As I was playingWWE 2K24for the first time, trying desperately to hurl Rhea Ripley into the back of an ambulance to secure victory in a new match type, I heard a developer behind me tell an influencer that “we made this game in eight months”. This was after talking about the addition of new content, updated rosters, and how annual installments like this wrestling sim are iterative by design, but are constantly fighting back against the constraints of having to deliver what is destined to become a million-selling product each and every year. That cannot be easy.
WWEtook a year off after the disastrous reception to 2K20, which sawYukeskicked from the series after decades of work, as Visual Concepts returned to the drawing board and took it all in-house for the very first time. It took an overcomplicated formula and simplified it right down to its bare essentials. Needlessly monotonous grapple holds and gauges were thrown out for a sequence of easy to memorise and distinctive combos for each superstar, bringing back a pick-up-and-play feeling the series had lacked since thePS2era. It was WWF: No Mercy in modern clothing, mixing the top-of-the-line visuals, sprawling roster, and plentiful modes as it finally realised that wrestling games needn’t be complicated, just fun, silly, and never afraid to embrace what makes this theatrical pastime so damn irresistible.
Full disclosure - 2K and WWE invited us out to go hands-on with 2K24 ahead of the Royal Rumble, where we also spoke to a handful of developers and superstars.
Showcase Mode Of The Immortals
After spending a couple of years building this new foundation, WWE 2K is back to its regular cadence of annual installments which, for the most part, only tend to add a selection of new modes and brand-new Showcase matches, the latter of which feature commentary from the wrestlers involved and lavishly produced documentary sections. This time around, the focus is on ‘40 Years of WrestleMania’ as you play through scripted versions of beloved matches to recreate them down to the minutest of details. I jumped into the recent bout between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39, which saw the fabled American Nightmare fail to obtain the title despite vowing tofinish his story.Given he’s just emerged victorious at this year’s Rumble, however, it’s only a matter of time until he does.
Iconic bouts featuring the likes of Andre The Giant and Ultimate Warrior will be featured in all their period accurate glory as you descend upon classic arenas with objectives focused on the recreation of exact moments and moves that require you to perform specific commands with little room for experimentation. While it’s amazing to see these matches transition from game graphics to real life footage as you master certain instances, it’s still incredibly finicky. Moments that should be spectacular are undermined by clumsy AI opponents refusing to get in the right position or fighting back when all you want to do is pin them into a corner before performing the correct move to advance the scenario. you may win the match normally by beating the crap out of them and going for the pin, but in doing so you won’t earn any meaningful rewards or witness the excellent documentary packages that make Showcase worth doing.
While it would take the charm out of certain sections and lessen the eventual victory, I would welcome an autopilot option of sorts for Showcase, or at the very least an opportunity to skip troublesome stages without throwing away all your progress. 40 Years of WrestleMania may be filled with excellent matches, I’ll want to see all the way through as a fan, but once again it feels like WWE 2K24 wants to make it harder than it should be. A shame, because the act of wrestling has never felt this good before, and I want my mechanical prowess to match all the spectacular production values. Right now, though, it still needs a bit of work.
Backstage Brawls And Ambulance Matches
2K is slowly but surely reintroducing a number of match types that were around throughout the THQ era. Casket and special guest referee matches are back in vogue, although I didn’t get a chance to test those out for myself during the preview. I did, however, rain hell down on my opponents from atop an ambulance. These matches require you to throw another wrestler in the back of an ambulance before mashing buttons to keep the door closed and prevent them from escaping. After that, they’ll presumably go to the hospital. Given that you were going to give them a kicking either way though, surely throwing them into the back of an ambulance is more a favour than a punishment. Either way, that’s the aim of the game.
It’s not dissimilar to eliminating someone from a rumble match, since you’ll need to Irish Whip enemies into the ambulance before interacting with the door, however you must inflict major punishment or it’s a lost cause. With no DQ, ambulance matches quickly erupt into brutal fights involving metal bats, steel chairs, sledgehammers, and whatever else awaits under the ring. You’re also free to climb the ambulance and jump off it, dealing some critical damage or totalling yourself by pressing the wrong button. I did the latter several times.
Backstage Brawls do what they say on the tin, but are far more expansive than I expected. It takes you backstage where all manner of weapons, ladders, and precarious ledges are used as means to inflict hilarious levels of violence. There’s even an elevator, which I loved to yeet opponents into only to watch them ascend to the top, wait for me to follow them, and then I’d throw them back down only to do it all over again. On the ground sit a slew of cool interactive components wrestlers can be thrown into, including a lamp of sorts that, if used correctly, will have a wrestler sitting in it after a devastating fall. There are windows to break, giant shovels to use as weapons, and a hardcore view of wrestling that WWE has long left behind. There is still no way to make your opponents bleed, which is a shame, and makes these brawls a bit more slapstick than I’d like.
The scale is still impressive though, and it’s a treat to watch the camera pan back as several wrestlers do battle across the stage, interacting with most elements in a way that feels satisfyingly natural. This extends to many of the animations or quality of life improvements found across 2K24. It’s still clumsy, but this is as good as WWE 2K has ever looked or played, and that bar of quality is presented most in its new modes.
How About The Rest Of WWE 2K24?
Aside from its new matches, Showcase mode, and updated roster - can’t talk about that yet, sorry - WWE 2K24 is yet another decent albeit predictable annual installment for the licensed title. Its user interface is identical and chances are, after clearing all the new additions, players will jump into their routine of tearing through MyGM mode or collecting cards in MyFaction. MyRise is back with a neat spin on the usual career mode offerings too, and hopefully has some better stories to tell.
2K is back to annual entries, and thus needs to make smart, considered decisions on what to add and how to refine the overall package if it wants to avoid repeating mistakes of the past. A few new match types from old games and an identical showcase mode doesn’t feel like enough though, even if the content therein remains compelling. With any luck, we will continue to see 2K build on its WWE experience and not resort to complacency, or we’ll risk a descent into a mediocrity that I’d hate to see this series suffer through again.
Even if it falls short in a few ways, 2K24 understands that games of this ilk need to be fun and approachable. If it can nail that, I don’t mind a few rough edges.
