The current tagline for F1 seems to be “Evolution, not revolution.” This a great way to explain the latest edition of WWE’s yearly game release from 2K too. WWE 2K23 might not be adding a whole guest/pool house onto the foundations of 2K22 but maybe a small conservatory and some paint to freshen up the walls. The first of the Big papa H era, there is only one major example of someone that technically is in the game and was very clearly pulled out around December (and returned in January). This possibly makes 2K23 the most concurrent state of the business in the games.

In fact, 2K23 is also taking some potshots that I think some would otherwise find brazen if Terra Ryzing wasn’t terraforming Titan Towers. This year’s showcase mode is focused around some anime fan called The Prototype, who would command and conquer WWE for the better part of 20 years. Though you are facing off with Vin Diesel’s very white brother instead of playing as the cover star this time. Jokes aside, it is interesting to stand across from John instead of playing as him while he narrates the career he’s had with select matches. Of course, that summer in Chicago isn’t a highlight.

Showcase mode isn’t the only change this year though. MyRise includes two separate stories and GM mode is supposed to be enhanced over its reintroduction last year. I’ve lamented many times before that a GM mode with some level of complexity is my main request. This year includes more match types and a greater level of diversity in terms of the championships you can book, though I think it is still trying to play wizard after the curtain has been pulled back. You’d choke on the smoke it tries to blow in your face.

I get it for some of the MyRise stories, as you see a depth of roster that is greater than reality. The Legacy story focuses on being the niece of a several-time Women’s World Champion that made her name in 2002. Where MyRise is a touch revisionist and fantasy-ladened, the roleplay component comes into effect and sometimes frustrates when forcing a finish on you. I understand the point that for a story to be told you need to lose just as you win, but in both The Lock and The Legacy it is done with all sincerity.

The curtain is somewhat pulled back by both MyRise and MyGM as you book matches and play some out-of-the-box rivalries. One notable point was in The Legacy story of MyRise as you are asked via social media to look after Lacy Evans’ kids. Thankfully you don’t have to do anything with advertising processed food. That and “The Lock’s” mentor Tavish sounds like Dick Van Dyke and a Prince of Thieves that Kevin Costner definitely wasn’t. This is far more grounded than bionic arms and Bray Wyatt in a gas mask with the zombie head of creative.

In fact, this year’s MyRise stories are actually quite fun and are a marked improvement upon whatever the glue-sniffing nonsense was before. When you are fired and sent to the indies, it seems like it is just there to get in the way at first, but this is what I mean by the roleplay element. The Lock’s story is about being the next big thing, winning the Intercontinental Championship, getting a bit cocky and losing, and getting fired, making the Drew and Cody comeback. All while feuding with management, which in this case is Shawn Micheals.

Taking that story I made the typical indie star, based on Matt and Nick from the other company. He looked like a flippy throwback, and with that, the classic Intercontinental belt appeared on Danny Prince’s tights like Rick Rude would do to his opponents. Though on the work-rate return to the indies and after being fired by Shawn, I changed his entire persona to be an “I’m a better Shawn Micheals” type, even adoring a white coat with “The True” followed by Micheals’ Heartbreaker icon. Playing into these things for the story makes it work a thousand times better than it would otherwise, and it is a good slow burn.

The Legacy is difficult to play into, as you’re forced into a couple of losses early on and have to somehow play off of being the niece of someone completely fictitious. The authority figure this time is active backstage producer, Molly Holly, who happens to be your aunt’s tag team partner turned long-time rival. I find it interesting that there aren’t a couple of Justines to step in, as having a White aunt while playing as a Black woman named Urena Nguyễn can be a slight disconnect. I’d made someone I like, made their story, and the trouble with family stories is this impasse we come to.

That’s a whole lot about some story modes, but how about the gameplay? Well, there isn’t much to write home about. It has been tightened up and there is a new pinning system which I opted out of, but we’re still on the same control scheme. It is a little smoother than before and is nicer to put on great matches. The overall experience works great, though I think reversals are a difficulty spike and a half. For those who either dislike button mashing or have disabilities and can’t button mash, there is a pinning system with a bar that seesaws, and within that, there is a green bar that moves along that pressing the right stick up kicks out.

I’d argue the accessibility of 2K23 is similar to many other recent wrestling titles, with meters in the options to refine the AI’s abilities and some timings of prompts to be slower or faster. From the top of my head, it is difficult to say that there is much more to be done, especially from my own experience. A majority of the lines are voiced in the MyRise mode, with only small paragraphs for social media posts being unvoiced. There isn’t too much to complain about from a dyslexic’s standpoint, at least beyond a swappable font for those who might still have difficulty.

The performance on PC is something that I think is worth noting, as cutscenes, entrances, and anything that is almost pre-rendered tend to be around 30 frames per second. Yet through the many hours of play, from multi-man matches including loaded-up WarGames matches to singles matches with Urena’s very fantastic glittery bell-bottomed pants and lots of hair, the gameplay both in the ring and on the MyGM menus are 60 FPS. In fact, the hair is something of a gripe for me.

Multiple times I double-checked that every setting was as high as it would go, and it was. Running the in-game benchmark the average frame rate seemed to be 120 with momentary blips down to 5 if something complicated was triggered. Nonetheless, the create-a-superstar or close-ups in the MyRise cutscenes showcase just how flat and textureless the long hair happens to be. It is disappointing when everything else has a shine or reasonable texture to it that looks fine (or even great) in gameplay. Up close lines in pants have a few jaggies, nothing you’ll see in-ring.

Speaking of in-ring though this leads me to another annoyance, the camera. Placed on the hard-cam side but lower than TV production, which you might see if Dunn keeps the camera steady for a second, it feels almost claustrophobic. You can’t see the back of the front row, and sometimes you’ll hardly see the bottom rope. Being this close, with the Refs being programmed by those people who try to stand in front of news cameras during severe weather warnings, it can be difficult to stay focused on the action and the prompts above your wrestler’s head for reversals.

In multi-man matches, there isn’t so much of an issue as the camera pulls back and is often much higher. It is mostly an issue in one-on-one affairs such as the majority of your career mode, showcase mode, and otherwise. The tight angles and constant need to cut off half the ring feels unnatural from both a viewing and gameplay experience. Often when there is an objective box in the top left (in showcase mode and MyRise) it can cover the reversal prompt on the few occasions that I’m standing on that side of the screen.

Returning to create-a-superstar (and generally the creation suite) for a moment, it continues to be a tremendous plethora for the creatives with too much time on their hands among us. I’d bet by the end of April or even by WrestleMania most of the roster from “the other company” will be in the community creations, all highly detailed down to the spots on their skin. I, on the other hand, don’t do that and just create generic-looking people which was the case when I made “The Grafters,” a collection of northern construction workers that were misunderstood through their Geordie accents and are thus announced as “The Grapplers.”

This is why I love the creation suite, particularly in the 2K series with all its detail. I probably could have sat and deformed the faces from templates to make Timothy Spall and the rest of the cast from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, but my generic tough blokes of different types in jeans and very 80s blue-collar haircuts work fine for me. As long as I’m not adding to the pool of indie wrestlers that do lots of flips, I don’t think anyone cares how off-brand my cast of construction workers is.

Returning to the MyGM mode for a moment, this year’s edition of WWE 2K was supposed to add more complexity to the system. Like the update to last year’s release (though available at launch) you can add tag team championships to your rotation of matches, there is a total of 9 managerial options (including custom stars), a number of matches to add to the intricacy, new brands (and old ones), and most importantly, MyGM’s seasons are now unlimited. That’s not really my point, I like the additions but once again I think there is more to be done.

Let’s rewind the clock to 2006 or 07 with SmackDown Vs Raw 2007 and ‘08. Though it might be rose-tinted memories it felt like menus meant something in conveying information. You could build superstar stamina, there was a whole storyline writing element, and with countless different menus to look through, you can understand a lot more information. One example of the latter not being the case today is the post-show report. You get an earnings and viewership breakdown which isn’t available. Now between shows you get both some line graphs of the season thus far.

Stories/star ratings are entirely made up in your head and are defined by star power (popularity), level of rivalry, and types of match. Before you could build on legend returns, kidnappings, patriotism, or factions, and now? Now it is bland in a different way, a non-existent way. If you were strapped for cash to hire someone for longer or book a show, you could generate revenue or buzz by sending someone to a premiere that week or sending them to film See No Evil 6: I Support Russian Thugs and I Hate LGBTQ+ People. The film never really took off for some reason, but now you’re constrained to booking amazing shows and frugal spending.

Still, as a stripped-back version of what we once had, the MyGM mode offers something worth playing but nothing to really sink your teeth into and get a meaty taste of dinner. I enjoy what is there with extended match types and further championships to book, but I still believe that if I had the option between a deep system that isn’t very wide or a wide system that isn’t very deep, I’d choose deep. I still hold my hand up and say that we should be defining the quality of matches by the in-game match ratings matched against star power and otherwise, but that isn’t the case here.

I would say I could provide an opinion on the MyFaction gameplay, but I literally cannot. I went through all the live-service horse canary, opening the starter pack for digital cards I have no investment in, the countless packs available to those with the Deluxe Edition, and setting up my little mismatched factions of Liv, Bianca, Shotzi, and Dakota alongside Drew, Bad Bunny, The Prototype (Cena), and Jimmy Uso all managed by Paul “E. Dangerously” Heyman. After all of that and constructing a decent group, I couldn’t get into a match.

It is for the best really, I’ve made my opinion clear on live-service MyFaction-type modes in many other titles. I think it is gambling with a shiny paper-thin veneer. I don’t know or care that my Bianca Belair and Dakota Kai are Emerald rated, I like my silver Shotzi because I love the tiny tank. Why should it matter that my Jimmy Uso is a “Danger Zone” gold variant while Drew is normal gold and my Bad Bunny and Prototype are both Ruby? I don’t care, thankfully, but I know it is there to get a bit more money from someone with a more aggressive addictive personality.

As a collection of individual pieces, 2K23 is the best the series has been since its high with 2K16/17, putting itself up there with the best wrestling titles of the last two decades. It is not the most graphically advanced title at the highest graphical settings offered, but 2K23 looks reasonably fine. Refined gameplay makes the action more fluid and enjoyable than before, and the stories told in MyRise are the most enjoyable they’ve ever been. Especially for being free-er to talk about not sneezing around the boss or stars making their names in Japan, with a lack of reference to Brock’s trip.

Ultimately, WWE 2K23 is great fun. With the addition of WarGames to the roster of matches available to play, enjoyable story modes, and the showcase of the immortal Super Cena, there are countless hours to be put into this year’s iteration. I’m still disinterested in that main menu looking awful and would prefer the MyGM mode to be much deeper, but they do their jobs reasonably well. I think there are still some improvements to be made overall, but what is available is another foundation to build off of that was built on already stable foundations.

A PC review copy of WWE 2K23 Delux Edition was provided by 2K for the purposes of this review.

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WWE 2K23

$59.99+

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Smoother gameplay allowing for fluid action.
• MyRise modes that are fun from a story perspective.
• This will be settled in... War Games!
• An improved MyGM mode.

Cons

• MyGM could be quite a bit deeper.
• MyFaction and other online elements aren't reliable.
• Longer hair elements for CAS aren't great.