4/5 ★ – jaymewmew's review of WWE 2K25.

I love pro wrestling and I love this game. There are some great quality of life improvements: chain wrestling is back, you can dive off of barricades now, some fun new match types and more options for special guest referee bouts. Showcase mode has a great presentation with Paul Heyman hosting, and they removed the real wrestling footage, opting instead for in-engine cutscenes, which really helps with the immersion. I still feel like the mode has run its course and wish they would replace it with something else, but this was one of the better ones. MyRise is the best iteration they’ve done yet, telling a succinct, single story over the course of the whole mode. It flows really well, and feels as grounded as the actual wwe product is. Universe mode brought back promos, which is a nice addition, though I wish there were more options for where the promos take place and how they can pan out. I still would like to see more freedom with selecting cut scenes, but it’s fun to book your own little wrestling promotion. MyFaction is designed to get users to spend as much real-world money as possible. I always avoided it in the past but decided to give it a shot this year and… I really enjoy it. It’s become my favorite mode to play. I don’t put any actual money into it, but it’s fun and easy to drop in and out of, and can be pretty challenging. The Island… this is their version of NBA 2Ks the city, and it is ass. I gave it 15 minutes before I completely noped out of it. Gatekeeping extra content through shitty modes like this is egregious, and I just know this is gonna be the future of the game, and it just plain sucks. At least in this edition of the game, it’s completely skippable.