’s evolved but very much sings from the same hymn sheet and although less original both in and out of the ring, there’s just enough for fans to see it as a worthwhile upgrade.

4/5

WWE 2K23 takes the huge improvements made with last year's game and adds all manner of polish and tweaks. The game modes are each enhanced, while superstar and custom wrestler models look better than they ever have before. You won't find as many changes in the ring itself, but the sheer amount of content and the addition of the WarGames match should prove more than enough for fans.

Part of that is down to the presentation. As with last year’s effort, WWE 2K23 is crammed to the rafters with playable Superstars and