WWE 2K24 review: More Mami for your money than Call of Duty's season pass

I can't believe I'm sitting here reviewing a fighting game. It's not normally where you'll find me enjoying my gaming time, but this isn't just a fighting game. It's a wrestling simulation, and I'm enjoying my foray back into the dramatic world of WWE as it has experienced a surge in popularity. Indeed, this year's Wrestlemania was up 41% in viewership across both nights compared to 2023. It's not just me that's riding the high. WWE Superstars like Rhea Ripley and Rey Mysterio have even been added to Call of Duty: MW3 and Warzone for Season 5 as operators. WWE is more mainstream than ever.

When I was a kid, my friends and I were obsessed with the WWE; in fact, I'm so old it was still called the WWF back then. We took turns choosing who would pay for the Pay Per View (if we couldn't get hold of it by illegal means), created each other in the Playstation 2 game, and re-enacted scenes in my friend's back garden (not me personally; I just watched in horror). More recently, my interest in wrestling has only been in passing when I have friends over and need some background entertainment. Still, this year, specifically around the time of the Royal Rumble, I decided I was all in again on the world of wrestling. Religiously watching Smackdown and Raw each week, devouring the drama and coincidentally being bombarded with ads for WWE 2K24. Every time a star is introduced, they are done so alongside their star rating in the game; it's inescapable. I had to try it.

I'm delivering this meandering monologue because I want to make clear from the jump of this review that I'm no wrestling game aficionado. I'm not directly comparing this game to the WWE 2K games that have come before it, but rather judging it by my own experience as an old-time wrestling game fan who is revisiting the games for the first time in twenty years. If you already have WWE 2K23, this may not be the most exciting release for you, but it's been a colossal injection of nostalgia for me. 

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a review code provided by 2K Games. The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.

What is WWE 2K24?

Step Into The Story | WWE 2K24 Official Launch Trailer | 2K - YouTube

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WWE 2K24 is the latest installment in the popular WWE 2K series of professional wrestling games. It gives you the opportunity to play as your own created character or one of the many stars on the WWE roster across a number of game modes catering to a slightly different side of the WWE experience. The game launched back in March this year, but I've been playing it on and off for months now both solo and with friends.

The traditional career mode 'MyRise' has you create your own wrestler and rise through the ranks in one of two stories depending on if you choose a male or female character. The goal is to become the greatest wrestler of all time. There's also a Faction mode, where you collect cards and form 4-wrestler teams to compete and unlock more powerful cards and rewards to improve your Faction.

Other modes include WWE Universe, where you set up matches and storylines between existing WWE wrestling superstars and manage their careers, and the 2K Showcase of the Immortals, a mode that celebrates legendary Wrestlemania matches from the past and lets you play through reliving the footage and trying to hit objectives. Finally, my favorite of the modes is MyGM. This is a simulation game where you take on the role of General Manager, and compete against other brands to make the best show in each round.  

WWE 2K24: Gameplay

When it comes to actually fighting in WWE2K24, This isn't the kind of game you will get very far in by button bashing. It's imperative to take notice of the tutorial and memorize combos to overcome your opponent. Fighting well will fill a meter and allow you to pull off a finisher, but each character has different prerequisites to do these. In addition, WWE2K24 has added 'Super Finishers', which can only be performed by certain characters and only after storing 3 finishers in the bank. Seth Rollins, for example, with 3 stored Finishers, can grab a stunned opponent and execute a Super Stomp from the top rope. Depending on the match type,

It's a more methodical, less frantic way of fighting that took me a while to get used to, but the payoff can be incredibly satisfying. Especially as the game automatically catches clips of the best moments for you to relive at the end of each match.

There were moments of frustration, of course, sometimes it just seemed impossible to pull off a combo with constant interruptions from your opponent, and sometimes the game just seemed downright unfair with how it can make you wait for that much-needed window of opportunity. Additionally, I've been thwarted by the AI of accompanying teammates getting me disqualified, but overall, the good times far outweigh the bad.

In MyRise, the game's story/career mode, both of the included storylines are cheesy with cliche twists and outcomes, and in that, they are precisely what you would expect from WWE—pure entertainment. If you're looking for an incredibly deep and thought-provoking take on a rise to fame, this isn't that game, but it doesn't need to be. The tone is exactly right, and the story was still a lot of fun to play through.

The MyGM mode was my favorite part of the game. For MyGM, you choose a manager, for example, Stephanie McMahon, and then a brand from Smackdown, Raw, NXT, WCW, and others, and then select your competitors for the season. You're in charge of the schedule for your show and a tight budget, so the goal is to pick a great opening match, a midcard match or two to keep the crowd interested, and a showstopping final event. At the end of your show, you're rated on your ratings performance against your competitors. Interjecting promos, advertising, and building up rivalries between your roster all help satisfy the audience's whim. I had a lot of fun strategizing in this mode and playing against my partner, with each of us controlling Smackdown and Raw and just passing the controller between us. I lost count of how many times I made mistakes by pitting two 'Face' wrestlers against each other in a match (not good for ratings) or accidentally blowing my budget on something like fancy lighting before making sure I had money to pay my roster.

What impressed me most was how many different modes there were to choose from; if one element of gameplay got dull at any point, you could switch to something else. There is also a MyFaction mode, for which you build up a 'deck' of wrestlers with cards to battle against competing factions. This mode, in particular, can be heavy-handed with how it pushes microtransactions and makes you feel like you need to spend real money to get decent card packs, but admittedly, I mostly avoided this mode for that reason. 

WWE 2K24: Visuals and audio

Visually, WWE 2K24, and particularly its character modeling, is the most impressive yet. At some angles, you'd be fooled into thinking you're watching an episode of Smackdown or Raw; well, that is, until Elite Cody Rhodes (the action figure version) sidles into the ring, of course. The captures of the movements of the superstars themselves are fantastic, and the characters have all been 3D scanned and motion captured as they perform their signature movements. The detail is impressive. The entrances themselves mirror the TV appearances and camera angles during cutscenes and in-ring action really make it feel like you are taking part in the show rather than simply playing a game. There are a few physical glitches and animation delays at times that break the immersion, particularly with clipping through hair, but overall the visuals are above what I'd expect for a wrestling game. 

The audio, on the other hand... well, I'm no music critic, and of course, music is subjective, but I vehemently hate most of this game's soundtrack. Thankfully, I'm able to turn off some songs, so I never need to hear them again. Maybe it's just me but I'd prefer a metal band in my eardrums as I'm clicking around the menus, it just fits better with the aesthetic of WWE. Instead, most of the time, we are subjected to thumping hyper dance beats or strange slow ballads that really fight against the vibe. I'm no music snob, I love some of the most cheesy pop music known to man, but I don't want to hear it in a WWE game. I'll listen to Rhea's opener on repeat instead. Demon in your Dreams? Now THAT is wrestling music.

WWE 2K24: Accessibility and approachability

WWE 2K24 has made significant strides in making the game more accessible to a wide range of players. You can remap controls to suit your preferences and adjust the challenges to your skill level. There is also a colorblind mode and subtitles and closed captions for all in-game dialogue and commentary.

The game is designed to be approachable to both new players and long-time fans of the series, not only in the vast range of game modes available to play. Each 'mode' you choose has a very thorough tutorial and training mode to guide you through how to play rather than just expect you to understand the intricacies. All of the superstar's moves are shown as tutorials on screen the first time you try them, and it's just a case of hitting pause for a gentle reminder of the commands. 

WWE 2K24: Should you buy it?

If you're a wrestling fan, and you've yet to grab WWE2K24, I'd absolutely recommend it. Right now, to play as Rhea Ripley in Call of Duty, you'll need a Season 5 Battle Pass which costs 1,100 COD points ($9.99), and as fun as it looks, I'm just not into COD, and if you aren't either then WWE2K24 is playing her in her natural habitat. The WWE ring!

WWE 2K24 took me by surprise as a new player and one who doesn't generally enjoy fighting games. It's damn fun, and I've found myself gravitating back to it multiple times since it launched in March. With it not being a new release, many places now have it at a discount, but not as considerable as you would expect this late in the cycle. This means it's still selling well. The game also gets regular updates from both 2K and the community, with a neverending library of community creations to keep your game fresh and interesting. The cheapest place at the time of publishing being Cdkeys for $36 for the PC/Steam edition.

Can I play WWE2K24 on Xbox Game Pass?

No. WWE 2K24 is not available in the Xbox Game Pass library currently.

Can I play WWE2K24 on Steam Deck and other gaming handhelds?

Yes you can play WWE 2K24 on Steam Deck, ROG Ally and other gaming handhelds. The game is not rated as 'Verified' for Steam Deck due to some graphical glitches you may experience and the small in-game text that doesn't suit the small screen, but it is rated as 'Playable'.