WWE 2K20 is out now, and that means that we finally get the perverse pleasure of watching a whole bunch of ridiculous glitch videos showcasing all the possible ways that a wrestler can get mangled. 2K20 is no disappointment in that regard – but, uh, it seems to be disappointing in basically every other respect.
We've already looked at story mode, with its flat visuals and ridiculous dialogue, but the troubles don't end there. A big Reddit post has collected a lot of the issues, but some of the lowlights are pretty astounding. Online in particular seems to be a mess – there are no custom match options, no entrances, no custom arenas, and the matches tend to open with a lengthy bout of intense lag.
Then there's the just plain weird stuff. Some options are mislabeled so, for example, Evolution's entrance theme is replaced by Jeff Hardy's music. If you stick a logo on your career mode wrestler, career mode won't load. If you taunt a ref at the wrong time, they'll ignore pinfalls.
And then it just looks bad, too. In many cases much worse than previous instalments.
https://twitter.com/TheBarrylad/status/1182362635737731072
At least we can laugh about hair physics.
https://twitter.com/DanRyckert/status/1186670209807114241
And apparent sex acts.
Or whatever the heck is supposed to be happening here.
#WWE2K20 #XboxShare pic.twitter.com/DyhU2QIgXH
— Marc Bravo (@MrMacho419) October 22, 2019
As a capper, it seems that the signed photographs meant to be included in the game's collector's edition are, in some cases, not signed. Edge is one of the stars meant to be in on the promotion, and he's planning to set up his own PO box to sign the photos and cover for the distribution mishap.
Lame. Seems like it happened to a few other people too. Someone dropped the ball. I'm filming a movie for the next month but when I get home I'll get a p.o box. Everyone who didn't get one signed, I'll follow you on here, give you the address and you can send it to me to sign🤙🏼 https://t.co/GgLELXEDTo
— Adam Copeland (@RatedRCope) October 22, 2019
The WWE 2K series has never been amazing, but there were some solid entries around the time 2K Sports first got the license. But it's been downhill since around 2K15, and these player reports suggest that this year in particular is a low point.
This is the first instalment in the series without any substantial involvement from wrestling-focused Japanese studio Yuke's, and the transition has clearly not been a smooth one. Yuke's itself is working on a new wrestling IP – hopefully they'll have the time and resources to give fans a meaningful WWE alternative. Now that there's one of those on television, it'd be nice to see videogames follow suit.