WWE 2K22 successfully fixed the massive bugs, glitches, and problems that made WWE 2K20 nearly unplayable. After taking a year off, Visual Concepts have shown that it has the potential to create a truly enjoyable experience by finding the right balance between simulation and arcade elements. WWE 2K22 has become one of the best games in the long run of WWE titles. With the inclusion of many new features and the return of old game modes, the one area that truly shows the potential of future WWE 2K titles is the Universe mode.
Universe mode lets fans play through consecutive weeks as a single WWE Superstar or control the entire roster and set all the matches. It is comparable to Player Career Mode in games like FIFA and has the potential to become one of the best game modes in future titles. With certain improvements in the rivalry system, the curation menu, and the breakout system, the game mode could truly bring in tons of fans.
Rivalry System
Universe mode boasts a lot of great features, including creating a tag team, custom matches, and importing a created superstar into the roster of any WWE show. Through the natural progression of the weekly shows, the controlled superstar will start to develop rivalries and form allies as they win more and more matches, which could turn into long storyline-like rivalries that can last for quite a few weeks. During these rivalries, however, there is not a lot that takes place outside the odd break out during an opponent’s entrance.
To improve the game mode’s lackluster rivalry system, Visual Concepts should try to include a few elements from the other game modes, namely MyGM and MyRise. Including several scripted rivalries into Universe mode would give it a sense of progression and connect the weeks of each show together to form a memorable rivalry filled with short cutscenes and call-outs. It could even include the option for a player to ambush a rival superstar backstage and have a defeat in this type of match mean injury and missing out on next week’s show.
Curation Menu
The curation menu offers players to select a short storyline to follow that will determine future matchups and give players the opportunity to compete for titles and create new rivalries. Through this menu, players will not only select the storyline but will also pick the other participants, for instance, players will get to select the superstar they want to start a rivalry against, which gives the player a lot of freedom and lets them tailor the experience of the single WWE storyline in a particular direction.
The curation menu, unfortunately, falls short in terms of adding depth and variety to its options. Players are only given about five options throughout Universe mode, and with little customization options, these storylines lose most of its excitement the second or third time around. To improve on Universe mode and make it a long-lasting game mode, Visual Concept will need to give WWE players more customization options within the storylines of the curation menu and improve on some existing ones, like having players compete against several other contenders before getting a title shot.
In-Game Changes And Breakouts
In the WWE, there are a lot of rivalries that get extremely heated, causing interferences, attacks, and breakouts during entrances. These moments are truly memorable and can solidify a rivalry or even start unlikely alliances. In WWE 2K22, many of these systems are completely broken, especially the breakout system, where the match ends immediately after the breakout sequence.
Breakouts happen during a superstar’s entrance and basically, involve the opponent jumping the superstar as they make their way to the ring. With this game-breaking feature already in the game mode, a lot of rivalries are not given the proper platform to set off and become memorable moments in a player’s Universe mode progression.
Fixing these issues can greatly improve the experience within Universe mode and give future WWE 2K titles the chance to create a long-lasting offline mode for players to enjoy. Currently, the breakout system will prevent the continuation of a match, yet this timed event will dictate the overall match rating which almost always gives the match a rating below three stars.
Having different types of breakouts, including more opportunities for interferences, and giving players the option to start a surprise attack will not only improve these mini-matches that pop up throughout Universe mode, but will give players more freedom to start new rivalries, progress existing ones, and make the Universe more exciting overall.
Universe mode has the capacity to grow through content that is constantly added through multiple updates or titles, introducing new superstars, updated superstar ratings, and even crowd reaction to create a mode that moves along with the live shows. A steady stream of content paired with the fixes to gameplay issues and the addition of more customization options could truly make Universe mode the flagship game mode for future WWE 2K titles and could even be included as a continuation of the MyRise game mode at the end of the storyline.
Visual Concepts has successfully rebuilt the WWE 2K games and has shown that they are more than capable of creating a fun wrestling experience for all its fans.
WWE 2K22 is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.