WWE 2K17 Early Reviews: 10 Things We Learned

While the developers have moved away from the WWE games’ old arcade-centric style, 2K17 brings through a number of minor changes that only partially succeed in streamlining the gameplay.

First is the new “roll-out” function in multi-man matches. What it essentially does is force a wrestler who has taken a certain amount of damage to leave the ring and catch a breather, rather than hobble around and extend the beatdown. Players determine the time taken to get back inside, but while it forces more effective stamina management, it’ll frustrate fans who just want to get on with it.

Ladder matches have been greatly simplified. The roll-out system comes into play here too, but you can’t just set up ladders in any old place any more. Ladders must now be “locked” into a certain point in and outside the ring, and while those does make placing them easier, it diminishes the match’s chaotic nature, and makes them feel like a more linear experience.

The result of these changes are matches that look and feel a lot smoother, but have a reduced propensity to descend into the kind of all-out mayhem that often makes these games so enjoyable.