The greatest wrestling stars of all time meet for a light but disappointing action game, which gives the league a bad name
If anyone has asked themselves how it is that WWE 2K21 has not yet come out, then we have bad news: the annual edition of the 2K wrestling games series has been canceled, for two main reasons: The first reason is the Corona plague, which has caused delays, delays and changes in key schedules The games.
The creators just could not finish their work on time.
The second reason is the simple fact that WWE 2K20, the previous edition in the series, received particularly terrible reviews - and its sales were disappointing accordingly.
In light of this, in April this year it was announced that the next full game in the series will be WWE 2K22, which will be released in 2021 and will try to fix everything that did not work the previous time.
In order not to disappoint the wrestling fans who are unable to spend 12 months without going head-to-head with Sean Michaels, De Rock, Yokozuna and current champion Drew McIntyre - decided in 2K to put out a game this year anyway
Wrestling, but a completely different style.
Get WWE 2K Battlegrounds, a kind of spin-off for the mother series that throws from the arena the slow and calculated "realistic wrestling simulator" approach in favor of a fast, intense and really, but unrealistic arcade action-beating game that completely happens to take place inside wrestling arenas and stars more than 70 WWE stars and stars of all time.
Sounds promising?
Definitely.
So we were very disappointed to find that despite a number of positive features (graphics, mostly) and extenuating circumstances (Koro, discounted price) WWE 2K Battlegrounds is simply a disappointing, half-baked and even annoying game.
Looks good, feels bad
Let's start with the only point of light: the graphics.
While not overly invested and certainly unrealistic, we must admit we smiled when we saw the wrestlers portrayed as small and even cute cartoons of their human counterparts (just do not tell the Undertaker that we said he was cute).
The animation is smooth and flowing (at least most of the time, depending on how many characters are in the arena), and the arenas themselves, each located in a different place (egg, underground tunnel, military base, Mexican desert and more), are very colorful and detailed.
There is no doubt that at least at first glance, the game catches the eye.
The problems start immediately after the first look, and already from the second game.
No matter how you look at it, this is one of the most meager, shallow and boring sports games and punches we have ever experienced.
The battle apparatus feels like it's a customer from the days of the first "Double Dragon".
To computer.
Which came out more than thirty years ago.
There is one button for punch, one button for kick, protection button and button for pita / shot.
That is, by and large.
Combos?
Press a punch three times or a kick three times.
That is, in principle.
So it's true that each character has some special blows that allow the opponent to be thrown tens of meters in the air (and ice! And fire! And such energy barriers!), And it's quite nice to see those blows in slow motion.
And it's true that you can stand on the ropes and leap from them, pull out weapons like a chair, a guitar, such a beeping hammer of Independence Day and even a motorcycle, but very quickly we discovered that everything is cosmetic.
Forget tactics, complex combos and even a real challenge.
We found ourselves easily beating the computer just with the help of monotonous presses of the punch button only.
Beat a little, walk away, wait for the opponent to come closer, hit again, walk away and come back for goodness sake until his energy runs out and then you can easily pin him to the ground and win.
Del, del, del.
It does not matter if you are fighting in a one-on-one battle, in doubles, in a cage battle (where you have to collect money, climb the cage wall and get out first) or in the Royal Rumble - when the fighting mechanism is so shallow and everything repeats itself, the magic and challenge dissipate.
Although it was quite amusing to throw the opponent into the mouth of a crocodile or control a deer remotely (!) And hit it with the horns of the beast (!!), but only for the first time.
Then we got bored and did not waste any time on it.
Want more?
Pay!
Another problem of the game, which in recent years has become a real hit in the gaming industry and is manifested here in an extraordinary way, is the matter of internal purchases.
After each battle you earn Battle Bucks - virtual money - depending on the performance in the arena, completing daily challenges, etc.
With this money you can "purchase" new wrestlers, costumes, accessories and upgrade special blows and bonuses that help during the battle (recovery ability, durability and more).
Just a pity you have to win a lot of fights and complete too many challenges to earn enough money to buy the coveted wrestlers.
Undertaker, for example, is locked at first and needs to be bought.
Same goes for De Rock, Hulk Hogan and Ronda Rawsey, and each wrestler has three different outfits, which the other two also need to buy separately! Sorry, but how many kidneys do you expect us to sell? We only have two!
Now, those who do not have the money (or patience) to grind battles to accumulate virtual money, can always buy what they want with real money to speed up the process, and this is where the developers actually aim.
Their right, and we would have slipped it for them if it was just costumes and accessories.
But to buy (or grind battles for) the superstars, who are the main reason why they buy the game at all?
Unworthy and even dirty!
They should be available at the beginning, period.
Besides, you must be connected to the Internet to earn money after the battles, so if there is any problem with the connection, locally or on the PlayStation server for example - forget about inflating your wallet.
Abandon the arena
There are other things that bother us in WWE 2K Battlegrounds, like the fact that many wrestlers have the exact same moves, and the ridiculous dialogues of plot mode (Steve Austin recruits anonymous wrestlers for the Underground Wrestling League), which seem to have been written by a six-year-old boy.
And then it hit us: it's not a game for gamers, nor should it be.
We have here, at most, a light commercial product designed to give the young wrestling fan a few hours in multiplayer games with friends on the couch (because playing against the computer is boring), then move on to the next thing.
Legitimate, what's more, it is sold at a discounted price - 150 shekels a roof.
But considering that other games based on internal purchases like "Fortnite" can be downloaded for free, maybe those 150 shekels are too much.
Score: 4/10
Tested version: PlayStation 4. Also available in versions for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.