MLB The Show 25 Review: Gameplay Videos, Features, Modes and Impressions

MLB The Show 25 from developer San Diego Studio isn’t permitting the series to fall into a lazy annual upgrades cycle. 

No, instead, The Show 25 embraces the next-generation wave of the sport with coverstars Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson and Paul Skenes by taking some major risks in beloved game modes. 

Given the “road” traveled by the series so far as a standout not just in the baseball realm but as an industry leader for sports games as a whole, this year’s effort could have easily played it safe. 

The risks taken, though, are clear responses to player feedback, which has the entry feeling like a home run.

Gameplay

This is The Show. A year ago, the 2024 entry wasn’t even shy about admitting there simply weren't a ton of upgrades and tweaks to the gameplay experience. Given the deep-as-you-want-it simulation already established, this wasn't a huge ordeal.

That let the series simply fine-tune things and better align with the modern game, such as iterating on the mound during step-offs. 

But this year takes some gambles in refreshing ways. 

In the batter’s box, the new Ambush Hitting permits players to guess on pitch and location within the strike zone and adjusts the PCI size based on the guess. Get it right, the contact area grows. Get it wrong, the contact zone shrinks and makes the pitch harder to hit. 

It’s a fun little addition atop everything else and feels really rewarding. To that end, “guessing’ isn’t really the right word, as more in-depth players can pay attention to tendencies and game situations to increase the chances of making the right call on the incoming pitch. 

On the defensive side, a new fielding throw meter allows for more of a skill gap between players based on timing. It’s a welcome tweak in that it keeps things as basic as needs be but really powers some big-time defensive plays.  

Quick Time Events (QTEs) return in Road to the Show mode and could prove as polarizing as ever. While they have had their difficulty refined to match what happens on the screen (speed of a grounder, for example), their presence at all will be divisive. 

Overall, gameplay feels more responsive. Many things go into this, but infielders and outfielders just feel like they react to the ball off the bat faster than usual. That speeds gameplay up a smudge and doesn’t feel like it swings the advantage to one side of the ball or the other.

For players who really want a challenge after years of playing, a new GOAT difficulty setting represents the high end of the scale and isn’t for the faint of heart, to say the least. 

Given the above, the gameplay tweaks feel more dramatic this time out, but for the better in every respect. 

Graphics and Presentation

In some ways, The Show 25 feels like a big leap in the graphics department, which is rather uncommon for annual sports games. There are notable new details on the fields in terms of dirt and grass and it feels like uniforms got tweaked to look less copy-and-paste across all players in terms of how they fit on bodies. 

But in others, players might notice it looks similar to the last few outings. The dynamic is a tough one—what’s there often looks great. The reflections off helmets, dynamic shadows sweeping across fields during the day, little unique mannerisms to superstar players—all that’s here. 

Things like close-ups of the crowds still aren’t all that friendly, though and the stadiums outside the really iconic ones can blend together at times. The amazing sound design, from cracks of the bats to really astute broadcasting calls, at least, remains. 

Longtime players will notice droves of new animations, too, such as how players snag line drives in different ways, which really drives home the immersion. And that’s the thing—it might look similar, but it’s still super immersive. 

Perhaps the biggest new point is a first-person fielding camera in Road to the Show. Visually, it looks amazing, even if it’s a little hard to get used to from a gameplay standpoint. 

In this area overall, The Show remains king through attention to details, though the annual release cycle will leave players pointing out obvious similarities. 

Road to the Show and More

Last year, Road to the Show kept things minimal, largely making a splash through the inclusion of the combine, adding more depth and minigames to the journey. 

This year, though, RttS kicks into overdrive with smart new additions. 

The Amateur Years marks the inclusion of high school and college games, the latter of which players can skip and head right for the Big Leagues. Should they choose to take the college route, players will find eight fully licensed teams. 

Beyond the mentioned first-person perspective, this is the biggest tweak to the mode. Some will point out how games like Madden have failed at high school and college attempts before and that’s fair. But it’s hard to complain about having the option in a mode like this, even if the supposed high schoolers look like adults and can pull off some moves that should probably only happen in the MLB. 

As far as player progression, this year’s game puts more control in the hands of players through the Path to 99 system. It boils down simply but is impactful—players can apply earned points to specific skills, rather than the old system of on-rails progression. 

Diamond Dynasty gets a facelift, with sets and seasons straight-up removed. In their place, a year-long schedule that loops in new game modes Diamond Quest and Weekend Classic.

The Quest portion of the new offerings really gets experimental in a fun way with RPG-like elements. Using an almost roguelike backdrop (fittingly spending peanuts on upgrades), players will encounter boss battles before moving on to the Weekend Classic, which can even include solo ranked events.

It’s hard to undersell just how important it is for the card-collecting mode to dismantle the confusing seasons system and permit players to use their earned cards whenever they want. Some might complain about power creep, but the creep can only creep so far in a game with a shelf life of roughly a year before starting over again in ‘26.

If Diamond Dynasty leans into RPGs for a mixup, Franchise mode experiments with board games in its biggest new feature. Dubbed Battle of the Big Boards, the free-agency based new addition offers up a fun new strategic element. 

There, players will hit free agency and encounter timers and choices that have consequences while attempting to add to rosters on the open market.  Things like a free agent’s wants and needs on the market factor into the equation. 

Given the way free agency and the draft have dominated attention for every sport’s offseason in modern times, it’s nice to see the biggest baseball simulation out there really give this area more love. 

Storylines: The Negro Leagues Season 3 is the third entry in the historical game mode and offers up even more looks into the background of the sport.

This time, Storylines inches closer and closer to straight-up feeling like playing an actual documentary through notable presentation upgrades, including the presence of real-world sounds. 

Like last year, beyond a brilliant history lesson, the mode serves almost as a fantastic tutorial to game mechanics. It’s a blend of things that more sports games should probably try to emulate. 

Beyond the big names above, the usual suspects such as the stadium creator, Home Run Derby and a host of online multiplayer options return. The series continues to run well and enjoy next-generation must-haves like crossplay and cross-progression, too. 

Conclusion

Not that it’s any surprise, but The Show 25 is the best entry to date, and not just because of the expected gameplay tweaks and upgrades. 

The admission and willingness for the series to admit that things weren’t working, such as over in Diamond Dynasty, is a nice boon that other sporting games should follow. 

Even better, the big gambles have all paid off well. The card-collecting mode is now worth a look for fans across the board, while upgrading the progression system in RttS is downright huge. And being willing to flirt with non-sports game genres like roguelikes in interesting ways is honestly a highlight of the entire package. 

It’s all a win and it should be downright thrilling to see how ‘26 shapes up in response to what should be strong praise from players who pick up the game.