Here at What Gadget, you will know we are big WWE fans, and we got the privilege last year to review WWE 2K2024. This time round, it was time to review 2K25, but could they take the step and make this even better?

WWE 2K25 is available on PS5, Xbox & Nintendo Switch 2 and is available from £119.99 if you want the bloodline version, with the standard version £64.99. If you follow the 2K series, we won’t mention 2K21 as that was a horror show. Since then, the games have been improving year in and year out. What I can say is WWE 2K25 has taken a game in the shape of the 2024 version and made it even better!

The standard wrestling feels like a nice blend of arcade and simulation, with counters, freeform carry moves giving each star a deep moveset. 2K25 brings back the Chain Wrestling Mechanic that was last seen in 2K20. What this does is kick off matches in a more realistic way. The stars lock up in a grab and a minigame to manoeuvre around the opponent to get the edge at the start of the match. It’s only offered at the beginning, but does offers a momentum just like watching a match on Monday Night Raw on Netflix.

What I like about this game is the TV-style presentation from the camera cuts like TV to the wrestlers being covered in bruises as the match goes on, and those who wear body paint having it come apart throughout the match.

The big change this year has to be intergender wrestling, which allows men and women to compete against each other and is only available in the MyRise storyline. This is a good step forward as you can win intergender titles, which are made-up titles and official belts like the 24/7 and hardcore titles. However, Charlotte Flair can’t win the world title just like her dad. This is an area they could improve on.

Storylines 

The Bloodline storyline

As you might expect with Roman Reigns on the front cover and the option to buy the bloodline version. There is a focus on the Bloodline, including the likes of The Rock, Roman Reigns, Yokozuna, and Umaga. This mode, as expected, is narrated by the Wiseman Paul Heyman, who is a fantastic talker in WWE. The rundown of the events will keep you engaged throughout the long cutscenes. 2K25 splits the matches so you get:

1) old school with the likes of Yokozuna beating Hulk Hogan at King of the Ring 1993, returns.

2) For family members like Tamina, she gets the chance to win the first lady’s Money in the Bank. 

3) The Bloodline story 

The last few years of WWE 2K have showcased intercut real-life match footage during gameplay. This year, 2K has ditched that and recreated match cutscenes in the engine and added new commentary from the game’s announce team. This style makes the Showcase way less of a slog this year and turns into a standout mode.

If I had to find fault is the mode this year is the goals. Recreating matches allows you to redo certain beats from the real match, which, when done correctly, can unlock new items. This year, you also have timed goals, but if you dont get it in time, it’s skipped, or you’ll need to replay the match entirely if you want another crack at it.

Additional storylines

My Rise Storyline

This year, My Rise is an original story following a created star. It’s not the best storyline found in any of these modes. It follows a faction of former NXT stars attempting to take over WWE with their new NXT mutiny brand, and your character leads the fight against them. It’s full of great twists and turns to keep me engaged. Unfortunately, there are no intergender stories, only male or female-specific stories. This time you have to make a male/female created character to go through the story.

What you do have this year is choices. There’s stuff that will affect certain stories beats, like where your wrestler came from, such as the indies. Their relationship with other stars (best friends or used to date) introduces different dialogue. You get bigger choices, like which stars you recruit to fight the mutiny. This means there’s a bigger focus on reliability, too. This becomes a headache when unlockables are involved. This means play time could take 5 hours to get all the extra unlockables.

There is also no more side missions, and the runtime is shorter than in previous years. The “Live Events” allow you to have generic fights, which also have unlocks attached to your star rating. Assuming you get a five-star match every time. It’s still 56 fights to unlock everything.

Career Mode

This mode is not great, it plays out like a bad MMO where you go talk to NPC’s play matches and compete against others. The mission structure is the worth thing about it its just bland; one of the early quests has you walking in and out of the same building to talk to two different sets of NPCs multiple times. Plus, the story is told via still images with text and the odd video of Roman Reigns. You create a new character for The Island. And this character’s stats are upgraded via the game’s premium paid currency. You can also unlock exclusive cosmetic items for your characters that also cost VC (game’s Currency). Now you can earn playing matches, but it’s slow to get it faster, so it’s time to pay extra.  Every online match on this mode placed me against the best-looking created wrestlers with maxed out stats, so it’s basically pay to win.

My Faction

My Faction is 2K take on Ultimate Team and returns with all the same issues as the 2K24 version. Exclusive characters are locked behind “Persona” cards, which are either a massive grind to get or simply random drops from card packs. The “World Tour” within My Faction is the best thing added to the mode in years. This allows you to unlock some of those “Persona” cards, but it also has walls that require you to have specific card types to continue through it.

My GM

I like MY GM mode, but it’s not perfect, with weird penalties in 2K’s version are off-putting. Stars all have roles and styles; some well with others, and your matches are worse off if you don’t have the right pairings. For example, Seth Rollins and LA Knight are in the middle blood feud right now on TV. However, in the game they are good guy. I wish 2K could offer regular updates to the game.

Verdict 

WWE 2K25 is the best wrestling game of the modern era. The showcase and MY Rise modes are great, even with the minor issues. The core fan feels great with an ever-increasing number of match types keeping it fresh. However, I would avoid MyFaction modes, which can’t even be ignored due to the unlockable content.

What I liked the most was the 2K showcase mode is the best it has been this year. Looking back at the Bloodline’s past and future gives it a ton of variety. The Wiseman, Paul Heyman’s narration, is engaging throughout, plus removing the real footage helps the pacing massively.