WWE 2K Battlegrounds – A Flop or Redemption?
To try something new, WWE released WWE 2K Battlegrounds to maintain its yearly video game release. This new cartoon-style wrestling game ditched all the realistic mechanics and replaced them with over-the-top exaggerations. With around 70 playable wrestlers, you’re probably wondering what experience waits for you in this cute arcade style they chose to do.
But first thing’s first, let’s take a closer look at why we even got to this point of a major overhaul.
WWE 2K games have been in a constant struggle recently. Specifically, its 2019 release got so much hate for being buggy and glitchy. That’s probably one of the reasons why we don’t have WWE 2K21 in the first place because that game was just embarrassing. It’s a shame because it’s one of the few covers that featured a Woman Superstar, Becky Lynch, which hasn’t been done a lot. Not only that, the game finally opened up more opportunities for these women, even getting a mode of their own to mirror their recent success in the actual wrestling scene.
- Is it just as bad as its older games? – As mentioned above, the previous games didn’t have much impact, especially the recent ones. We have to see a change at some point, which we’re given this year. Although WWE 2K Battlegrounds felt like they had to resort to caricature to lessen the burden on developing realistic wrestlers, it’s actually refreshing to see this arcade-style that they never had before. Let’s take a look at the issues it currently faces.
- Small Roster – The roster size is pretty much a con and pro at the same time. It’s a pro in a way that most of the superstars are what you see on TV right now. They’re updated and modern. It’s also a con since they obviously cut back on the hard programming and development, so there should be no reasons not to include those who didn’t make the cut unless for monetary purposes, a.k.a DLC.
- Actually, DLCs did happen, and you need to purchase them to add more notable names to the roster it first came with. Who doesn’t love more wrestlers to play with? Again, you have to pay first, and if you want to skip this, it’s completely alright and understandable.
- Poor Movesets – The best feature of the previous game is changing the moves and attacks of all of its wrestler’s even custom ones. That’s something you can’t do now. All wrestlers have their own set exclusively for them only. It kinda ruins the fantasy, but it stays true to the real persona of these wrestlers.
- Poor Controls – One of the most complained features is the controls. There’s just too much going on that sometimes makes it hard to perform combos. And in a game where you need to perform flashy signature moves, it shouldn’t be hard to trigger those. Unfortunately, it is.
- It’s Actually Not All Bad – Despite having several issues dragging their previous games, there were still many innovative features that you can enjoy, like customizations and storyline matches. If you’ve noticed, the only downside of the games is from what it can offer but the game itself. 2K did its best to give us something polished, and they did a good job with that. Let’s take a look at these wonderful updates they gave us.
- Updated Models – It’s almost a WWE Games tradition that they include retired wrestlers and Hall of Famers to its game. In certain games in the past, you’ll get to use them. Still, it never feels modern because of their outdated attires, entrance and overall model. In Battlegrounds, though, all of your favorite returning wrestlers wear their most recent attires. You won’t see any of them wearing the things they wore in the early decades or their prime, nope. What they have here is what you’ve seen during their last appearances in WWE. This design also applies to current wrestlers.
- Visually Engaging Gameplay – WWE 2K Battlegrounds took all the realistic aspects of wrestling down the trash. While that may seem like a bad move, WWE still made it in a way that’s action-packed and fun. The over-the-top action style gives it a more satisfying feeling, and the arcade-style graphics help a lot. It almost feels like you’re watching a 3D comic of superheroes, but here, they’re wrestlers.
- New Adventures for CAWS – In almost all of its past games, creating your very own wrestler is fun. You can dress them, slap on some move sets and add details to fully personalize them. In Battlegrounds, you won’t get to set the ratings. You actually need to progress with your original creations before they earn certain points. You’ll get to watch your wrestler grow from a mere rookie to holding one of the championships available. Men or women, you can reach the top but again, start at the very low first!
- More Matches To Enjoy – It’s pretty expected that this game is just going to be a one-on-one-style fighting game. If you have the same expectations, then you’re in for a surprise. There are many matches for you to try, like Royal Rumble, Steel Cage and many more! It’s still 2K, after all, so no reason for them to remove all of the matches we all loved.
Conclusion – That’s pretty much all the features that needed to be highlighted. To answer the question that is our title, it’s more of redemption in a way that it tried something new, and it worked. It’s also obvious that they just needed at least a year to continue developing the main series games. That’s why we never saw WWE 2K21, but at least 2K22 is coming this year, as recently announced.
Although Battlegrounds felt like a break, 2K still gave us a polished and new game while we wait for the realistic style we’re bound to get soon. Clearly, the game has its issues, but that’s up to you if you want to mind them or not. If you like this new style and design, then yes, this game is worth the try. WWE 2K Battlegrounds can still serve you the fun but in a different way than what you’re used to.
