Hello! I just got WWE 2K25 for my Birthday as an early surprise gift from my mother, and after a week or two, I was encouraged to write a little game review which I have never done before! What you will get from yours truly is a fun review, but also kayfabe is alive and well with this one; there will be no spoilers.
First, I do personally feel the gameplay feels a lot better than last year’s game. The game animations transition a lot smoother, and the biggest indicator is when your wrestler goes from a grapple to either a slam or a hold. Last year the move from grapple to hold was not seamless and it resulted in a flaw that kind of took me out the in-ring experience.
This game feels a lot better than 2K24, the graphics are awesome, and there is a third-person camera!!! Playing this on the PS4, I was in awe using the right stick to rotate the camera in every direction and angle you want. With this camera mode, you feel like a WWE camera person being all over the arena as the graphics in this game are beautiful, lively, and it makes certain moves have more visual impact.
Instead of feeling like a spectator from the front row, playing in third person really makes you feel in the ring yourself!
There are so many moves you can do in and out of the ring that WWE 2K25’s gameplay is deeper than a bottomless pit.All the matches WWE has in real life are here in 2K25 and I enjoyed both the Bloodline Rules Match, and the Underground Match where there aren’t any ropes, no DQ, NO MERCY!!!
I personally enjoy chain wrestling as it adds strategy to matches and it reminds me of the wrestling mini-game from UFC Undisputed 3 which I loved.
The audio as well sounds pretty good even though commentary can feel repetitive and also, strikes, kicks and bodyslams sound as hard hitting as they are in real life; especially when you have the body damage HUD keeping track on how you want to make your opponent say Uncle in the ring.
During MyRise, I kind of enjoy cheesy voice acting even though I know my opinion on it can be spotty at best. The base soundtrack to me is better than last year, but as always, it’s about the WWE Superstars’ entrance music.
Keep in mind that as I’m praising the game so far, time to get into the flaws and things that bother me about it.
For all the gameplay controls the game has, some parts feel convoluted,and you add button combos to the mix which are more attunedto fighting games, it makes things much more complex than they need to be. Remember how deep but simple the moves and controls were in the older WWF/E games dating back to the PS2/XBOX/Gamecube? That’s what I’m getting at and that’s also what WWE desperately needs.
A big problem during matches is that the referee gets in the way quite a bit. It’s not as aggravating as last year, but it’s still a problem.
Especially in my next topic; reversals.
Sometimes, I call 2K25 Reversalmania because the ability to avoid strikes and grapples can greatly determine who wins the match. It’s serious against the A.I. as wrestlers can be stunned but then reverse your attack out of nowhere, and if you hit X or triangle too early or too late, that could result in you getting pummeled for three to five minutes and you may lose as a result.
It’s really irritating.
It’s a problem with lower stamina wrestlers and even worse if the ref is in the way; you can’t see the reversal icon or your timing’s thrown off. At least with a third-person camera you can make sure the ref isn’t as much of a problem.
Now, onto the other things that bug me about this game.
It is clunky choosing a wrestler; not including all the extra Superstars you unlock as you play. The creation suite can feel overwhelming with as much you can do. Let me start by saying I could care less about MyFaction. It doesn’t add anything to the experience, and I don’t have a PS5 so I don’t worry about not having The Island which is a half-baked WWE version of TheCity in the NBA 2k game locking stuff though microtransactions. MyRise is better than it was last year with being able to wrestle with WWE Superstars in addition to your created wrestlers and it also has branching paths so if you can get into it, it should be fun for a few playthroughs. But that’s not a high bar to reach, I miss the career/story mode WWE games used to have and we need Road to Wrestlemania to come back!
Can you imagine what story could be done considering ‘Mania is a two-night event? I don’t bother playing online unless I have a close friend who has this game, and we somehow link up for a match or two and I’ve heard that servers still aren’t great at all.
There’s two matches I’d stay away from: Casket Match and Ambulance Match. It’s annoying where you have Steel Cage and Money in The Bank coming down to a very slow sequence of button presses allowing your opponent all the time in the world to get back up, come back and potentially steal the bout from you. However, the Ambulance Match really boiled me over. It’s ridiculous how every party of your opponent is in deep red and yet mashing buttons trying to close both doors is such a nightmare!
I tried Showcase mode and played three matches thanks to the genius Paul Heyman telling the history of the legendary Anoa’ISamoan wrestling Dynasty. If not for him telling these stories of icons like The Rock, High Chief Peter Maivia, the late Yokozuna, I wouldn’t have even bothered with that mode. Two big issues; to unlock everything from each match you play, you need to do every objective accordingly before you win and whose idea was it to have timed objectives??? They pop up out of nowhere and only last 30 seconds. MyGM doesn’t pique my interest after trying it last year outside of the fact you can play vs. other players online. Universe Mode is still bare bones. I should note that I played 2k24 via Playstation Plus so I’m well-versed in WWE 2k. In saying that, the last WWE game I bought was 2k16.
Whew! I think I got everything. Don’t get me wrong; the gameplay is stronger and feels smoother than last year, but a lot of the other things I mentioned keep this game from true greatness. I can’t give it more than six out of ten and wait till the price drops to $30 before you buy 2k25 if you really want to pick it up. Am I happy my mom thought to get this game for me as a surprise, of course! However, if I’m going to write a review and I’ve never done this before, I’ve got to be critical and honest. 2k’s laziness and greed really downgraded a very good game.
FINAL SCORE: 6 ring bells out of 10.
Positives
Strong gameplay, graphics and audio are amazing
Negatives
Microtransactions, button sequences, inconsistent reversals, The Island, MyGM and Universe Mode
