Review — WWE 2K20
Visuel Concept’s first solo endeavor into the world of wrestling has a wonky start with WWE 2K20.
Last year, I wrote in my WWE 2K19 review how Yuke’s managed to create the best WWE game of this generation so far. For WWE 2K20, 2K shifted the development from Yuke’s to Visual Concepts, who were supporting developers for the franchise. While Visual Concepts have received favorable reception for their basketball games, there’s no way to say how they would fare helming the WWE series, so we went in blind, hoping for the best.
A Fall from Grace
When I started playing, the first reports started dropping in and the obvious became clear. WWE 2K20 was released as a buggy, glitchy mess, to the point where Sony offered PlayStation players a refund. The physics are an absolute mess, there’s clipping, graphical inconsistencies, weird A.I. behavior and so on. While some of the problems have been patched in the meantime, the game still suffers from various problems. The most noticeable problem is the game’s graphics. While it’s possible you might not run into the bugs and glitches, you won’t be able to escape the often horrible character designs and terrible animations. One that struck me the most, is when you talk to someone in the career mode, that person will always use the same animation when they are talking. This is both baffling and completely ridiculous at the same time. The insane amount of loading screens, especially in the career mode, is equally baffling to be honest.
Talking about the story, while last year’s story was far from perfect it was rather entertaining. But this year’s story has taken a few steps back and the writing is cringeworthy at times. The whole story is also told as a flashback which means that the timeline gets confusing at times if you take into account real life events. I did like the fact that they refer to last year’s story and that some characters make a comeback in this game, like Barron Blade and Cole Quinn. This year’s story also features two protagonists, a male and a female superstar, which marks the first time you can play as a female character in the career mode.
The Usual Suspects
Remember those weird dreamlike story moments in last year’s career mode? Well, they’re making some kind of a comeback in WWE 2K20 through 4 DLC packs named “WWE 2K Originals”, themed content that takes place in a fictional realms. The first of these Originals is already available and focuses on Bray Wyatt’s The Fiend persona. Of course the game received also it’s fair share of backlash for locking The Fiend, one of the most popular stars at the moment,behind the paywall of a DLC. And of course, like last year, the game is also riddled with microtransactions in the form of “packs” you can buy containing various cosmetic items.
The biggest change from last year is of course the new story and the updated roster of wrestlers, but other than that, the game features the same ingredients as last year. Whether that be the Universe mode where you manage your own WWE program, the Create A Wrestler feature or the 2K Towers, a mode introduced last year. The setup of he Career mode, including its online integration, is still pretty much the same, but with a ability grid that seems somewhat reminiscent of the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. The Showcase mode focuses on the Four Horsewomen of WWE and their journey from NXT to the top of Raw and Smackdown. Other than that you can still create a quick match where you can choosing from a vast array o wrestlers, stipulations and arenas.
Talking about wrestlers, the game features a massive roster of over 200 wrestlers, offering a good mix between current superstars and legends and Hall of Famers. As an NXT fan, I’m very happy that they are much better represented than last year. Looking at the legends, there are some surprise returns like Hulk Hogan (given the controversy that surrounds him) and Chyne, but her presence is logical given she was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year with DX.
But an expansive roster is only interesting if the character models looks good, and again WWE 2K20 drops the ball here. There are some models that look decent, but most of them are disappointing or even downright ugly. There are even models that look like lazy CAW creations, and honestly I’ve seen CAW characters from players that look better than what the game has to offer. It seems that most of the problems that plagued previous entries of the franchise are still here, and worse, that the situation only has gotten worse.
WWE 2K20 is a game that could have used more development time and a lot more dedication. While there’s plenty of content present here, the game is marred by technical problems, bad character models, poor animation and a disappointing story. When it seemed the franchise was getting back on track, it stumbles over again and the developers will have their work cut out for them if they want to win over all the disappointed fans.
2/5
Reviewed on PlayStation 4.
Download code provided by the publisher.
