Developers 2K have upset their fair share of fans this year two of their biggest releases. The first is NBA 2K20 with its unending drive in pushing microtransaction, gambling mechanics, and its own share of bugs and glitches. Now, of course, it is WWE 2K20, a game where its original developers Yukes left to create their own unnamed wrestling game without the pressures of a yearly release schedule forced by the WWE 2K franchise.
For those that have played this year’s entry in the WWE 2K franchise will clearly see that the game was not ready for launch. There are missing game modes, issues with community creations, controller configuration problems, and so much more. However, it is a game that can be fixed with a lot of patches over time and the game does have some great features that are an improvement from last year.
10 Better: Some Entrances Look Better
A noticeable improvement for the WWE 2K20 over its predecessor is the trademark WWE entrances. The theatrical ring entrances have been an important addition to wrestling games since the PS1/N64 era.
Some of the WWE’s biggest stars as well as some of the new additions have some definite improvements over WWE 2K19 and superstars like Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Demon Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins, in particular, have accurate representations. A special mention should go to the addition of Hulk Hogan in WWE 2K20 who not only has a great entrance but one of the best ring celebrations too.
9 Worse: WWE 2K19 Has Fewer Bugs Than WWE 2K20
One of the benefits of playing the older WWE 2K games is that the majority of the game’s problems at launch have been patched out. Fans have come to expect problems at launch with most brand new games at launch and considering the fact the window is small for developers to meet yearly launch expectations the WWE games are no different.
In fairness to the developer's Visual Concepts, they have already launched patch 1.0.0.03 for WWE 2K20 at the time of writing which has addressed a lot of gameplay issues like targetting and the computer AI never reversing finishers.
8 Better: Chain Wrestling
The collar and elbow tie-up and chain wrestling mechanic has been a staple of wrestling games since they began. It’s an old school build up in the match that can either lead on to some technical submission moves to a test of strength.
Thankfully, it remains a part of this year’s entry and activating chain wrestling is a lot more responsive than last year’s. Furthermore, the animation seems to be slower this year which opens the window for more counters and realistic transitions and looking more like how a wrestling match should start rather than an arcade fighter.
7 Worse: The Legends Roster
WWE 2K19 had good selection legends and current superstars. The Legends roster in particular definitely catered for old school fans of wrestlers like The Rock N’ Roll Express, British Bulldog, Bam Bigelow, Mr. Perfect, and more.
One of the most disappointing aspects of WWE 2K20 is the fact that they removed 20 Legends from last year’s game and only added seven new ones. While it’s great having finally getting Hulk Hogan, Chyna, Mankind, and Jerry Lawler back on the roster many of the past superstars they had feuds during their prime that were included in WWE 2K19 have now been removed.
6 Better: Mixed Tag Team Matches
WWE 2K20 finally sees the return of mixed gender tag team matches. The last game in series to this was WWE 2K15 but it was removed without any explanation. Although many assumed it was down to the WWE’s new PG era and they didn’t want the potential controversy of players finding a workaround allowing male wrestlers to fight female wrestlers.
The mixed matches in WWE 2K20 work very well with brand new double team finishers added exclusively for these match types. In addition, the male and female wrestlers aren’t allowed to fight each other meaning there will be DQ if the male attacks the female.
5 Worse: No Create A Championship (Yet)
WWE 2K20 was trending on social media for all the wrong reasons. It is very clear that the game wasn’t ready for launch. New developers Visual Concepts are obviously hard at work in getting the patches done and with all the reported problems they have a lot of work to do.
Another indicator that the game wasn’t ready is the missing Create a Championship mode. On the plus side, Visual Concepts have promised that they will add it at a later date. However, considering the huge amount of work that needs to be done in getting the game up to spec fans could be waiting for quite some time.
4 Better: Some Commentary Improvements
One of the biggest complaints in the WWE 2K series has always been the commentary. Even the old Acclaim-developed WWF Attitude series on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 had better and more engaging commentary than the 2K series.
This year’s installment is a noticeable improvement over WWE 2K19 with some conversations having a more natural flow with events that are happening on screen. However, make no mistake this isn’t anywhere near as good as NBA 2K20 or even EA’s UFC series and it still sounds like prompted sound bites.
3 Worse: The Control Layout
One of the most baffling changes to WWE 2K20 is the Visual Concepts decision to change the control layout. The developers promoted the change as a way to make the game more accessible for newcomers but remain challenging for long-time fans.
However, under the surface very little has changed and Visual Concepts have only swapped certain button placements and made pulling off special moves more awkward. Now players are forced to press the A and X button (X and Square on the PS4) instead of the Y (Triangle) and RT (R2) instead of the analog stick for the alternate finisher. This means players need to press a combination of up to three buttons instead of one making the complete opposite to accessible.
2 Better: There’s A Lot Of New Moves
One of the most important aspects of a wrestling game over anything else it is move variety. WWE programming is a visual and theatrical experience that is as much a soap opera as it is a physical showcase. However, as much as Vince McMahon is trying to move away from being a wrestling brand by calling its performers Superstars instead of wrestlers, the fans tune in every week because of the escapism that wrestling provides.
It goes without saying then, the very same fans that part with their money on a yearly basis on the new WWE 2K game want more wrestling from their wrestling game. Thankfully, WWE 2K20 has added a lot more new moves in their year's entry, there are new pinning combinations, seemingly hundreds of new moves, and more payback animations to play around with.
1 Worse: The Blood Effects
Since WWE programming decided to once again appeal to younger audiences with a more family-friendly product the violence on TV was toned down a lot. It was now forbidden for wrestlers to bleed in the ring and matches that are notable for their violence and hardcore nature were either toned down or removed completely.
Unfortunately, the lack of blood has transferred for the first time into the games too. On the one hand, bleeding is more gradual and natural-looking but on the other, it is barely noticeable and very unsatisfying. Like previous entries, there is an option to turn the effect off completely so the reason for toning it down this year is a mystery.