WWE 2K23 Review

thesixthaxis.com:

WWE 2K23 is, without a doubt, the most polished entry in the wrestling franchise for years. That’s fairly faint praise, however, when it is still a mediocre experience when it comes to recreating the sport of kings that is professional wrestling. Why? Well, to quote the philosopher, poet, and voracious YouTube Simon Miller, “Here’s why!”

WWE 2K23 is, even on my bog-standard near-senile PS4, absolutely gorgeous. Thanks to exhaustive graphical detail, each wrestler now looks and moves far more like their real-life counterpart and the big stars in particular look fantastic. Roman Reigns is a thing of beauty – in real life and in WWE 2K23 too – Becky Lynch oozes charisma, whilst Brock Lesnar truly lives up to his moniker of the beast incarnate. What’s even more impressive, is that even the D-list superstars your mum hasn’t heard of look mighty fine too – Ilja Dragunov in a WWE game is as unexpected as it is awesome.

There’s a vast roster of wrestlers to choose from too and, thanks in part to a far more stable WWE since Triple H took the helm, the roster is much more accurate and up-to-date than last year’s edition. Both new stars and old are represented here, meaning that, even if it never actually comes to pass, you can at least have Roman Reigns square off against The Rock in video game form.

Animation has also seen a notable improvement since last year. Clipping is at a minimum whilst visual bugs are mostly absent. Wrestlers move with weight and actually sell injuries, pulling themselves up on the ring ropes when weary, or hobbling around if they’ve suffered a leg injury. Contact between superstars feels impactful too, with strikes and grapples connecting with force. Sure, there are still ridiculous moments, like when moves