WWE 2K23 Throws Shade at WWE 2K20

gamerant.com:

WWE 2K23 is, without a doubt, much better than WWE 2K20, and this is a fact the game is very self-aware of as NPCs can mock the latter title.WWE 2K20 was received so badly that the developer took a year off, meaning WWE 2K21 doesn't exist, and returned with WWE 2K22. That entry laid a perfect foundation, one thatWWE 2K23 continues to build on.

One feature some fans have taken notice of is the witty NPC dialogue. In fact, there is special dialogue if WWE 2K23 players go AFK during a match where the commentators will complain about it being boring and ask if anyone is there. In a similar vein, players are able to trigger NPC dialogue that mocks WWE 2K20 during their playthrough of MyRise, if not elsewhere.

WWE 2K23: How to Create a First Blood Match

Early on inWWE 2K23's MyRise «The Legacy» storyline, players will be tasked with doing some mocap for the next WWE 2K game in the Performance Center. Fans should recognize this as a returning match from past games, one that's always worth a chuckle when wrestling in a mocap suit. Players are also tasked with completing certain objectives, and if they happen to take too long on one of them, an NPC will pop off with «we haven't had a session like this since the one for 2K20, yikes.»

WWE 2K20 was riddled with bugs that, oftentimes, saw wrestlers contort and perform in ways that were downright nightmare fuel sometimes. Given there were a lot of bugs with the movement and action of WWE 2K20 wrestlers, having this Easter egg/shade-throwing in the game is quite fitting. Of course, Visual Concepts was the developer on both WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K23, so this is all in good, self-aware fun. It's no secret WWE 2K20 was lackluster for many reasons, but that's in the past now. WWE 2K23 continues