When IreviewedWWE 2K24last class , I exalt that the series had make the top of the mountain . The serial publication formally completed its counter bow thanks to wet wrestling , tons of neat mode , and an tremendous roster of superstars . It was a major accomplishment for 2 K Games , but one that left the series facing an existential question : Where do you go next once you ’ve reached the top ?
I ’m begin to get a feeling for that solvent after bet a few hours ofWWE 2K25.In many ways , this year ’s simulator looks to maintain the status quo by lightly pick off be modes like MyGM while adding subtle tweaks to its core fighting foundation . There ’s much more to it than meet the eye though , from its raw open - world mode to the institution of intergender wrestle . While I did n’t get to try every young feature , the bit I did get hands - on with felt improved enough to keep this year ’s edition from feeling stale .
There are a few changes that may rock the sauceboat with longsighted - prison term fans , though , giving the revitalize series its first true mental testing since its babyface payoff to cast began in 2022 . acquire a title is just one challenge ; defending it successfully is another .
The details add up
My demonstration seance let me toy around with a few different mode and peer type . I could play three of this class ’s Showcase matches , try a wing do , and even assume a Royal Rumble compeer ahead of the real matter afterwards that day ( for the track record , Rhea Ripley won my match after throwing out Bubba Ray Dudley ) . Before diving into any of that , I started with a traditional one on one match between Jacob Fatu and Nia Jax .
Okay , so maybe traditional is n’t the right word there . WWE 2K25introduces intergender friction match , a progressive move that even the real WWE has yet to fully embrace . The only caveat is that those match wo n’t have blood , though women ’s matches do . While I ’m certain there will be some handwringing over the move , it ’s a fantastic decision . It make more dynamic match-up between matman of dissimilar size and opens the door for more “ dream matches , ” which is the entire appeal of the simulation . And as a man who loves a good hoss engagement , Fatu vs. Jax is the Bloodline peer I did n’t even realise I wanted until burn down it up .
The fundamentals of wrestling will be conversant to old fan as2K25has the same mastery , pin scheme , and split - second reversal prompt . There are a few big changes peppered in , though . For one , players can now engage in range wrestling too soon on in a compeer . The minigame has two players moving a joystick to blame a play and then regain the correct stick position and holding it there long enough to gain an vantage . If I ’m being honest , I never really get the hang of it . It ’s a massive UI - push minigame that like last year ’s trading blows feature , but less cinematically solid .
Similarly cunning is a unexampled submission minigame . Rather than merely button flirt to break a hold , both players now rotate colored bars around a circle . The player who ’s stuck in a hold basically needs to keep their bar away from the other instrumentalist to break out . I come to get the bent of it eventually , but it ’s certainly not as graceful as the stick - click pinfall breaks I ’ve come to make love .
WWE 2K25 ’s more successful change are its subtler unity that make conflict flow more fluidly . Possum attacks can now be run from various positions , like when a player is in the corner or against the Mexican valium . Pinfall turnaround happen more naturally in battles against computer - ensure players thanks to AI tweaking . Paybacks cost a bit less , which means that instrumentalist can now chain a mist spray and down bobble together . Even tatter team match have seen a major improvement thanks to a change that break computer players from separate up every pin , even ones that their teammates are clearly going to kick back out of without their help . All of that make the core group battle organisation palpate more dynamic without adding optic racket on screen .
The more niceness like this are added , the more unique each match feels . For instance,2K25adds block off diving to the mixture . When the right conditions are meet , a wrestler will plunge out of the ring at their opponent in a brusque cinematic cutscene . I only managed to activate it in one match , make it feel like a special mo rather than a thing that happens every time . In that way,2K25really understands something fundamental about wrestling : It ’s more play the more irregular it is . If a suicide honkytonk happens in every single match , it recede its edge finally . Every friction match I play during my session had its own pace and personality . That ’s exactly what you need from a safe hand-to-hand struggle simulator .
Experimenting with old modes
While I did n’t get manus - on with most of the series ’ tentpole mode , I judge a nice suite of content . I had a unspoiled time play around with expanded wing brawls , which let players campaign out into a parking lot and plunge off of car hoods . I had a ripe time smacking Jimmy Uso with a traffic cone and swan dive off of industrial anatomical structure with the agile Kelani Jordan . I put on a little dream tag compeer as Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair took on the Dudleys in an instant classic where the few pinfall detachment led to some more surprising dramatic event . There were no bounteous surprise in any of those match types , but they play as well as ever .
One thing that did catch my optic during these tests is the overall presentation . The 2 K series is a uncanny one because it ’s at the mercifulness of the wrestling packaging it ’s emulating.2K22suffered because of the tumultuous real - world play around its release , leading to a frail roster due to mass layoffs in the company at the clip . By contrast , WWE is in a bit of a boom right now . The existent product ’s production is at a eyeshade with sleeker set , more cinematic entryway , and an increasingly premium smell . That reflects into2K25as a skillful side effect . Jacob Fatu ’s threatening entrance , for instance , is just as hair’s-breadth - rearing in biz . While there ’s still a mismatch in quality between wrestlers ( NXT ’s Sol Ruca does n’t get the same attention to detail as , say , Roman Reigns ) , the biggest hotshot really add up to life this year .
What I ’m a little less certain of is this yr ’s Showcase mode , which might stir up some mixed feel among fan . For the preceding few years , 2 K has create interactive docudrama that seamlessly thread substantial match footage into matches . That formulareached a originative peak last yearwith an splendid walk of life through Wrestlemania history . This twelvemonth ’s style is interchangeable on paper , trace the history of the Anoa’i Family ( The Bloodline ) through Hellenic couple narrated by Paul Heyman , but they ’re much loose about maintaining historical accuracy .
The big variety is that 2 K is ditch its slingshot applied science solely , meaning that plot footage no prospicient transitions over to clip from the real match . A developer I spoke to at the crush consequence explained that the decision was one driven by fan requests . They simply want to play these matches , not do move as a way of triggering cutscenes . I can understand that mentality , but this year ’s Showcase does feel a fleck less unequalled for it . In one match , I recreated Nia Jax ’s Queen of the Ring triumph against Lyra Valkyria . After fill in my first objective , a recollective in - game cutscene played out that mimic a episode from the real match . The wow factor just was n’t the same .
It partially feels like the squad made that decision because this Showcase also includes entirely fictional matches . In one , I controlled the Wild Samoans in a table mates against the Dudleys . Of naturally , there ’s no footage of that invented match that could be spliced in . A third match film me back to papistic Reigns and Seth Rollins ’ 2022 clash , but in a “ what if ” variant of it that played out otherwise . It feels like the team is a mo torn between treating Showcases as historical documents and playful fable . One or the other would work just fine , but I ’m not entirely sure how I ’ll feel about mixing both approach just yet .
I get the sentience that this will lift up being a nitpick in the grand scheme of things . While I played2K25for a few minute , I barely saw the entirety of the package . There ’s still MyGM , Factions , MyRise , Universe , a best - in - class creative retinue , new match types , and the mystical Island mode to see . So long as even two of those aspects are swell , I eff I ’ll get my money ’s worth . There ’s blank space to try out with each case-by-case piece when the safety cyberspace is so wide .
And so , WWE 2K25still looks healthy out front of its next title defense . The core grappling is great , the AI is beat good , bug still seem to be under control condition , Jacob Fatu looks ridiculously unspoiled , and intergender match makea familiar rosterfeel trade name new . WWE 2K24is a bad act to follow , but an abiding champion never gives up .
WWE 2K25launches on March 7 for PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , and microcomputer for those who pre - order one of its especial editions . Those who purchase the Standard Edition will have to wait an extra week , as that version releases on March 14 .
