'WWE 2K22' Review

The full suite of modes offered in WWE 2K22 are many - Showcase centers around the very best moments of Rey Mysterio's career, MyGM makes its return, MyFACTION makes its debut, and MyRISE offers a new take on the series' legacy Career Mode. So first things first, let's have a chat about this year's Showcase.

I gotta keep it a stack with you all - this year's Showcase is kind of a letdown. I'm a huge wrestling historian like all of you reading this right now and I was looking forward to actively participating in Rey Rey's legendary career. Matches such as his Halloween Havoc '97 classic against Eddie Guerrero, his SummerSlam '09 banger against Dolph Ziggler, and his slept-on Royal Rumble 2010 bout against The Undertaker are all here and accounted for. Completing assigned tasks during each match is still a thing, but the inclusion of spliced-in footage from the actual matches and commentary from the Luchador himself makes the whole experience even better. However, the shocking omission of past WWE legends hampers this mode greatly. Rey has had incredible matches with the likes of Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, CM Punk, and countless others.

But since those three and a few other of Rey's biggest rivals aren't in the game, most of Rey's most memorable accomplishments are missing from Showcase. Not being able to play out Rey's WrestleMania 22 title win or even experience his underrated clash with CM Punk at Over The Limit 2010 is super deflating. John Morrison's in the game, yet his SmackDown classic against Rey in 2009 isn't even included! While I understand that this year's Showcase is all about Rey's victories, it still would have been nice to cover his other incredible matches that ended in losses. All in all, Rey's Showcase feels far too incomplete and will bug the hell out of all you other wrestling nerds out there.

So...how's MyGM? Welp, it sucks. It's severely lacking in comparison to the GM Mode's that existed within past SmackDown vs. Raw series entries. MyGM doesn't let you run your own custom brand, you can only book singles or tag team matches, only one main men & women's champion exists on your roster, and you can only book a minuscule three matches on your weekly shows. The presence of GM ability cards that aid you or trip up the competition is a cool concept, but it's trapped within a poor take on something I used to play for hours back in the day. What was supposed to be a grand return for such a highly requested mode turned out to be nothing more than a whimper.

Universe Mode is largely the same, which is fine. You can still customize your chosen brand any way you see fit and actively participate in each & every match. The new option that allows you to follow a single wrestler's journey is a welcome one - I quite enjoyed taking Bret "Hitman" Hart through a career resurgence on SmackDown that resulted in a WrestleMania title win. Universe Mode's usual bells and whistles have been kept intact and largely unchanged, yet I have o issue with that whatsoever.

So what's my final verdict for WWE 2K22? It definitely "hits different" as advertised. The roster (which has a ton of released talent, I might add!) is great, the graphics shine brighter than ever before, and the retooled control scheme & increased gameplay speed are all commendable features. MyRISE, Universe, the always expansive Creations suite, and MyFACTION certainly prove beneficial as well. Sadly, this year's Showcase ends up being let down by some key roster members that have gone missing this year. Plus MyGM ends up being a heartbreaking disappointment when you consider what all of us SmackDown vs. Raw fans got in the past. Even still, I gotta give all the kudos in the world to Visual Concepts for taking their time on this one. WWE 2K22 isn't exactly Hall of Fame worthy, but it's still worthy of being recognized as superstar material.