WWE 2k20 was considered an embarrassment for not only the AAA company that is 2k, but also the WWE itself. Riddled with bugs, glitches, poorWWE 2k20 was considered an embarrassment for not only the AAA company that is 2k, but also the WWE itself. Riddled with bugs, glitches, poor development, and a cheap version of a wrestling game, WWE 2k20 was possibly the absolute worst game to ever be developed in the modern age of video games. So bad, that 2k took 2 years to try to rework the wheel, so to speak. However, with WWE 2k22 coming to consoles and PC, fans of WWE gave 2k another shot at redemption. For the majority of fans of the game, they were kind in most of their reviews. Maybe, a little too kind. To be frank, WWE 2k22 is a reminder that reworking the wheel meant it was designed to work better. WWE 2k22 is not that reworked wheel, more like replacing a flat tire with a donut; in other words, it's better than a flat, but still worse than a brand new tire.
The gameplay is completely different, and by different I mean weird. The biggest issue with the gameplay itself is buttons don't register smoothly and accurately, which can be very frustrating. For example, for Xbox the Y button is the reverse button whenever an opponent attacks and the player's character attempts block it, but the majority of times you find yourself seeing the big yellow icon flash to indicate the player's character has in fact reversed or blocked the attack, only to have the opponent execute his or her move. Frustrating isn't the word for how this game plays. For example, while playing the Undertaker, of all people, and wrestling Brian Kendrick, I almost kicked out out of a pin; however, the game literally stopped my advances mid-kickout and wasn't able to kick out, despite I could have.
The different modes in WWE 2k22 are a hodge-podge of different ways to play the game. One of the modes is called Proving Grounds under the MyFaction mode. Proving Grounds is essentially WWE 2k22's version of MK 11's towers, in which a player chooses a number of wrestlers – in the form of Pokemon style playing cards - to be in your “faction”. Some of these cards have different slots that can update a selected wrestler from silver to gold to emerald to sapphire to ruby to amethyst and, if you're lucky, diamond. These particular updates make the selected wrestler “better”. Each of these updates comes with a price, so to speak, as the player must execute different tasks to build up a score so the wrestler in question could be updated. For example, a wrestler may have to execute light attacks 500 times, execute heavy attacks 250 times, and execute their finishing move 100 times before that wrestler is updated. The problem with this juncture is some of the moves don't register for that particular task, even during the match itself, which normally has a similar juncture in that a player must collect enough MyFaction points during the match before the player could move on to the next stage.
“Proving Grounds” is an example of how the game “cheats” the player by setting different challenges a player must execute in three different levels on a stage or level. The biggest issue here is the matches don't get harder, but they get ridiculously stupid. For every one on one match a player must wrestle in, there are weird match up's that one may find redundant, boring, and, again, stupid. How many super-duper-8 man tag-steel cage-ladder matches that can only end when one executes their finishing move first before climbing the ladder (an exaggeration, but it feels like it) and getting the ever so dull Money In the Bank briefcase. (What happened to putting the title belt up for the ladder match?) Even more frustrating is a player could execute the tasks assigned in order to garner enough MyFaction points to move on to the next stage, but they don't register and one finds that they have been grinding for nothing, because the game didn't register the points one has to garner in order to accomplish the task when winning the match.
A giant (no pun intended) problem that has plagued WWE wrestling games for a long time is the attention to detail in their wrestlers. For starters, Rey Mysterio, Jr, a 5 foot 6 cruiserweight that has stamped a legacy dating all the way back to 1989, and also the feature wrestler on the cover of the game, can still miraculously unleash an uncanny amount of power and strength by suplexing Andre the Giant, who stands 7 foot 4 and weighing at over 500 pounds. 2K needs to take a physics class, or have common sense.
The attention to detail in WWE 2k22 is also riddled with issues that it's clear they didn't pay attention to the details of any wrestler they put in the game. Hulk Hogan, who is one of the most recognizable legends in pro-wrestling history, apparently walks over the top rope when he enters and exits the ring, which he has never done in his illustrious career in the WWE and WCW.… Expand
