WWE 2K22: 10 Hands On First Impressions You Need To Know
Testing out gameplay, graphics, controls, MyGM and more WWE 2K22 features!
2K Games wants WWE 2K22 to be good. You, the person reading this who has a keen interest in its quality, also wants WWE 2K22 to be good. This writer, who has played wrestling video games since the Atari ST days, wants WWE 2K22 to be good.
Everyone needs this to be a winner.
2K20 was a near-terminal hammer blow to a series that didn't deserve it. Thankfully, for the most part, 2K22 looks like it could restore the franchise to former glories - not only that, but it could even breathe new life into 2K's bones and revolutionise the way WWE games are made forever.
That sounds pretty nifty, doesn't it? Early hands-on impressions (born through playing around with the new gameplay elements, single-player modes like MyGM and some other things 2K22 has to offer) are very promising indeed.
Of course, not everything is perfect. It'd be unrealistic to expect that, perhaps, and the positives definitely outweigh the negatives thus far. If 2K can iron out a few problems before release on 11 March, then they'll go a long way towards pleasing series hardcores and newcomers alike.
10. Sound & Lighting Are Way Better
Bloody hell, this pops.
Arenas in 2K22 feel livelier than ever before thanks to improved sound production and an emphasis on clever lighting tricks. Entrances burst into life thanks to new camera angles, and everything seems much more in-tune with real WWE television than it did before.
Older gamers will know the score here: WWE games always felt rather lacking in terms of live atmosphere. Developers struggled/failed to capture the energy that exists when crowds gather for big pay-per-views like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania, and episodes of Raw and SmackDown may as well have taken place in front of cardboard cutouts.
Now, thanks to the volume being cranked up and way more intensity from the cracks and bangs of pyro or the cheering/booing masses, 2K22 looks like what you dreamed WWE games would back in the day. They've made great use of increased processing power on PS5 and Xbox Series X, put it that way.