The on-air WWE product is as hot as it’s been in many years. Sure, wrestling has always been popular, but it hasn’t felt this popular since the late 90s and early 2000s. With so many eyes on the product right now, WWE 2K25 needed to be good as it would’ve likely attracted not just new players, but lapsed ones as well who likely haven’t played a WWE-branded game in years.

So the question is this, does WWE 2K25 deliver? Well, it does in terms of raw gameplay, and what few new features it has mostly hit. All except one…

What I Like

The Gameplay Is As Decent As Ever

Let’s start with the most important aspect of all: the gameplay. Anyone familiar with the WWE 2K series will notice that it’s more or less unchanged from previous titles. But that is in no way a bad thing. For the past several years, WWE 2K has found a good groove when it comes to gameplay. Combining sim-style wrestling with arcade-like sensibilities is a winning formula, and one Visual Concepts has slowly perfected since the infamous gaffe that was WWE 2K20. One could say that it doesn’t innovate enough, especially this far into the current generation, but if it isn’t broken, why fix it?

When it comes to the actual wrestling, WWE 2K25 isn’t as arcade-y as classics such as WWE SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain or SmackDown vs. Raw 2006, but it still packs a punch. Moves feel punchy and snappy, and the in-ring motion feels smooth. It’s not perfect by any means, but if you’re a fan of the WWE games, you’ll be a fan of this one too.

Plus, WWE 2K25 is the most freeing WWE-branded game we’ve been given in a while. The inclusion of intergender wrestling makes matchmaking way more fun and creative. Pitting Rhea Ripley against some of WWE’s top male talent felt good.

MyRise Is A Good Time

I love pro wrestling because of the stories. Yeah, seeing cool moves and great matches are certainly aspects of that, but above all, I love getting invested in characters and storylines. So it should come as no surprise that the first mode I really dug into was MyRise.

In the past, I’ve kind of been bummed out by MyRise. Even though the stories in MyRise haven’t been bad in past iterations (except for WWE 2K20), they’ve been a bit too linear for my liking. But this year, I found MyRise to be incredibly engaging and fun to play through.

As in years prior, MyRise requires you to create a wrestler and insert them into the WWE Universe. But this year, 2K has changed the formula significantly. Not only do you get to determine your character’s origins this year, but you also get to determine what kind of personality they have.

While WWE 2K24 had you chase Roman Reigns’ 1,300+ day Undisputed WWE Championship reign, championships aren’t as big a focus in WWE 2K25. Instead, MyRise is centered on your created superstar’s war with Mutiny, a faction made up of both up-and-coming wrestlers from NXT as well as veteran Superstars who feel overlooked by the powers-that-be within WWE.

It’s a bit cheesy and some story beats don’t hit exactly as intended, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have fun while playing through it. Not only was it fun to wage war with Mutiny, but it was also fun to have two created superstars participate this year and have intertwining stories whose choices felt more important than past iterations of the mode. It also makes replaying the story feel worth it. That said, I’ve only given MyRise one full playthrough, so my opinion on this could change. Either way, I’m looking forward to giving it another try to see if there’s anything that can significantly change the experience.

Underground And Bloodline Rules Matches Are Great Additions

I wasn’t stoked when it was announced that the Underground and Bloodline Rules matches were debuting in WWE 2K25. At first glance, I couldn’t determine how either would translate to a video game. After all, what is an Underground match but a normal match without ropes? And is Bloodline Rules anything but a normal No-DQ match, except with tons of run-ins? On paper, it was a hard sell. But man, both play great.

In an Underground match, the only way to beat your opponent is by making them tap out or by beating them so bad that they are knocked out. In practice, I wasn’t too off-base by presuming it would be a normal match without the presence of ring ropes. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have fun beating my opponent (literally) into submission while a horde of NPCs cheer on the action from ringside.

I was completely wrong when it comes to the Bloodline Rules matches. This match type is the most fun I’ve had playing a wrestling game in years. In total, each Superstar gets the option to have up to three of their allies interfere with the match. By the end of it, a total of eight Superstars can be involved, and the result is pure chaos. Not only are all of your allies brawling all over the arena, but they will be actively trying to sabotage your match any time you go for a pin or submission. The matches can get dragged out a bit, but it feels engaging and fun.

My only issue with the Bloodline Rules match is that you can’t manually decide who will make the run-ins. To do this, you have to manually adjust each Superstar’s allies by editing them directly. That said, it did provide some hilarious random run-ins whenever I deleted all of a Superstar’s allies and had the game decide who should come to your aid. Tiffany Stratton running out on Cody Rhodes’ behalf was certainly something!

Not A Graphical Leap, But Still Pretty

WWE 2K25 doesn’t make a massive leap in terms of visuals when compared to the last few entries, but it’s still a very beautiful and detailed title. Many of the player models have been updated and touched up, and new Superstars are extremely well captured. Jacob Fatu certainly stands out among the new wrestlers added to the game, as both his player model and entrance look great.

While it seemed small when first announced, the new third-person camera view is an absolute treat to use. While past titles have limited the view of the action from ringside, the third-person camera makes entrances feel cooler and gameplay feel fresh. This is especially apparent when having backstage brawls. All in all, it’s a small innovation, but one that makes a way bigger difference than I initially anticipated.

What I Don’t Like

The Island Is A Shameless Money Pit

Anyone familiar with The City in the NBA 2K series knew exactly what The Island was going to be once it was announced — a PvP mode littered with microtransactions and next to zero substance. And sure enough, that’s exactly what it is.

Upon entering The Island, it looks exactly like The City, all the way down to the stores. Despite opening it at a time when many players were using the old New Zealand trick to access the game, there was nobody else roaming around with me and actual PvP matchmaking wasn’t working. The one time I did find a game, the connection was terrible and my opponent disconnected after about two minutes.

The VC given for participating in offline and online matches is an absolute joke, too. In a mode where the coolest-looking items cost 9K in VC, winning matches through PvP or its cheesy and boring story mode only nets you about 150 VC, forcing players to dig into their wallets and fork out their hard-earned cash to sport a nice T-shirt or some Jordans. It’s garbage. But because 2K caters to the lowest common denominator with modes such as this, it’ll likely net a profit and will come back next year — all while being more predatory than ever.

Universe Mode Is Better, But Still Lacking

Universe Mode is by far my go-to when it comes to WWE 2K titles. As I mentioned before, I love the storytelling when it comes to wrestling. As a result, I enjoy crafting my own stories by creating my own universe where wrestlers move up and down the card, form partnerships, have falling-outs, chase championships, and so on. But I feel Universe Mode is still lacking in this area.

Firstly, I’ll give 2K credit. The way the schedule works this year is way better than past iterations. Being able to put on PLEs on Saturdays or create two-night PLEs is such a welcome change, as are the inclusion of promos and being able to put on multiple shows on the same day. But when it comes to the actual crafting of the stories, I’m left wanting.

As I’ve previously mentioned, factions have played a role in some of the biggest stories WWE has told over the last several years with The Bloodline being the focal point and other groups such as The Wyatt Sicks debuting to much fanfare. But even after all of that, WWE 2K25 still doesn’t allow me to properly book factions. I can’t have a 4v4 staredown, or have a proper build to a WarGames match. This is a huge letdown.

Promos also feel half-baked. Instead of allowing the player to create text and tell the story, promos are done in complete silence while the commentary team relays to the player what’s going on.

Bottom Line

To call WWE 2K25 a watershed moment in the series would be dishonest. While it does make improvements in terms of gameplay and graphics, it’s not a radical change from past entries. And for players who were expecting more, that might make it disappointing. But I enjoyed it.

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but that doesn’t mean that the wheel isn’t working well. As I said before, why fix what isn’t broken? This series has been back on the upswing the last couple years, and at its core there’s nothing wrong with the gameplay that the WWE 2K series provides. So adding on rather than breaking things down and rebuilding them feels appropriate.

That isn’t to say WWE 2K25 is perfect — it’s far from it. In my dozens of hours playing it, I was certainly left frustrated with some things. The Island sucks, MyFaction sucks, and Universe Mode isn’t as deep as I want it to be. GM Mode returns, but I don’t know — the magic that the mode had back in SvR 2006 just isn’t there for me anymore. And despite the game still looking and playing pretty good, not having much in the way of true innovation this deep into the current gen feels underwhelming.

If you can wait, I’d highly recommend waiting for it to inevitably go on sale before buying. But if you’re a hardcore WWE fan and need your wrestling kick right now, then I’d say it’s worth the full triple-A price.