WWE 2K25 Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

WWE 2K25 from developer Visual Concepts arrives at a pivotal time for pro wrestling. 

Even before John Cena’s literal decades-in-the-making heel turn, WWE was flirting with a resurgence to a level not seen since the Attitude Era. It’s also reaching more fans globally than ever after the TKO merger and shifting Raw broadcasts to streaming on Netflix. 

Rather than sit back and become just another annual sports game release, though, WWE 2K25 actually goes a refreshing route and embraces the chaos and silliness of the so-called sport in a way that seems to harken back to the glorious N64 days or pro wrestling video games.

That’s lumping a huge load of expectations on the game, of course—but at face value, it certainly appears up to the task of meeting or exceeding them.

Gameplay

In the ring itself, WWE 2K25 doesn’t feel all that dramatically different from last year’s release. 

That’s not a knock, either—the series has worked hard over the last few years to make sure that the gameplay, above all else, is what keeps players coming back for more. 

The combo system when getting offensive still feels great and more technical things like grappling and juggling stamina meters and otherwise makes for a nice overall system. As always, controls are responsive and the systems balanced and fair with mostly no major hiccups or glitches. 

Some of last year’s highlights, like super finishers return, giving the actual wrestling itself a small measure of strategy and risk that rather accurately emulates the risks real wrestlers take during matches.

Perhaps the biggest addition is the return of chain wrestling, which boils down to little mini-games within the game, whether it’s in the ring or outside of it while jockeying for position. These are fun and veer the series even farther away from a strictly simulation experience, which is a good thing. 

Such a strong foundation means the gameplay can expand in other interesting ways instead. Take, for example, the long-awaited implementation of intergender wrestling, which gives players more creative freedom and makes for interesting matchups that fans wouldn’t get to experience otherwise. 

Fittingly, new matches such as the Bloodline Rules Match debut and are fun little set pieces to have, especially in modes with an emphasis on story and character work. 

It’s not just match types getting new entries, either. There are even new backstage areas to fight within, of course, and plenty of objects and environmental hazards to utilize. Like other features, these harken back to the old-school days when wrestling video games had more of an arcade slant. 

As always, some weird A.I. and clunky hit detection remain, but it feels like a charming feature of the games at this point rather than a major negative, which is what happens when the gameplay so smartly leans into the goofiness of pro wrestling. 

Graphics and Presentation

This time out, WWE 2K25 touts 300-plus playable characters and the vast majority of them look great. 

Character models are by and large accurate and recognizable. As always, the game can’t possibly keep up with every single active Superstar’s small appearance tweaks before launch, but the attention to detail in the outfits, facial expressions and dynamic physics on pieces of clothing and hair all scream next-generation power. 

This extends to the actual wrestling itself, where damage inflicted on wrestlers looks more realistic (and painful) than ever. 

Lighting and shadow work continue to be strong areas for the series too, which, given the importance of professional lighting work on the weekly shows themselves, makes plenty of sense. 

Sound design is again strong too, even if things can start to hit on repetitive notes over time. Beyond smooth narration and ambiance, the hilarity of weapons hitting wrestlers and certain impacts outside of rings makes for a funny time. 

Most impressive of all, there is a super-authentic feel to the immersion in most areas, this time complete with NXT fans banging loudly in smaller venues at the right moments and crowd reactions in bigger arenas providing the proper ambiance. 

It’s just really cool to zoom out in third person during an entrance and appreciate the detail found throughout. Considering wrestlers spend every second of a match attempting to get reactions from live crowds, the fact that the digital ones here look good and respond even better really stands out as a highlight.

MySuperstar and More

The WWE 2K series’ nearly overwhelming number of game modes conversation can only start with MySuperstar and the new Roman Reigns-based feature this year. 

Taking after the 2K NBA series and putting a pro wrestling slant on it, the Island online multiplayer hub boasts up to 50 players and is split across multiple interesting districts. 

There, players take created characters out into the world to tackle quests, live events and more to progress a storyline and one’s standing with Roman Reigns…the island’s Tribal Chief. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s a fun diversion with some funny easter eggs and downright hilarious costumes. 

Overall, it’s an almost odd blend of RPG and always-online live-service games. And like NBA 2K’s areas like this, it all boils down to a Virtual Currency (VC) farming exercise. A shame because a player’s wrestler ratings ties directly to VC earnings. Like the NBA side, that, in turn, creates little nudges to spend real cash to keep up with others in the lobbies, which is a step far beyond simple cosmetic items pressures found in most online games these days. 

A year removed from multiple storylines, MyRISE instead embraces an overarching narrative to fun results. Created wrestlers must grapple with an NXT invasion and beyond the obvious matches and backstage brawls, must make personality choices that impact storylines. 

Keeping with the Reigns-based theme, Showcase: The Bloodline’s Dynasty is a thrilling way to experience some history and gets some downright amazing narration by Paul Heyman.

There, players dive deep on the longrunnig family history and can even swing the outcome of historic matches. Unlike recent entries, players aren’t often kicked out of the action for cincematics, but there are still some questionable timers and objective goals at times, too. 

MyGM now has online multiplayer with up to four participants and remains a highlight of the entire package. Players draft stars to a roster, then lead that brand through seasons and major events, thankfully including cross-brand PLEs. 

The mode is simply incredibly fun, with the outcomes of matches sometimes offering huge lump-sum payouts that managers can then use to sign free agents to beef up their rosters even more. 

MyFaction, on the other hand, feels largely the same. The card-battle mode remains engaging for those who enjoy it, but won’t necessarily overpower the other modes by any means. 

A new World Tour mixes up the experience a tad, at least. Compared to prior games, players will no longer be locked into a linear path. Community packs and themed events will refresh things with new flavors as the game’s lifecycle continues. 

The ever-expanding creation suite returns with new items and little things that could lead to some truly wacky and fun things, be they objects, wrestlers, or more. As always, browsing community creations and seeing what other players have come up with via the extensive list of tools is a blast. 

Universe mode might not make waves, but the fact it returns a promos system is a nice way to start getting it back to a good place. The branching choices possible in those are worth a look and vary things up nicely. 

Like its NBA counterparts, WWE 2K25 is littered with microtransactions despite not being a live-service game with a long shelf life (the 2K23 edition already has its servers shut down, anyway). 

Otherwise, the game largely runs well and again comes equipped with a huge list of options in the menus. 

Conclusion

A year ago, 2K24 successfully finished off a trilogy of sorts since the return from hiatus for the series in 2022. 

Now, 2K25 has raised the proverbial bar even higher, matching the real-world happenings. 

The feat is impressive. Not every game mode gets massive updates annually, but that’s standard sports-game stuff. There’s still a ton of content available to all types of players. 

Sheer variety of game modes, great gameplay and the subtle embracing of pro wrestling’s goofier side feels like a brilliant way for the series to go right as pro wrestling enters this new golden era. 

WWE 2K25 won’t have the nostalgia boost some of those old-school classics do, but it’s inching the series closer and closer to reaching for those heights, anyway.