WWE 2K25 Review: 11 Ups & 3 Downs

by Andrew Pollard

1. A Phenomenal Showcase

WWE 2K25 Showcase The Headshrinkers
2K Games

While it was The Island that was heavily pushed and promoted ahead of WWE 2K25's release, it's Showcase that's the real star of the, err, show here.

MyRise is so much fun to play through, and MyGM has made some hugely welcome improvements, but it's hard to look past Showcase when looking at the pinnacle of 2K25's modes. Last year's WrestleMania Showcase brought a nice sense of variety - there were only so many times you could play as a version of Rey Mysterio in WWE 2K22 or only so many times you could play against a version of John Cena in WWE 2K23 before things got tired - and variety is again the word of the day in this latest release.

On that front, there's only Roman Reigns who gets two matches - as well as being involved in the Bloodline WarGames - as each contest features someone new, from Yokozuna to the Headshrinkers, to Rocky Maivia, to Peter Maivia, to Umaga, to Rosey and Jamal, to the Wild Samoans, to the Islanders, to Naomi, to Tamina, to Rikishi, to the Usos, to Nia Jax. Plus, there's a nice little surprise waiting for you at the end of Showcase...

It's not just the variety that makes Showcase shine, though, for Paul Heyman does such a fantastic job of setting the table for each match, making each bout feel like a genuine big deal and likewise making each wrestler feel like a big deal. For older fans, it's great to revisit moments from yesteryear, but for younger fans or more casual wrestling fans, Heyman is brilliant in giving you the historical context behind those matches and those wrestlers.

One other minor tweak that needs mentioning, too, is that the 'slingshot tech' has been removed from Showcase this time out. Slingshot was the name used for the switch between real-life historical footage and the in-game action as you played through some of WrestleMania's biggest matches in WWE 2K24. Granted, it was a good idea in principle, but it made the gameplay experience slightly clunky. With that removed for WWE 2K25, things are far smoother now, and the matches have a more natural flow to them.

To summarise, then, WWE 2K25 is a fantastic game that, while let down somewhat by its much-hyped new mode, shines with a stunning Showcase, a hugely engaging MyRise story, a vastly improved MyGM mode, and gameplay that's so easy to pick up but may take a little while to master. Throw in the usual excess brought by the Creation Suite, and this is yet another big win for 2K and Visual Concepts.

If you're after a standard rating, it's an extremely solid 8 out of 10, a 4 out of 5, with the only slight downers being the cash-grab nature tied to MyFaction and now The Island.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.