WWE 2K23’s MyRise story mode is a slow burn that’s worth the effort

polygon.com:

One of the lesser-discussed qualities as modern sports video games have developed ever more sophisticated narrative modes has been what I call the time-to-play. As in, how long does it take, after booting the mode for the first time, until your athlete is actually out there performing?

Some games’ career suites just don’t lend themselves to a quick time-to-play; WWE2K23might be the prime example. In Visual Concepts’ defense, you don’t buy a series like this to create generic superstars — you buy it to recreate every detail of a carefully scripted form of sports make-believe. The fact that WWE 2K23’s two new career storylines are worth this kind of detail management is a real credit to the game. Still, if the single-player career mode is the reason you buy and play a sports video game, you’re going to want to set aside a good chunk of time to nail everything about your character before taking them into the ring.

And I don’t just mean the multiple looks in the game’s creation suite, which are as eye-gogglingly deep as ever, or obsessing over the pyrotechnics in your character’s introductions. If you are a casual player (or a single-player-mode-only type fan) and need to brush up on your combat, you won’t be getting your tutorial match in MyRise, like last year’s game. (Those basics are covered in a strongly advised tutorial that ends with a match against cover star John Cena. You’re booted into it when you start the game, but it’s always available in the Extras menu.)

Combat in WWE 2K23, simple as the input schemes are, depends on subtle visual clues and, honestly, just putting the time in to develop a feel for the flow of a match, if not also your opponent’s tendencies. Do that in the game’s actual tutorial, and then work