WWE 2K24 Review: Early Scores and Gameplay Videos Before Release Date

WWE 2K24 arrived on gaming consoles Tuesday morning with the early digital release of the Deluxe and 40 Years of WrestleMania Editions of the game and reviewers are sounding off on this year's presentation from WWE and 2K Games.

IGN's Jarrett Green wrote, "The wrestling of 2K24 is better than ever, even if it's not overtly so."

He continued:

"When you dig past the looks and into its mechanics, you'll need to sift through 2K24 with a fine-toothed comb to find significant differences between this and last year's edition. The biggest addition is the Super Finisher, which lets you spend three finisher stocks to do a bigger, badder version of your finisher."

The game is not wholly different than its predecessor, Green gave the game an "8" rating and wrote, "While not drastically different, WWE 2K24 is better in almost every way, touting small but smart additions to well-tested systems and modes as opposed to taking bigger risks."

Dalton Cooper of GameRant wrote, "WWE 2K24 is the latest entry in the series, and while it doesn't make any massive leaps forward, it's another fun WWE game that will give fans their money's worth and then some."

The 2K Showcase, this year centering on 40 years of WWE's premier event, WrestleMania, is one of the missteps of the production, according to Cooper. He wrote, "Hardcore WWE fans have likely seen these clips countless times already, and so triggering them doesn't feel like a reward. The scenes serve as roadblocks keeping players from actually playing the game, and honestly, fans will have a much more fun time with Showcase by skipping them."

He wrapped up his four-star review by writing:

"WWE 2K24 is a gorgeous wrestling game with hard-hitting fights that will keep players plugged in for hours on end. The series seems to be settling in to the annual release trap of small steps forward over major improvements, but hopefully next year's entry can provide the big leaps that modes like MyGM need to help the WWE 2K series reach the next level and finish the comeback story that started with WWE 2K22."

Chris Studley of Dexerto gave the game four stars out of five, writing, "Between the improvements to match types, modes that should keep wrestling fans occupied for hours on end, and endless customization options, WWE 2K24 is the franchise's deepest title since its return to the gaming lexicon in 2022."

Brodie Gibbons of Press Start Australia gave the release an "8.5" rating, touting the "near-boundless creation suites" and "more modes than you can shake a stick at."

Jeremy Peeples of Hardcore Gamer admitted that the game has its flaws, but excellent graphics, smooth animations, and the Showcase mode make it, "the best-playing game in the WWE 2K series." He gave the game four out of five stars.

The Deluxe and 40 Years of WrestleMania Editions are available digitally on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and PC now. Both physical and digital Standard Edition releases, as well as the physical Deluxe and 40 Years releases, will go on sale Friday, March 8.