WWE 2K22

WWE 2K22 is a professional wrestling action-sports game developed by Visual Concepts and released in March 2022. After skipping a year to rebuild following the wreckage of 2K20, this entry strips out the over-complicated chain wrestling system and replaces it with a new engine built around a combo system where each superstar has unique light and heavy attack strings you can find any time in the pause menu. Grappling condenses to two-button light and heavy moves, and a new block and dodge mechanic replaces the old reversal stock setup. It feels noticeably more arcade-adjacent than its recent predecessors, and that shift largely works in its favour. For casual players or anyone who just wants to pick up a controller and suplex The Rock into the mat at a Saturday night hang, the lower barrier to entry is genuinely welcome. The mode lineup is where 2K22 earns most of its goodwill. MyGM returns to the series for the first time since the SmackDown vs. Raw era, letting you take the reins of Raw, SmackDown, NXT, or NXT UK, draft a roster, and compete against a rival GM across multiple seasons. It is addictive in short bursts, though critics were largely united in calling it shallow and underdeveloped given how long fans had been waiting for it. MyRISE (the renamed career mode) offers separate male and female storylines where your background choice (Athlete, MMA Fighter, Wrestler, or Actor) shapes your path. The writing is patchy and the facial animations in cutscenes are genuinely rough, but the core loop of building your created superstar's career gives you a solid reason to keep going. The 2K Showcase, focused on Rey Mysterio's career with seamlessly cut live-action footage narrated by Rey himself, is a highlight, and MyFaction provides a card-collecting layer for players who like unlocking things between matches. Universe mode is also here, and with cross-platform Community Creations now enabled, you can download custom superstars, arenas, and championships from a huge global pool, which meaningfully extends the roster past its 178 base entries. On PC specifically, the biggest caveat is that this game is built for a controller. Default keyboard bindings are awkward at best, using J and K for primary and secondary attacks, and while rebinding is supported, the UI never really pretends to care about mouse-and-keyboard players. Grab a gamepad, full stop. Multiplayer is handled online, and it is worth noting that 2K discontinued online services for WWE 2K22 in early 2024, so any online matchmaking or community features are no longer operational. Local exhibition matches still work fine, and that is honestly where the most fun lives anyway. Get four people around one machine with controllers and the combination of weapons, finishers, and Royal Rumble chaos makes for a good evening. The Creation Suite and local exhibition modes are completely unaffected by the server shutdown. The honest picture is that 2K22 is a meaningful recovery but not a revolution. Character models are the best the series has produced, commentary is dramatically improved, and weapon physics (tables splintering, chairs bending) add satisfying crunch to brawls. But multi-person matches can still feel chaotic in a frustrating rather than fun way, MyGM never fully delivers on its promise, and some superstar slots go to wrestlers who had already left WWE before the game even launched. If you are coming in after a long gap from wrestling games, or just want something approachable for group sessions, this delivers. Hardcore sim fans expecting the depth of older WWE games may find the arcade lean a compromise too far.

Riley · Scout Team

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