WWE 2K23 is fully loaded with unmissable action and content, including the debut of the highly requested WarGames.
WWE 2K23 is different because it pays respects to one of WWE’s most iconic superstars, John Cena – as he celebrates two decades in the industry. What better way to honour his legacy than crowning him this year’s cover star to all three editions dedicated to the legend? Plus, there are only a couple of weeks away until WrestleMania 39, so that’s another reason to be amped for the latest instalment.
You’d think that, after WWE 2K22 having a huge roster, they wouldn’t be able to top it in WWE 2K23. Well, they did, and the new list is much heavier, with more expected to come in future DLCs. Loaded with an inevitable mixture of current Raw, Smackdown, NXT, legendary superstars, and celebrities. Yes, that includes YouTube sensation and now professional wrestler Logan Paul and renowned Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny – who is also known for his time in the WWE and is available on all WWE 2K23 editions. Plus, many newcomers, such as Carmelo Hayes, Wes Lee, Cora Jade, and Silo Sikoa.
For any Cody Rhodes fans, you will be pleased to know that, after his six-year absence – the American nightmare has returned as a playable character. Also making returns are the likes of both Hall of Famers Lita and Olympic Gold medalist Kurt Angle. Furthermore, including many versions of certain wrestlers, entrances, and arenas from previous eras and generations, such as the Ruthless Aggression Era pack to quench your nostalgic thirst – containing Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, The prototype (John Cena) and Leviathan (Batista) from the beginning stages of their wrestling careers.
As always, players get to enjoy the abundantly versatile match types. 1-on-1, Tag Team, Fatal 4-way, Royal Rumble, the whole shebang. Then there’s WarGames. WWE 2K23 is proudly the first of the series to introduce the highly anticipated match type, permitting players to unleash unreal levels of havoc inside two conjoined rings and steel cages.
Players can choose 3v3 or 4v4 and select to battle in either PPVs: NXT WarGames or Survivor Series WarGames arenas. The match starts with one player from each side, whilst the rest are locked in separate cages with their teams. After a few minutes, a member of one team will enter, depending on who the advantaged team is. Then, alternate after three minutes and so on until no one else is left.
Pin falls, and submissions aren’t granted until all participants are inside. This gives the starters ample time to inflict damage on their opponents. They can also add weapons to the chaos. Fun fact: WarGames was invented by WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes in 1987.
Players will not only understand the true meaning of “Never Give Up”, but they’ll also experience it in the Showcase mode. This year, it takes them through an interactive documentary narrated by John Cena as they relive and rewrite his most memorable losses in the company’s history. Also presenting them the opportunity to take down the 16-time world champion. But wait, there’s more – in each of these matches, players are rewarded for completing objectives of successfully performing chains of actions to replicate the real-life sequence of events.
Similarly to last year, this instalment’s gameplay combines arcade and simulation. However, the latter is undoubtedly the best it has ever been by phenomenally balancing both styles. Ranging from superstars’ mind-blowing entrances to nerve-wracking mini-games to devastating finishers, WWE 2K23 excels in fundamentally improved mechanics, resulting in increasingly natural animations, the most authentic forms of wrestling, and human-like behaviours.
Refinements to the controls, strikes, combos, grappling, dodges, signatures, finishers, submissions, taunts, and much more utilise your WWE 2K experience and bring it more to life – instilling match classics, whether it’s against friends or the CPU. Plus, more than 100 new moves and animations to put a pep in your step. If you’re stuck on executing certain actions, there is no need to fret – WWE 2K23 provides clear and concise tutorials for newbies and experienced players to get acquainted with the new actions and commands you to perform them in order to progress.
Along with out-of-this-world, photorealistic models, ring attires, arenas, surroundings, objects, colours and other designs, anyone would struggle to differentiate between artificial and real life. You’ll also realise the markings on faces, such as blood and now bruises – indicating how much harm you or your opponents had caused.
And a fine yet short soundtrack list, produced by John Cena, containing great music by some of the most famous current artists worldwide. Plus, the most expanding and authentic colour commentary dialogues, including occasional banter by Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton. Opponents’ names are now being mentioned amidst entrances and during and after matches. A contest between Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin” Rollins is a great example of this. Also, in a great little detail, the fans sing along to Rollins’ theme music, followed by chanting it during in-ring action.
No question, you will notice additions, enhancements, and returns to mechanics. One considerable change is the new pin system that involves a new pin bar that allows players to kick out of pinfalls. To kick out, players have to flick up the right analogue stick when the white line meets with the red column for it to turn green before the referee makes a 3-count.
As the match progresses and depending on the state of your superstar, the bar decreases in size and moves more rapidly and unpredictably. In Layman’s terms, the weaker your wrestler is, the faster the red column and smaller the white line become. Or you could stand by the old-fashioned way of simply button-bashing the X button.
However, the new method offers refreshing, more tolerable, and dramatic sensations to your matches, giving you hope of kicking out, even when your superstar is in their worst physical condition – just like you’d see in actual WWE matches. Instead of the standard way that impractically demands players to exceed human capabilities to stand a chance. Furthermore, superstars such as Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch have their own unique kick-out animations.
Also, the new stamina system depicts a vital role in a superstar’s performance and durability. A blue circular ring aligned right next to your character and occasionally display how fatigued they are. It also encourages players to act accordingly to prevent slowing their character and allow the stamina to regenerate to be able to move better. You can turn this mechanic off, but all it does is slightly reduces the realistic effect of matches. It’s best to keep it on to maintain it.
The returning quick recovery feature – at certain times when superstars are down, can be executed by clicking the R1 button to swiftly get back on their feet. Fortunately, quick recoveries can be performed regardless of the health of their character. To be able to use the feature, players must have their blue momentum bar reach a certain point. Understand that it will consume a considerable chunk of the bar after doing so. Despite that, it’s an incredibly handy method of gaining an advantage over your opponents under any circumstances.
Weapons are iconic assets to WWE gaming. And surprisingly, WWE 2K23 is the first to enable players to taunt with them – and each weapon contains two unique taunt animations. Simply click the left or right on the D-pad after grabbing a weapon by clicking L1.
Revenge is sweet, and WWE 2K23 puts emphasis on that by allowing players to perform paybacks on their opponents. To be able to execute paybacks, players will have to press triangle and R2. To know when to use paybacks, the blue momentum bar in your superstar’s HUD has to surpass the white line.
What’s even sweeter is they can still use this function, even if they’re on the receiving end of a beatdown. Keep in mind that this year, two payback abilities can be chosen. Although you have both, only one will show on the HUD – albeit players can click down on the D-pad to switch between the two.
Only one mechanism flaw – the reversal system takes some getting used to due to additional animations for players to adapt to. Seeing as this year, the AI has sharpened, combats are more challenging, especially on the hardest difficulty – defeating opponents virtually requires you to master this system specifically. Fortunately, you can somewhat tackle this problem by expanding the reverse window in the settings to take the edge off a little.
MyFACTION makes a second appearance in the franchise. But this time, it’s a little different than 2K22. Players can still manage, collect and upgrade superstar and legend cards to create their dream faction. However, this year, players can take their factions and contend against other players around the world. As well as in weekly towers and faction wars. Without sounding cheesy, you are literally “holding all the cards” offline and now online.
MyGM represents the great levels of freedom players have on their brands. They are in full control of matches, budgets, arena locations and much more. Plus, they can look into free agency if they feel they need more firepower. Draft a combination of superstars and legends, and show who’s the top dog in the WWE by competing against other general managers – and whether they’re human or CPU, you are consistently getting a run for your money as your top priority is to furnish electrifying sports entertainment on a weekly basis.
Indeed, it has improved from last year due to the stretched match cards, seasons now being multiplied, extra match types, and more show options – to help boost ratings. Moreover, there are more GMs available for selection, including legendary Eric Bischoff, or if players prefer a custom-made GM. This might seem a lot to take in, and it is, but WWE 2K23 guarantees the most true-to-life experience of a WWE GM.
WWE 2K23’s MyRISE guides you through two separate and intriguing storylines. One is The Lock – just like Brock Lesnar was in the initial period of his WWE career, your male custom character is labelled the “next big thing” and is given the opportunity to prove whether he is the real deal or if it was all hype. The other is The Legacy – your female custom character’s Aunt is a six-time women’s champion, WWE Legend, and Hall of Famer, and you can decide whether to continue the family legacy or create her own path. Interestingly, both plots involve main stories – plus an abundance of side quests, objectives for players to complete and delightful unlockables.
When you compare WWE 2K23’s Universe mode to last year, there isn’t much of a difference. Players are still able to choose between superstar mode and sandbox and more or less are in charge of Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and pay-per-views. However, minor changes include players can now add actions within rivalries, with three action categories of ambush, attack or reversal. Double title matches are a thing in this instalment, but for some reason, this feature is forcibly permitting players to only put one of two titles on the line. To be fair, online overall is having some issues – but nothing a few patches won’t fix.
Creation suite is not exactly shy of upgrades either. Introducing brand new models, attires, hairstyles, and many more to choose from head to toe to form your ideal superstar. Additionally, can create their own GMs, championships, arenas, and entrances and edit move sets with sliders. Speaking of arenas – players can now share them with the online community. The mode is filled with endless possibilities and is probably the most flexible customisation in the series.
WWE 2K23 is, without a doubt, stronger than last year, the best instalment in the series, and automatically makes it into one of the greatest WWE games of all time. Almost every aspect has improved and produced the most authentic WWE experience ever. And because of the time frame, it gets you wondering how they’ve managed to implement this many additions and generally delivering a much superior successor. As well as giving John Cena the homage he rightfully deserves.
