Few sports feel more primed for the whole “being a video game” thing than professional wrestling, but it’s also kind of a weird pairing when you stop to think about it: While undoubtedly a feat of athleticism, the WWE is more akin to an elaborately choreographed fight sequence in a movie than it is an actual competition, whereas the goal of the games based on it is to fight to win. But inherent contradictions aside, I can confidently say — thanks to its much-improved Showcase and MyRise modes, several smart additions like intergender matches, “they’re always good” modes like WWE Universe and MyGM, and generally great game feel — that WWE 2K25 is pretty grand. There is a new guy on the undercard called The Island, and he sucks, which kinda drags the whole thing down a little — but not enough to get me to stop watching.
Even though I’ve been playing wrestling games since the N64 days, my first stop in an annualized series like this is usually the tutorial because, unless things have gone very wrong, something is always a little different (this year, for instance, sees the long-requested return of Chain Wrestling). WWE games have had a good introduction for a while now, especially compared to other sports game franchises. (Hi, Madden! Your skills trainer is great, but it needs to be about three times its current size!). WWE 2K25 has an incredibly detailed tutorial that will walk you through everything you need to be a champ in the ring, with in-depth explanations of what moves do and how to execute them. The Performance Center is a great teaching tool whether you need a quick refresher or you’re learning to do an Irish Whip for the first time. This may seem like an odd thing to spill ink over, but every version of a game is someone’s first – or maybe their first in a while – and I’m glad developer Visual Concepts seems to remember those people.
Once I’d refreshed my memory, I spent a while just looking around. WWE 2K25’s got an absolutely stacked roster, whether you’re here for classics like Bret “Hit Man” Hart, wrestlers-turned-movie-stars like Dave Bautista and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, megastars like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, or weirdos like Doink the Clown. I also appreciate that there are several versions of the same dudes from across their history in the WWE. Why yes, WWE 2K25, I do need a handful of Triple Hs, each with their own different stats, thank you! Did you know that, compared to the modern version of The Rock, the 1997 version is kind of a bum? Me neither, but that’s what the stats say! Remember what Rhea Ripley’s visual style was in 2020? Or 2017? When was the last time you thought about “Ravishing” Rick Rude? This granularity is great, and what’s better is you can edit just about every aspect of these wrestlers, from how the crowd reacts to them to tweaking individual stats and changing out moves if you don’t like Visual Concepts’ take on them. The ability to tweak individual wrestlers is not new, but as this roster gets bigger, it’s good to be reminded of how impressive all of it is.
That goes for the in-ring action, too. WWE 2K25 doesn’t deviate much from WWE 2K24, which is one of those “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” deals, but it does include the welcome return of Chain Wrestling. This is a minigame that mostly takes place early in the match, where you advance through (or fight to get out of) a series of increasingly impressive holds and maneuvers before landing a signature move or finisher to wrap things up. The system can be confusing initially as you have to move the analog stick around a circle to find a sweet spot before your opponent does, but once you learn it, it’s a neat addition that replicates some very cool, complex moments in pro wrestling. If anything, the only bummer here is that it’s generally relegated to the beginning of a match and extremely situational at any other time.
I’ve also really enjoyed the new match types. Intergender matches aren’t functionally different than any other kind of match beyond “you may have a dude and a lady in the ring at the same time,” but it’s cool that you can do that now – and I, for one, enjoyed having Rhea Ripley fight Kevin Nash. I can say similar things for the Underground matches, which are more like a traditional fighting game (there are no ropes on the ring, and you win by either KOing someone or depleting all their health), and the more chaotic Bloodline Rules bouts. These additions are fun in and of themselves, and match/mode variety can make or break a game like this, so more is good.
Speaking of good, let’s talk about this year’s Showcase mode, which follows the Bloodline and the Anoa’i, Fatu, and Maivia families. Paul “The Wiseman” Heyman hosts the thing this year, and he’s clearly having a very good time chewing the scenery and providing the backstory that explains who the players are and why these matches are significant. There’s a lot of archival footage here, as in years past, though the problem of awkwardly blurring out some folks’ faces (maybe due to rights issues?) persists.
Regardless, Showcase feels better than last year’s version, partially because we’ve got full ring entrances and the mid-match commentary is really excellent for every fight. A fun twist this time around is that you’re sometimes asked to change the outcomes of matches that members of these families lost in the real WWE storyline or create new “what if?” matches entirely. There are also no longer any cuts to match footage that interrupt your gameplay – big moments are instead recreated in-game, which means they play out more organically, even if you’re not following the checklist (though there’s something to be said for showing what happened through archival footage). That said, it’s a net positive overall, and I had a blast doing things like beating the ever-loving snot out of Hulk Hogan with Yokozuna or pitting “High Chief” Peter Maivia against George “The Animal” Steele in a steel cage match.
The optional in-match objectives, especially timed ones, can be irritating. Yeah, I get that in the real match, X wrestler might’ve done Y thing so many times in Z seconds, but recreating that in-game means hoping that the computer doesn’t pull a reversal or we don’t get caught in the “you hit me and then I hit you and then you hit me until one of us screws up” mini-game. At that point, you’re better off restarting the match. It’s still worth doing these optional objectives because of the rewards like new wrestlers and arenas, but man, some matches are easier than others in ways you’ll feel.
The other problem with this year’s Showcase is how much of it boils down to “the Bloodline is great because they win all the time, but if they didn’t win, we have to correct that injustice because of how great they are.” That’s fine, but it’s thematically inconsistent in a weird way. Great wrestlers lose all the time and that doesn’t make them less great. I don’t know what the answer to this is since nobody likes playing a game where you’re forced to lose, but I think I would have rather had more real matches with real outcomes.
The other standout mode is MyRise, where your customized character (WWE 2K25 still has one of the best character creators in the world) battles an infiltration by NXT Superstars who are trying to take over the WWE and be the last brand standing. In my run, my “bold and brash” technical wrestler teamed up with his “comedic and fun” ex-girlfriend to fight back against the invasion. The voice acting is… questionable in MyRise, but the scenarios are goofy fun that alternate between “this is a business that combines soap operas and combat sports and we’re going to approach it like that” and “this is serious business” with alarming frequency. But it’s fun to make decisions that change the flow of what happens and it’s cool that you can re-import your characters to start again fresh and make different choices.
The MyGM and Universe modes also return, and they’re largely unchanged from last year, but there’s a couple of nice additions: MyGM is online now, which is great for those who wanna compete against their friends to book the best shows, and Universe finally gets the long-awaited return of promos. I prefer to run with a single wrestler (I have already made Randy Orton the WWE Undisputed Champion, because RKOing people even more fun when you have a big belt that says “look at me, I’m great”), so Universe is more my bag, but if you’re looking to book matches across the WWE, you can’t really go wrong with either option.
MyFaction is also back, and… look, man, it’s a card game, okay? You’ve seen this a million times before. You collect wrestlers and do challenges or take your faction online and compete against other players so you can get new cards and watch the shiny pack-opening animations designed to make your brain produce dopamine and…. Jesus Christ, I’m tired just describing it, please end my misery. It’s Ultimate Team but wrestling, and it’s designed to separate you from your hard-earned cash. The challenges can be fun, and I imagine if you’re really into this kind of thing you’ll enjoy WWE 2K25’s version of it, but I’m not, and the more I play modes like these, the dirtier I feel.
But wait, it gets worse! When I say that MyFaction makes me feel sparkling clean compared to when I played The Island… yeah, that should tell you something. There’s a cool idea here somewhere — WWE God-King Roman Reigns invites you to come to an island and compete for a WWE contract by earning his favor, because apparently That’s a Thing That Happens — but the actual execution made me want to walk straight into the sea. This is really, really bad, folks. Like NBA 2K25’s The City, The Island is a big, open PvPvE space, but it’s mostly quiet, empty, and boring, filled with single-player challenges that are book-ended by static JPGs and text-boxes that get old fast. Meanwhile, the multiplayer in this mode exists to do one thing: Part people from their money, particularly whales who will spend inordinate amounts to make their customized wrestlers beasts off the bat. If you don’t do that, well… you’re gonna have a bad time. I didn’t want to spend long here, as it feels like it exists solely for 2K’s shareholders. It also makes me worry WWE 2K as a series might incorporate more of this in the future at the expense of everything else that makes these games great (hi, Ultimate Team!) as publishers continue to nakedly chase the almighty dollar.
But even The Island, as terrible and money-grubbing as it is, wasn’t enough to ruin my fun with WWE 2K25 because everything else about it is great. Visual Concepts deserves their flowers for proving that an annual sports (sports entertainment?) game can feel excellent to play and look good year over year. The WWE series has always been a looker, but this iteration has managed to make things noticeably prettier than ever. Bruises, blood, and sweat are more realistic, and you can tell how long a match has been going, who is winning, and where the guys in the ring are taking the most punishment at a glance. It’s really impressive.
