Strange Girl Gaming

I’m at a loss for words…seriously. This doesn’t happen very often but I am truly gobsmacked at the atrocity that is WWE 2K20. In a single word, this game is abysmal.

You have no idea how much it pains me to say this, given my immense love for wrestling and the WWE universe but I have to be honest, at times this title is unplayable. I am actually stuck in the story mode due to a glitch preventing me from setting up a ladder.

The game is riddled with bugs, from awful animations to dodgy actions and crashing of the game. With so many more bugs in between, it is a truly awful experience. 2K have done a heck of a job screwing this game up. I’ll give them credit for that, I knew that with Yukes jumping ship the quality might drop a little but this is a mess.

Putting it bluntly, WWE 2K20 should not have hit the shelves in this state. The PlayStation version even prevents users from accessing the game’s trophies, so if you are a trophy hunter and haven’t fallen victim to 2K’s new title you might want to consider giving it a miss.

There is so much negativity within this game, but, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any positives too, well give some semblance of reason to own the title. The MyPlayer mode is actually pretty decent, well as decent as it can be when it’s so riddled with bugs that your career gets put on hold.

The story is good, no doubt about that. It’s an enjoyable journey with two likeable characters, Red and Tre. You will take them straight outta high school and into the indie scene, watching as they grow and develop into two superstars that make it into the hall of fame. They are both so different yet they complement each other so well, the story of an underdog always goes down well and this time there are two of them, and they are a package deal.

The development tree is yet again quite well designed (see there are tiny nuggets of gold found in this shit show), but it may not appeal to all players. Earn attribute points by progressing through the story or taking your wrestlers through towers and fight for glory.

You will also earn skill points, these can be used on OMG moments, payback abilities and general skills such as the comeback ability to give you a fighting chance when things get tough. Which they will and not just because of the AI difficulty but the gameplay is poor enough to warrant concern.

Anyway, keeping with the positives, the creation suite is great. Plenty of choices to create the superstar you desire. New moves have been added to give you the best arsenal of attacks, though we are still missing create a finisher. Not sure why it was removed so many years ago but fans cry for it every year (should have listened 2K, might have been another small positive).

So, one of the biggest draws for me this year was the showcase mode. The story of the four horsewomen and how they brought the women’s division forward is one that deserved to be told, and it has been, for the most part. Now then, my issue with the showcase mode is an issue I have for the entire game, the superstars look awful! Becky Lynch doesn’t look totally awful and neither does Sasha Banks but still, and then Charlotte Flair and Bayley look horrendous, difficult to do given both women are actually beautiful in reality.

As you play the game more and more superstars will stand out for looking like they fell out the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down…then getting dragged down the road by a rusty car.

Moving on to Universe mode. It’s just that, the same as every other year, no real improvements. However, were it not riddled with glitches it would be enjoyable, unless you come across some of the glitches I have, then it’s still entertaining for all the wrong reasons. It’s actually quite sad playing this game, all I’ve done so far is wish for the good old days of Smackdown Here Comes The Pain or the Smackdown vs Raw titles. Ever since 2K took over the publishing rights the franchise has gone downhill.

Considering that this is more than likely the final year of the wrestling game being exclusive to this generation, the graphics looked horrendous. Honestly, you wouldn’t think we were getting ready for the new PlayStation and Xbox Scarlett next year. The graphics look like the PS2 days, in fact, one early scene in the career mode looked like a deleted scene from Rockstar’s much-loved Bully game.

Perhaps 2K will prove me wrong but I’m not expecting them to fix this, after all give it six months and they will be getting ready for 2K21 (as much as I would love another company to get the rights).

Overall, my verdict is….DO NOT BUY THIS GAME! Sure there are perks but unless you have absolutely nothing else to play (Medevil is out Friday, Pokemon is out soon, The Outer Worlds is out Friday too) give this a miss until a few patches have been released. I will stay up to date with the latest goings-on for WWE 2K20, especially the fixing of bugs and of course I will fully review the games career mode upon completion…well if the game allows me to complete it.