Over the last few years, 2K and Visual Concepts have had an uphill battle trying to regain fan’s trust after WWE 2K20 almost killed the brand when it was released as a glitchy, broken mess that was nearly unplayable. They went back to the drawing board and scrapped planned for its 2021 entry altogether. Fortunately, the last couple of releases of the WWE 2K line have shown steady, if not consistent, improvement. But has WWE 2K24 improved enough to warrant your attention and money?
Old dog, new tricks
WWE 2K brand has shifted to become an annual release, like Madden. Some argue this model has hurt the brand by stifling creativity in the name of having to meet yearly deadlines. After playing both WWE 2K23 and the 2K24, I’d say there’s enough new stuff to justify its existence. Unlike NBA 2K24, another annual release that only makes the tiniest changes year over year, like updated rosters and jerseys, WWE 2K24, to my surprise, expands and iterates on almost everything — for better or worse.
WWE 2K22 didn’t provide instantly responsive control over a character’s actions. Odd, considering this is, ostensibly, a fighting game series. If you were, say, trying to kick your opponent out of the ring, there would be a long, interminable delay between the button press and the animation. Add in 2K22’s clunky animations, fights were a joyless slog. WWE 2K24’s combat finally feels well-tuned. During one of the earlier fights, with a combination of two buttons, I was able to jump on the ropes, do a back flip, and land with my knees onto the opponent’s stomach, all in one fluid motion, with no delay. If I’m making it seem like the bar for success is low, it’s because it is. But at least it’s fun now, which is more than I could say for past entries. Controls and animations have been streamlined to make things easier for not just newcomers but for seasoned players.
Momentum swings are represented as mini-games that can trigger mid-match that can turn the tide in an instant. At one point, as my opponent and I were winded, a prompt appeared. Two circles — one beside me, the other beside the opponent.
A wave of blue coursed through the circle. When it landed in the green, I had to hit a button to ensure my “chop” attack would land. We exchanged chops again and again, like two Ric Flairs Woo’ing each other into oblivion. Then, a smaller golden section appeared. When timed just right, landing in the golden area could knock out my opponent. These mini-games add a chaotic, spur-of-the-moment element the these fights that kept me on my toes. If you fail the mini-game, a huge chunk of your stamina goes away. It’s a good way to make sure you don’t get too comfortable even if the fight is going your way.
Another area that WWE 2K24 has expanded is the match types. If you recall, WWE 2K22 had the usual Table Match, where you had to put your opponent through a table. It also featured Ladder Matches which had a belt hanging above the ring and required a ladder to climb — while holding off several opponents. Those were great matches to have but the game didn’t go beyond them in terms of creativity. WWE 2K24 has taken that criticism to heart and expanded on what types of matches you’ll participate in. Ambulance and Casket matches are great examples of this growth. The goal is simple: shove your opponent in an Ambulance or a Casket to win the match.
WWE 2K24’s ability to keep things fresh in and out of the fight may give WWE 2K24 longer legs than its predecessors.
Follow a superstar…
Many of WWE 2K24’s carry-over modes have been overhauled. WWE Universe is among them, and it’s been developed to provide a richer and deeper experience. First, there are two modes. One is called Superstar mode. You’ll be using one wrestler and you get to live out their career the way you see fit. The other is the Classic Universe mode which is focused on the matches rather than the wrestler. So you can, for instance, pick a classic match from WWE history and play as the wrestlers who participated in that event.
The Classic Universe mode is great if you just want to get the ball rolling. You don’t have to create anything, or build anything. Simply enter the mode, and pick RAW or Smackdown. WWE 2K24 can be overwhelming, at times, with all the new wrestlers and mechanics. So the Classic Universe mode can ease you into the chaos of WWE in a way that’s comfortable for you.
In the Superstar Universe mode, you get to pick a single fighter and live out their career. This mode is a lot more user-friendly because you can choose almost everything that your wrestler does. There’s still some hold-handing – you won’t be able to choose who you fight, for example – but it’s more of a sandbox than the Classic mode. You get to pick your tag team, the persona of your wrestler, and how your wrestler behaves around others.
The Superstar mode is probably my favorite aspect of the Universe mode: It gives you a template, and it’s up to you how you fill it in. This can be done based on what type of wrestler you have, the rivalries, and your showmanship.
…Or become one
WWE 2K24’s career mode, called MyRISE, has also been overhauled. You now have the choice of playing two different storylines that may be tonally different from one another: Unleased (aka the women’s division) and Undisputed (men’s division).
For the Undisputed, it’s all about taking Roman Reigns’s vacated title belt. As you work your way up the ranks by proving yourself, you’ll find the story is fairly immersive for a wrestling game. Each character you meet, like Kevin Ownes, has a weight to them. When he talks trash to you about being desperate to fight anyone to get into RAW, the conversation feels authentic to the TV product.
Unleashed will have you making a name for yourself in the women’s division. The narrative is completely different. You have to work your way up from the indie scene to make it on either RAW or Smackdown. Both stories from a distance may look the same, but it’s how they unfold that makes both experiences unique.
Looking the part
Graphically, WWE 2K24 somewhat appears better than the last two games. The wrestler’s faces are clearer and don’t look jarring. The real graphical advancements can been seen during fights. As you counter an attack, you can see the fear in your opponent’s face. That fear can be used as a mechanic, of sorts. Keep up the pressure and the opponent will lose coordination, stumble over themselves, and become sloppier overall. These small moments might not seem like much in the text, but when they are compounded with the crowd’s reaction mid-match, it creates moments when I really felt like I was watching a WWE live event of my own creation.
Sadly, my pre-release review copy did not run smoothly. I spent a big chunk of my time with the game looking up how to fix a variety of nagging bugs. Hopefully, 2K can fix these game-breaking issues before release because, for as much as the series has fallen flat on its face like a botched spot, WWE 2K24 is where the vision seems to be finally coming together — even if it’s not quite there yet. The Road to WrestleMania is a perfect example.
Road the WrestleMania
Road to WresleMania is a mode with the hardcore WWE fan in mind. You get to play all of the big and iconic WrestleMania matches throughout WWE history. Or, at least, that’s the promise. What we get instead is a watered-down, dull experience. You’ll be using 39 of the best wrestlers which should sound great, but in reality, the fights become stagnant quickly because it’s unnecessarily repetitive. A lot of the fights will be done over and over again and you can feel yourself not advancing. This is exactly what happened to me, after the first several fights that I did twice over, I felt like I was going nowhere.
It’s odd Visual Concepts dropped the ball on what is supposed to be the flagship feature of WWE 2K24. The game is supposed to celebrate 40 years of the sport, and WrestleMania is a great way to do it. It’s the execution that can leave players and fans alike with a bad taste.
The mode’s blandness is enough to make even the most devoted wrestling fan unsatisfied. To make matters worse, a lot of its iconic participants, like Hulk Hogan, felt the same as any other wreslter. The mode is supposed to show off the best fighters in the sport, these titans who feel otherworldly, and yet, every match feels like a typical match.
Post-match results
WWE 2K24 is a surprising step forward. As mentioned, unlike other sports games that tweak small things, WWE 2K24 goes back to the drawing board and leans into what works. This results in a game that feels and plays differently than any other game in this category. While WrestleMania might not scratch that itch, the other modes like Universe and MyRISE do a great job at keeping you engaged longer.
If you’re a newcomer to the franchise, WWE 2K24 may be a good jumping-off point.
To get the most out of WWE 2K24, you’ll need to unlock a lot of things. VC can help you with that, but is somewhat challenging. By following our guide, you could potentially increase your VC output.
