MLB The Show 23 finely introduces Storylines as you play some of The Negro Leagues’ greatest players.
Get your mitts, grab your bats, put your game face on, and let’s play ball with MLB. The Show 23 is the latest edition of baseball gaming. It’s even better when, for the third straight year, it is also available on Xbox Game Pass. Whether you are playing by yourself or multiplayer, you are guaranteed the most authentic baseball experience ever with brand-new features, mechanics, and more. Furthermore, the new MLB season has just arrived, so that’s another reason to be excited.
MLB The Show 23 has fantastically introduced a brand new game mode called Storylines, and this year, the inaugural mode is centered on the Negro Leagues. It consists of eight of the league’s greatest players – including Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Hank Thompson, and Andrew “Rube” Foster. You can play through their intriguing stories and moments and build stronger connections with them.
Not only is it masterly executed, but it is also educational. San Diego Studio has collaborated with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, guaranteeing in-depth facts about the playable characters’ lives and how they indiviBaseballmpacted baseball – expertly narrated by the museum’s president, Bob Kendrick. Furthermore, the rewards players will reap after completing progressively challenging objectives.
MLB The Show 23 is genuinely one of the best additions to a sports game ever. It may also have you shedding a tear as this mode finely shows love to the black community by respecting its history—especially towards African American athletes. Not to mention the fitting songs players can vibe to.
If you are looking for an authentically increased baseball experience, then you’ve come to the right place because that is what you’re getting, and then there are some with more natural and human-like behaviors. Plus, the AI is sharper than ever, regardless of the difficulty you’re playing on. However, when it comes to the mechanics, there aren’t drastic differences to the predecessor – fortunately, the few additions that were made make up for it.
But let’s talk about the two biggest mechanism features that were introduced. Starting with the fielding – they’ve added new animations for you to rob foul balls more coherently. The new dynamic throw meter now brings the new button accuracy system. Here’s how it works – whenever it is time to throw the ball, you will see a curve-shaped bar on top of the fielder, and inside it are yellow, red, and green zones.
All three zones determine the accuracy of your throws. Red: Poor throw, yellow: a more accurate throw, and green: most accurate throw. It’s also worth noting that the caliber of the thrower matters – the better the thrower, the bigger the green zone.
The marker will move from left to right, and it’s your job to make sure the marker stops in the green zone to improve your chances of getting a runner out by pressing the X, Y, B, and A buttons you want it directed at.
Example: The X button represents the third base, so if you press that button, the player will throw the ball to that base because it’s located on the left side, just like the X button. An easier way to look at it is to think of the said buttons as all four bases: Home (A), first (B), second (Y), and third (X). Plus, MLB The Show 23’s HUD will always help you out on which base the buttons symbolize.
Beware – this feature does take a little getting used to at first, but once you’ve surpassed that stage, you’ll love it. However, if you’re still struggling with this new system, thankfully, you can head over to ‘options explorer’ in the ‘learn to play’ section, pick a stadium, press A to continue, select ‘throwing’ and along with button accuracy, you’ll be displayed with buttons or analog stick control options, and you can select whichever you feel more comfortable with.
Or, you can also choose auto-throwing so that MLB The Show 23 itself does the dirty work. The same goes for auto-fielding – select ‘fielding’ in the ‘options explorer’ menu. But, they aren’t completely reliable because 1: The game makes all fielding and throwing decisions, 2: Depending on the team’s skill level in the departments as mentioned above, your throwers will likely make mistakes, possibly resulting in conceding unnecessary runs, and 3: sometimes the AI might decide not to throw out a runner at all. So, if you still want to go with the auto methods, it’s best to pick a team with great fielders.
Franchise mode still focuses on players being able to create their own legacies as the best team in the league and claiming World Series victory. Of course, there are some new changes – however, one or few are significant, while the rest are necessarily what you’d think otherwise, but still do enough to make you happy, and an increased emphasis on realism has been placed.
More balance to the MLB schedules where you are now playing every team this year – as well as player trade and advanced metrics- have all been tweaked. Plus, some adjustments to the rosters and schedules with a new post-season format, including more accurate player rankings, drafts taking place in All-star breaks, and more that mimics the actual Baseball world.
Arguably, the best feature of Franchise mode is that the drafting process has now become more riveting with the game-changing prospect generation logic where you are now encouraged to perform actual scouting rather than just skipping them – which is probably what most players do, but where’s the rationale in that? The idea is to recruit some great potentials properly, and this change makes it much more possible – excellent job, San Diego Studio.
High school seniors, Junior College players, College Juniors and Seniors and College players, plus many more this year for you to scout. This is a great tool for utilizing your thinking, attention span, and how you analyze players. This can also be a useful method for those who are seeking a career in the scouting field in professional sports. Moreover, the draft lottery is now a thing in the series. It’s fair to say that the additions and changes are vitally bringing franchise mode back to life.
Speaking of legacies, you can also make your own in Road to the Show – which is the career mode, where you take your custom rookie and grind your way up to the top. Start from the minor leagues, then get recruited by teams from the upper hierarchy and become one of the greatest in the position you select and obviously in the MLB.
Without question, this mode in MLB The Show 23 is the best it has ever been and is also not shy of additions – not only does this year have a much larger customization value due to the improved ballplayer hub for you to appreciate, but you can now use the integrated face scan onto your player.
It’s like you are truly controlling and guiding yourself to becoming a Baseball icon. On top of that, new exciting cutscenes, enjoyable match days, collecting rewards as you progress, additional ways to improve your player’s ratings such as on-field training, and plenty more – furnishing the ultimate Road to the Show experience.
March to October is quite similar to Franchise mode – the difference is that from March to October, after selecting your favorite team, you’ll relive the most memorable events in the chosen team’s history. The changes in this mode are more or less conjoined with the franchise mode, which makes a lot of sense because both modes share many similar properties.
Ranked season, conquest, battle Royale, events, and many more game modes – open cards and build your dream team, share it, or battle against other players around the world. Diamond Dynasty lovers will love this because many changes were made. Ranked co-op is now in the series.
This year, MLB The Show 23 is now split into sets and seasons. Each season lasts a maximum of eight weeks, and you have the option of choosing a wildcard player in every one. Also, the new mini-season 2.0, which includes theme seasons, custom away stadiums, and more, makes Diamond Dynasty more immersive.
Great news – Team Affinity has returned to the series, and players will be able to collect up to 30 cards for every Team Affinity release. This is arguably one of the best news because, in the feature that replaced it (Featured programs), you weren’t able to get all 30 cards; now that team affinity is back, you can do so.
Other minor changes have been made, such as being able to team up with your friends online through an online co-op. It is rather strange that this wasn’t in the series before, but it’s better late than never.
The same goes for the new jumbotron presentations that bring more life to the stadiums and stadium creator prop updates and exteriors on current Gen consoles. These allow you to make your idealistic stadiums, 180+ legends from all baseball eras, and much more, thus providing the most content you’ve ever seen in the series.
There are seemingly improved visuals, displaying more breathtaking and stunning designs of the players, attires, bats, stadiums, fields, and more. More in-depth and potent commentary from Chris Singleton and Jon “Boog” Sciambi to all MLB The Show 23’s game modes – including Diamond Dynasty. Plus, there are, of course, the classical game modes for you to enjoy: Exhibition, Custom practice, Challenge of the week, and more.
MLB The Show 23 has claimed the title as the best edition in the series, and with the abundance of major and minor changes, improvements, and additions made, how could it not be? It has to be said that the new Storylines is a masterful addition to the series, and playing some of the Negro League’s most iconic figures is nothing short of brilliance.
Also, check the MLB The Show 22 review and the MLB The Show 24 review.
