Being a huge wrestling fan still elated from watching this year’s superb Royal Rumble event, I was excited to have been invited by 2K to visit their HQ in London and get my greasy mitts on the forthcoming WWE 2K25. I got to play a limited but very juicy selection of what is on offer in 2K25, and it has whet my appetite for the full release in just over a month from now.
To get things going I went with a bog standard one on one match. New for WWE 2K25 is the ability to select male or female participants and have intergender matches, which is a great nod to inclusivity and also asks some interesting questions such as who would win in a tear-up between Rhea Ripley and Dirty Dom. You can also pit your created characters against one another in this respect too, which is cool.
The first thing I picked up on was the sheer quality of the visuals. There are a plethora of new camera modes that you can switch on the fly, meaning all manner of possible angles of vision to get a really good look at these stunningly rendered Superstars, including the brand new third-person camera. The wrestlers sweat and even bleed reactively during bouts. Real attention to detail is at work, right down to the perfectly captured mannerisms and foibles of particular workers. Some of the selling animations have to be seen to be believed. For the non-believers, “selling” is the artistry concerned with how wrestlers react to damage or threatening situations. Seeing Roman Reigns hit the deck clutching his throat after a signature Solo Sikoa shot to the neck had me suspending my disbelief, simply stunning.
There are a few clunkers in terms of visual likenesses: Alundra Blaze 94 in particular doesn’t really look much like the legendary women’s champion. The crowd is still very hit and miss and there was a bit of flicker and inconsistent movement, a hell of a lot of repetition (does Carmelo Hayes really shift that much merch?), and at times during the wrestler entrances the crowd can be observed looking in the wrong direction. I am sure these creases will be ironed out. One other glaring mishap, for me, is the complete lack of humans from the Arabic diaspora in the Riyadh King and Queen of the Ring arena, which I did point out to some very friendly members of the team at the event.
Gameplay is fast, fluid and intuitive. I got to experiment with tag team matches, a stripped down 10-person Royal Rumble, a highly entertaining NXT Parking Lot Brawl, and a certain no-rope offering that you will have to wait until Saturday to hear about! All modes have a very distinct flavour and offered me variety and different ways to approach the action. And like all good wrestling games, part of the fun is experimenting with all your favourite Superstars, hearing their entrance music, and of course carrying our their signature and finishing moves!
The main draw in WWE right now is quite rightly the epic Bloodline story that has been woven into the fabric of the sport now for several years, anchored by the brilliance of Roman Reigns. It is, for me, arguably the greatest storyline in the history of pro wrestling and as such it is very apt that 2K25 uses it as the main attraction in the 2K Showcase: The Bloodline’s Dynasty mode.
I got to play three matches from this mode, described as my opportunity to “relive, change or create”; each of them framed by stunning prologue work from the GOAT wrestling orator of all time, the Wise Man Paul Heyman. First up was the chance to “relive” the brooding monster Nia Jax vs feathered Irishwoman Lyra Valkyria from last year’s King and Queen of the Ring. “Change” comes in the form of Reigns v Rollins from the 22 Rumble, as I got to put a hurting on “The Architect”. Lastly I got to create a dream match between two of the most legendary tag teams in history. Afa and Sika – Roman Reigns’s father and uncle – are one of the most influential duos of all time and the original Bloodline. Facing the Captain Lou Albano-managed Wild Samoans are the ECW originals The Dudley Boyz, and of course you know what that means…..D-Von…..GET THE TABLES!
I left really wanting to play more of this mode, not just for the nostalgia factor and smooth, diverse, and task-based gameplay (you are given conditions to reach which unlock cool stuff), but for the ludicrously good content from Paul Heyman tying everything together.
There are as I said a few kinks to work through before release, mainly that crowd stuff, but also some little things like the commentators at the desk ringside not being physically in synch with the commentary being spouted. And speaking of commentary, there was a fair bit of repetition sprinkled in, particularly in the NXT Brawl mode.
To be honest though, even if WWE 2K25 was released today, there is nothing deal breaking as the core gameplay is so solid. 99% of the wrestlers appear to be emulated brilliantly, right down to oddly specific bits of facial hair, perfectly captured tattoos, and those all important characteristic gestures and movements. And the range of modes looks rock solid (no pun intended). Did I mention the soundtrack is banging too? Diverse as you could wish for, one minute I was tapping a toe to Chase and Status ft.Stormzy, the next wiggling in my chair to the bratty Australian punk of Amyl and the Sniffers. Dope.
I wanna play some more WWE 2K25 is what I am saying. Roll on March, this is going to be the perfect pre-Wrestlemania treat.
WWE 2K25 is coming to PC and consoles on March 14th.
