While they started strong with 2K14 (even though THQ was there when the game was being made), the folks over at 2K has been struggling a bit with the series. 2K15 being the most divisive and each game afterwards, at best, being "pretty good, but not much more than that", it was clear there needed to be a new direction. 2K19 was the beginning of that new direction, as it seemed to be the culmination of what worked from each game was nearly perfected...which also meant the game also had some places left to grow. But other than that, 2K19 was the first game in the series in years that was truly great. It was just a matter of time where the developers would add on to that excellent formula and make something truly spectacular.
Come 2019, that rug was violently pulled when Yukes decided to stop developing WWE games; which, from what I've heard, happened because 2K were too involved by not letting Yukes do what they truly wanted to forward the series. So instead, Visual Concepts stepped up to the plate for the awaited 2K20. And it undid absolutely every single thing each WWE 2K game did right, as it was all samey and, much more noticeably, broken. You just flat out couldn't play it without running into a game ruining glitch. Sure, it could be comical and hilarious at times, but then you remember that the game was $60. It was such a disaster, that Visual Concepts had to take an entire year off, because it was obvious they didn't really know what they were doing at the time. While the likes of "2K Battlegrounds" was a slightly engaging time, it wasn't a real alternative to a true WWE 2K game as it was basically a mobile game ported to consoles; still WAY better than 2K20. So after 2 and a half years after 2K20, did they remedy their wrongdoings?
For the most part, absolutely. Visual Concepts has proven that the time off was worth it, as they managed to make a WWE game that's better than most of the ones made by Yukes beforehand; though, because of the aforementioned circumstances with 2K butting in, I don't blame Yukes for. But damn, this is one of the most genuinely fun wrestling games I've ever played. It seemingly mixes the simulation gameplay we're used to with the more arcadey feel of earlier "Smackdown vs. Raw" games, and it's the best gameplay in a WWE 2K game yet. And the modes, overall, are all great. Whether it be the expansive and awesome look of the legendary career of Rey Mysterio in this years 2K Showcase, the customizable and powerful Universe Mode, the long awaited return of GM mode, or the immensely improved MyRise with a better emphasis on progress, what you've got here is a game that is bursting at the seams with awesome content; with the only throwaway being MyFaction (not a bad mode, just one that doesn't appeal to me). Everything in this game is, for the most part, a massive improvement over any other WWE 2K game out there. Really, the only thing that might be a downgrade is the roster, as there's a few faces that didn't make it that were in 2K19, but even that complaint doesn't really work, because the DLC and community creations fix that problem and then some.
Overall, the game has all of the makings to be a perfect wrestling game. But, there's one issue that keeps it from reaching that status, and it's the optimization. For a game that's this polished, it sure likes to soft lock and crash from time to time. Any time you want to create a group image or make any major edits to any creation, there's a big chance the game will infinitely load, with the only thing you can do being to quit the game and start it back up. Granted, the group images DO save successfully, so at least it wasn't for nothing. But the fact that we have to do this at all is annoying, as well as sometimes heartbreaking; like making a group image in the middle of creating a complex arena only for the arena to be forever gone because the game decided to give up afterwards, which happens pretty much 100% of the time when doing so. This makes the act of creating stuff feel risky and just not as smooth as previous games before 2K20, which is a damn shame. Also, a tiny bit of the Creation Suite can sometimes stutter and lag; though, they at least work fine, so that's not anywhere near as major as the infinite loading bug, which is obviously a leftover from 2K20. I tried uninstalling it and reinstalling this game, but it did it again, so that, as well as the fact that each game before 2K20 never did that, tells me that the framework still needs some work. To be fair, every game ruining bug has been squashed, so I still think the game is well polished. It's just not super well optimized. Though, with all of the truly awful bugs gone, it gives me hope that they will iron out the bugs present here for 2K23, which will make it that perfect wrestling game if they keep up this pace.
Other than that, this game is great. Even with its less than great optimization, everything else manages to be so fun and so great on their own, that I'm addicted to it. If you're a wrestling fan, you need to get this game, ESPECIALLY if you have the patience for it; which you will need. But once you have it, this stands high above the rest as one of the best wrestling games in a long time. The only thing Visual Concepts really needs to focus on now is to keep ironing out the bugs and to not get complacent. Yes, they've made an excellent wrestling game here, but there's still work to be done. I'm a proponent of the idea that a delay of a game is always a good thing, so if they must wait until March of next year like they did with this game this year, then so be it. Even if a tiny bit later, if they improve upon this great formula, 2K23 could be legendary. But as is, 2K22 is good enough for me to say that WWE games are awesome again-something I haven't been able to say for years. It really does hit different.
