Audio
Much the same as last year, there are some nice tunes on the soundtrack, and the WWE personalities lending their voices to the game do a decent job.
Visuals
A slight improvement over last year's game, with more facial animations and loads of flowing hair. There's still quite a lot of funny physics and clipping, though.
Playability
It's quite difficult to find fault here. WWE 2K24 is the most accessible, fluid, and responsive wrestling game since last year's game. Crucially, it's really fun to play.
Delivery
Massive. Everything from last year, plus four new match types, an expanded Backstage Brawl, more online options, and a huge 2K Showcase. Brill.
Achievements
A fair few tricky ones that require playing at Legend difficulty and more than a few uninspired tasks. Some overlap from last year, too. Meh.
March 04, 2024
When I was a kid, the coming of WrestleMania was huge. There was even a WrestleMania song released in the charts, which went something like 'wo-oh, wo-oh, WrestleMania!'. It makes sense then, that for WWE 2K24's new 2K Showcase, the storied event is given its due, with a massive celebration of forty years of, yes, WrestleMania. We're not even a full paragraph into this review, and we've already typed out 'WrestleMania' four times. No, wait. Five times. It's impossible to review WWE 2K24 without mentioning WrestleMania, however, and the 2K Showcase... of the Immortals' jaunt through five decades ('80s, '90s, '00s, '10s, and '20s) of the biggest day on the WWE calendar, is every bit as entertaining and celebratory as you'd hope.
WWE 2K24 is an accomplished wrestling game, too, picking up where last year's entry left off, further refining the nuts and bolts of the gameplay, while adding a few new match types and features for good measure. On a fundamental level, little has really changed, save for a new 'trading blows' mini-game, in which you and your opponent go back and forth holding a button and releasing it within a gradually shrinking area, until one of you misses. The main thing is that this year's game keeps things streamlined and uncomplicated, its controls making complete sense, enabling you to easily grapple with rivals, drag them around, Irish whip them into the ropes, climb the turnbuckle and leap off, execute a submission hold, reversal, or whatever else, without loads of button presses. Oh, and you can throw weapons now, and catch them with a well-timed counter.
Clearly, developer Visual Concepts hit upon a rock-solid formula with WWE 2K22 and 23, and, frankly, if it ain't broke, then why fix it? This is all about refining what was already there, rather than sweeping changes, and the good news is that 2K24 plays very nicely indeed. Meanwhile, four new match types flesh out WWE 2K's generous suite of modes, with the addition of Special Guest Referee justifying the presence of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali on the roster – Ali served as a guest ref during 1985's WrestleMania I, and, as such, you can deck him out in all the gear and relive that very moment if you like. As for those new modes, Ambulance and Casket Matches have you battling to chip away your opponent's stamina enough to slam them away in the back of the emergency vehicle or coffin, respectively, whereas a Gauntlet Match challenges you to defeat a procession of Superstars one after the other, or several all at once. Good stuff.
Not that WWE 2K needed more options or modes, mind you. There's never been a shortage of modes in WWE games. As in previous years, MyRise offers a storyline for your custom Superstar. The 'Unleashed' thread for your burgeoning female grappler, has you inadvertently joining the WWE from the indie scene, as uncompromising up-and-comer 'The Captain'. The 'Undisputed' story, has your created male Superstar, dubbed the 'Dark Horse', after spending years flying under the radar in the WWE Raw brand, getting a long-awaited shot at the big time. The former has you rising through the ranks from the bottom, while the latter sees you vying for Roman Reigns' title after he decides to vacate the WWE to pursue a Hollywood career. Both prove enormously enjoyable, as you strive to make a name for yourself among the rest of the WWE, making waves and forging rivalries, while boosting your attributes as you progress.
Additionally, MyFaction brings more card-based shenanigans to the table, with the usual challenges, Towers, Faction Wars, and so on; while MyGM offers another bout of franchise-building, as you go head-to-head with rival managers (of which there are more to choose from than ever before) to produce the best, most popular show possible under your chosen brand (SmackDown, Raw, NXT, ECW, WCW etc.). The massive sandbox of MyUniverse rounds out a typically generous package, which includes another ridiculous roster of over 200 Superstars, Legends, and NXT stars, including seven (that's 7 – count 'em) versions of John Cena; a whole bunch of online modes including 30-person Royal Rumble for up to eight players; and a Backstage Brawl mode boasting even more environmental stuff to mess with, including smashable control room glass, a vending machine with water bottles to chuck about, and a working lift (or elevator, in US parlance).
Headlined by the WrestleMania-packed 2K Showcase... of the Immortals, WWE 2K24 not only serves up a fantastic celebration of the iconic event, enabling you to relive incredible moments featuring Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, and countless others, but it's also the heftiest, most fully-featured wrestling game we've played in ages – possibly ever. The gameplay remains accessible but deep enough to be engaging and consistently enjoyable, without being muddled or overly complex, and that's a very good thing. Visual Concepts hasn't rested on its laurels for WWE 2K24, then, delivering not only a massive game, but a very good one at that.