WWE 2K25: Expert Review Roundup and Analysis

Along with the users who purchased the Bloodline and Deadman Editions, reviewers have had a chance to play WWE 2K25 and are letting their thoughts on this year's release be known.

What are they saying about the latest in the fan-favorite franchise and its upgrades modes, overflowing roster, and new gameplay options?

Find out with this collection of reviews.

USA Today: WWE 2K25 is a "Huge" Game

Nick Schwartz of USA Today's For The Win gave the game a positive review, highlighting the different modes fans have the opportunity to immerse themselves in this year.

He wrote of the MyRISE mode, "Some of the scenes fall a bit flat, but when it's good - it's really good. Not to give anything away, but there's a sequence early on that could be a mind-blower if it were to air on TV shot-for-shot."

He continued, giving props to the creation suite in this year's game. "The creation suite in WWE 2K25 is extensive, as fans have come to expect, and you could easily spend hours crafting the perfect wrestler, complete with multiple attire sets, a custom entrance, move set, fan signs and Titantron video."

While the MyGM mode is one of Schwartz's favorites, there is one new element of the mode that has not won him over: cross-promotional matches.

"Winning cross-brand matches gives you an advantage over the other brands, which will be entertaining for MyGM multiplayer, but it now feels like rivalries from your own show are less important," he wrote.

Still, despite a hiccup here or there, the reviewer gave the game a positive review, nothing, "WWE 2K25 is a huge game, and there's no shortage of things to do for single-player or multiplayer-minded gamers."

Showcase Mode a Standout This Year

Will Borger of IGN tackled the site's review of this year's game and, while it is one in progress and admittedly not complete, he wasted little time praising the oft-maligned Showcase Mode.

"Showcase feels better than last year’s version (partially because this time we’ve got full ring entrances and the mid-match commentary is really excellent, and here for every match) and a fun twist this time around is that you’re sometimes asked to change the outcomes of matches members of these families lost in the real WWE storyline," he wrote.

From there, he praised the game's aesthetics and Visual Concepts' work to make it as realistic as possible.

"The WWE series has always been a looker, but this year Visual Concepts has managed to make things noticeably prettier than ever. Bruises, blood, and sweat are more realistic, and you can tell how long a match has been going, who is winning, and where the guys in the ring are taking the most punishment at a glance. It’s really impressive."

VICE: The Best of the Series So Far

Dwayne Jenkins of VICE had the most interesting of all reviews, calling WWE 2K25 the best of the series, but almost begrudgingly.

He wrote, "I can say that this, tragically, is the best of the series yet. Along that, however, comes a distinctive aura of having suffered from its own recent successes."

He expanded on that sentiment. Continuing, his review by stating:

"WWE 2K25 is the 2010s John Cena of wrestling games. It’s (mostly) achieved everything it set out to do. It’s far and away one of the most successful staples of a long-standing institution. The mad lad can even still put on an amazing match! …But somewhere, you get the sense that there’s a lack of depth."

He admits that he can easily recommend the game to WWE die-hards but has a hard time justifying the $70 price tag.

He concluded his review by writing:

"Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with it if you happen to enjoy the pageantry of it all. WWE 2K25, I have to iterate, is a beautiful spectacle. Updated entrances, attires, and animations. Crowd-pleasing additions to celebrated modes. An “Eh” MyRise but a phenomenal Bloodline Showcase. The Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed. But in crafting the best version of itself, I wonder if its soul is still there."

A writer with experience playing the other games and understanding the strides it has taken to become the glossy, finished product that it is today, he ultimately recommended it to the die-hard fans of the franchise, those who flood arenas, probably with championship replica belts draped over their shoulders.

For everyone else, he recommends a sale, citing what he feels to be a lack of soul.

It is a familiar criticism of the WWE product as a whole at times, fair or not.