WrestleMania season has arrived, which also means WWE 2K24 will arrive soon. This year WrestleMania revolves around Cody Rhodes trying to finish his story as he challenges Roman Reigns in the main event for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. This story, developed for years, will culminate at WrestleMania XL (40) next month. The development team at 2K Sports has decided to incorporate this story into the game, with Cody Rhodes serving as one of the cover athletes. WWE 2K24 also has a Showcase mode that goes over some of the greatest moments in the 40-year history of WrestleMania.

The Showcase mode begins with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the WWE (then called WWF) Intercontinental Championship. Throughout the match, the player attempts to recreate key moments from this real-life matchup. The team at 2K Sports has done an excellent job weaving in gameplay and actual footage from WrestleMania III, where this match took place. In an almost seamless transition, players will go from controlling the action in the ring to watching how it actually unfolded on that night back on March 29, 1987. For wrestling historians, the game offers a fun way to relive the magic of that match. 

Complete Objectives for More Rewards

Sticking to the gameplay aspect for a moment, players fight as they see fit during these matches; however, accomplishing the objectives will unlock certain items. For example, in the match mentioned above, players can earn four unlockable items by completing all of the objectives. If only two of the four objectives get finished, then some items might still get unlocked, but not all of them. These objectives include hitting a clothesline at the right moment, utilizing a taunt to get the crowd going, hitting a finishing move, and more.

Another way the player receives rewards revolves around the use of historical footage. If the player can successfully hit objectives, the game transitions to real-life footage showing what happened at the event. The player can still win the match and advance without clearing most of the objectives; that just means missing out on some historical footage. 

Matches and moments in the Showcase mode range from Steamboat vs. Macho Man at WrestleMania III to Steve Austin vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X-7 (17) to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 last year.

One annoying aspect of this mode involves the managers outside the ring. While it might have happened in real life, it can affect the gameplay negatively when a manager like Bobby Heenan grabs the attention of a wrestler in the game. Players can’t do anything about it, allowing opponents to gain the advantage. This element led to many frustrating moments, especially if a wrestler had control up to that point.

Jump Into the Action Quickly in Exhibition Mode

For those who want a relaxing experience, the game also offers an exhibition mode. Some match types include one-on-one, a triple threat, a gauntlet, or a Royal Rumble match. Players can select different rule schemes, such as having a special guest referee, having it be a ladder match, taking place in a steel cage, and more.

Players also have many different arenas to choose from, both from the present day and over the years. However, some arenas will unlock through gameplay. This year in WWE 2K24, the development team has included new match types: Special Guest Referee, Ambulance Match, Casket Match, and a Gauntlet Match. Fans have asked for these for quite a while now, and it should excite them to finally have these match types available.

Create Your Own WWE Universe

Universe offers two different playstyles. When starting a new file, the player must first decide whether to play “Superstar Mode” or “Classic Mode.” For those who want to control a superstar within the universe, select “Superstar Mode.” For those who might want a more classic experience that puts players in a sandbox with complete freedom, choose “Classic Mode.”

Universe mode this year also brings in some new additions, including run-ins, different scenarios and brawls, Money in the Bank cash-ins, double title matches, a “Loser Leaves Town” stipulation, and much more. In the beginning most will probably select “Superstar Mode” and when that happens, it will be time to choose a superstar. The available wrestlers will then display critical information fans might want to know. 

In addition to their name, players can also see the wrestler’s score, what weight class the wrestler might be in, their current ranking, who their allies will be, who their enemies will be, and more. Once a superstar gets selected, the work really begins. Players can jump into a match or tweak some options to get everything perfect. Character options available include starting a rivalry, switching shows, disbanding a team, cashing in a Money in the Bank contract (if a wrestler has one), and more. Fans can also change a wrestler’s attributes, such as arm power, strike reversal, aerial range, etc. WWE fans should have a blast creating their own story.

Build up Your Factions With Collectible Cards

For those who might not like those modes, the game also features a MyFaction mode. MyFaction revolves around building up your faction, collecting superstars, and upgrading by completing challenges and earning rewards. For those who might play other sports games, think of MyFaction as the equivalent of Madden Ultimate Team in the annual Madden NFL games.

The journey in this mode begins with a starter pack where fans must choose between high flyers, powerhouses, strikers, or technicians. Once players make a decision, cards will be available to flip over. For those who decide to go the high flyers route, for example, a card for Montez Ford might get drawn, or one for Rey Mysterio or Ricochet. Fans can also unlock “Persona” cards here, allowing new attire to appear in different modes, not just MyFaction. Once fans get through the initial setup, it becomes time to set up both the men’s and women’s divisions. Here, the work really begins. 

Players can compete in online ranked play, go through weekly towers, revamped Faction Wars, and more. The game also features different forms of in-game currency, such as MyFaction Tokens to unlock superstars and MyFaction Points for contracts and card packs. WWE 2K24 will reward players who use this mode often with login rewards for daily logins. 

Manage and Run Your Own Wrestling Show

For fans who want to be more Adam Pearce than Cody Rhodes won’t want to miss the MyGM mode. In this mode, players assume the role of management. Players have brands to choose from, match types, more championships, talents to scout, contracts to manage, and much more. It really will be up to the player to run the show and make it a success. That begins with the selection of a general manager to run the show. Some options include Stephanie McMahon, Xavier Woods, Tyler Breeze, and Mick Foley. Each individual brings unique talents to the role, such as Stephanie bringing “The McMahon Presence,” which means earning twice as much money from arena attendance that week. 

Once the player chooses a general manager and a show, the WWE Draft begins, and it becomes player responsibility to build the roster. Throughout the different seasons, decisions will become available to try and switch events up to keep the crowd interested. For fans who have sat at home and participated in fantasy booking, this mode will be your time to shine.

Define Your Legacy and Finish Your Story

If the Showcase mode has the big story element for this year, the MyRise mode has the career mode portion of the game. WWE 2K24 features two storylines, one for men and one for women. In this mode, players create their own WWE Superstar and try to create their own legacy. Going through this mode, your created wrestler will encounter many WWE Superstars, such as Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Rhea Ripley, Becky Lynch, and more. Unlockables from this mode will also carry over to other modes.

Of course, WWE 2K24 also has all the different creator modes from over the years. Fans can create their own superstar, entrance, championship, arena, and much more. WWE 2K24 has ten different categories to choose from, meaning fans who enjoy this type of thing will spend many hours crafting every segment of their superstar’s experience.

WWE 2K24 also features online gameplay where players can compete against each other to see who rules the ring. In addition to playing against players worldwide, wrestling fans can share their creations. Once something gets created, players can upload it to the 2K server so others can download and use it. For those who might not like to create items, focus on the download section and browse an almost endless supply of content to use.

Nobody Can Present Their Product Like WWE

Alongside the different modes in WWE 2K24, another piece of the package deserves some attention. When fans go to a WWE show, it can be a hybrid of many different shows. Professional wrestling goes on in the ring, the crowd participates with various chants, and then when wrestlers enter, there can be loud music, videos, and pyro going off, giving it a bit of a concert vibe. Nobody can touch WWE from a presentation standpoint, and fans want to see that carry over to the video game. In that aspect, 2K Sports does well in some areas, with others needing improvement.

Entrances have always played an important role in WWE. A good entrance can help fire up the crowd and get everything off to a good start. In WWE 2K24, the entrances generally look great, but some of them miss the mark on authenticity. Some examples include the timing on the entrance for Cody Rhodes being off and the wrong pyro used when Roman Reigns makes his entrance, if he has pyro at all. In real life, when Roman enters with Paul Heyman, he has horizontal pyro when standing in the aisle and then vertical pyro in the ring. In WWE 2K24, Roman only has the vertical pyro when entering with Paul Heyman and no pyro at all when entering the arena alone.

It might seem like a trivial matter, but wrestling fans notice, and it takes away from the overall authenticity of the presentation. The entrances also don’t feature the AR graphics that WWE uses with some of the entrances. Whether people like those or not, having them in the game would have given it a more authentic feel.

Accessibility Options Give WWE Fans a Better Experience

Regarding gameplay, the game controls mostly like last year’s version. The game has basic controls for strikes, reversals, finishing moves, and more. One accessibility feature that really helps out revolves around the ability to change certain mini-games from rapid button pressing to just holding down a button. Just holding down a button makes everything much better than trying to break a controller by madly pushing a button as quickly as possible.

The reversal windows can also change a bit, giving the player a better opportunity to hit a reversal successfully, unlike in years past, when it would have been virtually impossible. Weight detection can also switch between simulation and arcade, turning off rope break, changing the pin mini-game timing, and more. These options will help ensure that more people can enjoy the game.

WWE 2K24 does a lot right. Even if the game has room for improvement, the development team is heading in the right direction. The different modes will keep fans busy for a long time. The variety offered here will make everyone happy, regardless of the mode. Thanks to the creation tools in the game, fans will get to finish their story.

Rating: 8.5/10

This review originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks.

Please Note: We received a code for WWE 2K24 from 2K Sports for review purposes.