I have not played a single WWE Game in the past years until I bought WWE 2K22. From my point of view, one of my first WWE Games I played is Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 from my PSP.
Unlike the past WWE Games. WWE 2K22 literally quote. "It Hits Different," and that line did not lie. The controls in WWE 2K22 felt different, and it did not actually play like the past WWE Games I played. It was absolutely difficult at first because I started playing WWE 2K22 with the 2K Showcase that stars Rey Mysterio. It was very difficult at first to move around, but when I figured it out, I finally played it as usual, that becomes easy for me to play.
The game really fixed the glitches from WWE 2K20 and almost all parts of the game were removed, like every OMG Finisher and not going insides locker rooms. While some parts were added that people asked for, one is getting inside the crowd to fight and going off stage, making the experience very unique.
Custom character creation was different, too. I get to create the character as myself with a stylish suit, while for the rest, the attires are all only used entrance attires which downgrades the creativity and takes realism a bit too much.
Universe mode was good. One of the additional add-ins in the game is superstar mode, where instead of focusing on all the wrestlers I played, I have to pick only one wrestler to focus on my experience. But the downside is that this game has a dead screen glitch when my wrestler is not even competing, which makes the game unplayable.
And speaking of unplayable. MyFaction is one of the only modes available online, but because of the offline content, game modes such as 2K Showcase, MyUniverse, MyGm, and MyRise. MyFaction is just one of those game modes where they prefer to play it online and buy skins that are only exclusive in MyFaction and not in offline,e which makes MyFaction's game become so rare that every 2K game is online for 1 year, and it becomes discontinued when a new WWE 2K sequel gets released.
But for the other playables, I am glad that MyGM returned in WWE 2K22 however, the GM mode felt a bit different from the previous WWE Smackdown Vs Raw Games. Because in the 2008 version of Smack Down Vs Raw, I get to see myself in a GM Office. In contrast, the newest GM mode felt simplified and looks more like a menu screen with card power-ups rather than an actual office for setting up a new show, managing talents for training their skill and popularity. But the biggest downside of MyGM is that I can't even unlock local talents. Because why would they be in the game when I can't even get to unlock and play as local wrestlers? WrestleMania XIX made unknown fictional wrestlers playable. Why not the local talents?
But one of the main parts of WWE 2K22 that I came for is WWE MyRise. Unlike 24/7 Mode, Road To WrestleMania, and MyCareer mode. MyRise's story only focuses on the protagonist joining WWE, who starts off as a trainee and now a wrestler in 3 different brands. But instead of progressing through the year, focus on what the wrestler will be by making choices that matter. The story missions only requires of being a heel and being a face. There are no story branches, just alignment requirements to progress. And honestly, like the motto says i hits different, and when I mean differnet not just I get to explore the MyRise as a male wrestler, but I can also explore the MyRise storyline as a female wrestler too, with different stories to explore and different unlocks to progress the game, but the downside MyRise felt so short and even I get to move to 3 brands to progress the game completes without even going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame.
In conclusion, WWE 2K22 is one of the biggest comeback games of 2022, and it still remains a good game to play. But the downside of almost every WWE 2K Game is that every new game only gets online for one or two years and is offshelved in every online store immediately.
