WWE 2K24 Review – Bigger, Better But Still Not Perfect

Wrestling has always been my guilty pleasure hobby growing up, from purchasing DVDs to watching the Pay-Per-Views I missed out on or just looking up to the best wrestlers of my childhood as role models. Wrestling games have been no exception either from their countless titles since the PS2 era. That said, I was fortunate enough to discuss last year’s WWE 2K23 review in extreme detail, and now I’m overjoyed to present my review on WWE 2K24 this year, which slightly but surely ups the stakes from its previous entry.

Story And Setting

If you’re already accustomed to how storytelling works in WWE 2K games, chances are you’ll mainly be looking forward to what this year’s showcase and My Rise modes have in store for you.

WWE 2K24’s Showcase mode is based on the forty years of Wrestlemania, as you get to experience the best of what the grandest stage throughout the years had to offer, right from Wrestlemania III all the way to Wrestlemania 39, where Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns clashed on Night 2 in the main event.

While I’d argue both storylines are decent on their own, especially after 2K23’s Lock and Legacy My Rise, I just wish 2K put more effort into the voice acting and cutscenes here, as they still sound extremely robotic.

While I certainly loved most of the matches here, I feel like they could’ve done more for a few modern Wrestlemania matches, such as the Triple Threat bout from Wrestlemania 24 or even the Rock vs. Hulk Hogan match. I was even more baffled by how Undertaker vs. Triple H at Wrestlemania 28 wasn’t also included here; it’s a real shame, honestly, considering it is one of my favorite wrestling matches of all time.

Next, My Rise mode has two distinctive storylines, Unleashed and Undisputed. The former allows you to take control of your female customer-created wrestler as they rise from the indies to performing and making a name for themselves in the WWE.

Meanwhile, the latter is focused on the male-created wrestlers as they try to become the new Undisputed champion after Roman Reigns’ departure to Hollywood.

While I’d argue both storylines are decent on their own, especially after 2K23’s Lock and Legacy My Rise, I just wish 2K put more effort into the voice acting and cutscenes here, as they still sound extremely robotic.

The only saving grace is how the progression and sub-stories are well done here, going as far as to make me try every single interaction or hearing an official Wrestler out before continuing the main storyline again.

Gameplay

If you’ve played previous installments in the WWE 2K series, especially the most recent ones, you’ll already be familiar with the combo and grapple system, which remains unchanged in WWE 2K24. Most combos, special moves, and grapples feel relatively familiar and retain the mutual satisfaction you get when executing them or even whenever you reverse them from the opposition side.

A highlight for me regarding brand-new features is the Super Finishers and Trading Blows mechanics.

But to be as straightforward as possible, there are quite a few new elements here that make this entry feel like an upgrade over last year’s game. Brand-new match types include the Gauntlet, Casket Match, Special Referee, and Ambulance matches. My favorite one has to be the ambulance match because it ultimately becomes a test of might to escape the closing of the vehicle doors.

A highlight for me regarding brand-new features is the Super Finishers and Trading Blows mechanics. I discussed the former’s inclusions in my best finishers guide for the game, too, as you can charge up three finishers for a wrestler to execute a powerful super variant such as John Cena’s double Attitude Adjustment or Cody Rhodes’ Trinity Cross Rhodes.

Lastly, Trading Blows is another instantly likable mechanic introduced where you can essentially trade charged-up blows with your opponent, and whoever manages to complete it fully by trading a blow by hitting the gold section of the radial meter wins.

Creative Suite, Modes, And Their Endless Possibilities

Now, the Creative Suite of WWE games has always been enjoyable for anyone like me; you must’ve created dozens of Wrestlers, Arenas, and finishers back in the day with the Smackdown Vs Raw titles.

It’s safe to say that WWE 2K24 maintains that charm in high spirits with its rich creation suite, which offers players everything from minimalistic stuff like Create-a-Sign to designing your own movesets, special referees, and Championship Belts.

I personally spent the most time in My Universe mode, which allows you to create your own dream matches, shows, rivalries, and fantasized bookings. I mean, cmon, it’s the only way I could ever have my favorite female wrestler, Asuka, be a dominant athlete in the main division outside of her early NXT run.

Overall, while the additions here aren’t that substantial, there’s still much to be enjoyed, and given a chance, I’ll gladly consider this game an upgrade from the previous iteration in the series.

You also have the luxury of partaking in My Faction, an online card-based mode that may not be for everyone, and I’ve hardly ever played it, even in recent titles. Aside from that GM Mode is also there you if you want to manage shows and the Wrestlers on each show as well as how everything plays out.

Overall, while the additions here aren’t that substantial, there’s still much to be enjoyed, and given a chance, I’ll gladly consider this game an upgrade from the previous iteration in the series.

Even though the new match types aren’t innovative per se for the series, I really think you’ll enjoy the rest of the new content available here, including the two My Rise storylines, minor quality-of-life improvements, and even the Showcase mode (even though it feels half-baked with the match variety due to certain real-life implications).

Visuals And Performance

While I certainly didn’t notice any particular difference in the character models from 2K23 vs. 2K24, the alterations to the lighting have definitely improved the visuals for me.

The previous game’s models already looked pretty good (aside from a few weird ones such as Cody or Bayley), and the adjusted lighting, along with intricate details I noticed, such as reduced skin saturation and lighter shadows, make it enjoyable to experience.

Like most of the previous WWE 2K games, I didn’t run into too many performance issues, but there were occasional bugs and glitches that I experienced at the time of writing this review, for which the series has a notable reputation. One of which even included the game randomly crashing or opponents freezing during certain moves in matches.

The game ran smoothly on my RTX 3060Ti at a steady 60FPS framerate; however, I did notice that it will eat a lot of resources when running on your system, so that is worth keeping in mind if you plan to play it on PC.

Verdict

While WWE 2K24 isn’t groundbreaking for the series, it still has a ton of features and elements to make it a great wrestling sim title. If you ask me, I wouldn’t say it is worth it at the full 70$ price tag, but on a deeper sale, you’ll easily have a good time playing through the showcase mode, building your characters through My Rise, and possibly settling down to enjoy My Universe like a hardcore fan.

The roster of male and female wrestlers is a treasure trove from Hall of Famers to alternate versions. Plus exploring what the creative suite has to offer never gets old, even if it’s the countless downloadable community creations. The only thing I hope now is for 2K to perfect the formula, add regular updates to the character models themselves, and (possibly) make these games feel stable for everyone.

This has been my review of WWE 2K24; if you enjoyed reading this, then be sure to check out similar articles from the list below:

• Unicorn Overlord Review
• Last Epoch Review
• The Thaumaturge Review
• Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection Review
• Alone in the Dark Review