At some point in a yearly series’ life, we get to a point where the amounts of improvements and differences begin to slow down. Sometimes, in anticipation of a future title that will see vast improvements, and other times it is because there’s simply no real big ideas to implement. This year’s flagship WWE title, 2K25, feels like a small step for man instead of a giant leap for mankind.

The game plays much like its predecessor, implementing the same fluid combo system and grapples. These all still work really well, with some added context-based moves that occur when in certain areas. What they have brought back is chain-wrestling, which sounds fantastic on paper, but the implementation does not represent the chain-wrestling we see on television very well.

When pro-wrestlers perform chain-wrestling, it is often a fast, fluid, rapid set of moves done in succession, where wrestlers attempt to gain the upper hand. It is probably the closest that companies like WWE get to showing off Olympic-style wrestling. When done in the game however, each movement is interrupted by a minigame to determine who gets the upper hand. It is methodical and boring; however, you can actually turn it off in the settings if it is not your thing.

The overall look and feel of 2K25 is not a huge improvement over last year’s title. In 2025, the limitations set by the last generation show even on the PS5 version of the game. The character models still look reasonably impressive, however things like hair clipping into bodies and characters with soulless looking eyes are still prevalent, not to mention that the crowds do not feel like getting any closer to the experience we see on television. I would not expect a console to render 10,000+ crowd members, but I feel as though some of these issues could be fixed six years into the current generation’s life cycle.

The biggest additions to this year’s game in terms of match-types include the ability to play intergender matches for the first time in 16 years. Even if the WWE themselves do not pull the trigger, we can at least finally virtually experience Rhea Ripley vs Dominik Mysterio.

Considering the game is largely centred around the Samoan heritage throughout WWE’s history, the other big addition is the Bloodline Rules match. This match starts out as a standard no-disqualification match, but at certain points when you are beaten down, you can trigger a run-in from an ally. Each player can summon up to three allies during the match, and with my experience so far, the game chooses other WWE Superstars who would logically come and assist their fallen comrade.

One minor tweak that I would make to this mode would be taking out the fact that whoever wins the match is declared the “Head of the Table”, or in layman’s terms, the chief of the Samoan family in WWE. It was strange to hear that Grayson Waller, a former Australian history teacher, was declared the leader of a tribe of Samoans, but I digress.

Other improvements across other modes have been made as well, such as Special Guest Referee, which is now able to be played across multiple modes, as well as the ability to have up to eight players participate in backstage brawl matches. There have also been new backstage areas to play in as well, which is a nice addition.

The centrepiece of WWE 2K games is often with the Showcase mode. This year focuses on the Samoan dynasty, aka the many family members of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns who have competed in the WWE over the past thirty-plus years. Each match is expertly introduced by Paul Heyman, a man who has managed and worked with the Anoa’I family since the late 1980s.

Paul explains the history of every match and the Samoan competing in that match with immaculate detail, explaining their heritage, the characters they played, and the role they held in the company is a great history lesson. Injecting a short interview with a current day member of the family is also a nice touch and was how I found out that Joseph Fatu’s (Solo Sikoa) middle name was Yokozuna, taken from his uncle Rodney Anoa’i’s ring name. Little snippets like this cement how much pro-wrestling means to the family, and makes the mode feel incredibly important.

The implementation of each match sees you competing as the designated Samoan superstar, either reliving, reconstructing, or creating history. Some matches where the Samoans lost, you are now tasked with winning. Some matches never took place but would be considered dream matches if we had a time machine.

Each match has a number of objectives that must be met in order to unlock a number of rewards. Each objective is listed in the top corner of the screen, and completion of certain objectives then unlock new objectives, until it tells you to win the match. Some of these objectives now have a 30-second time limit, which becomes frustrating if you attempt a move, only to be reversed and met with the CPU delivering a move that takes upwards of 20 seconds to implement, giving you the smallest of margins to complete your objective. I am not sure why this was added, as I spent quite some time restarting matches whenever I missed my objective.

Gone are the video clips that used to be spliced in throughout the gameplay in this mode, while it was really cool when first introduced, the amount of blurring needed to hide talent who are now signed with other companies, as well as fan signs and sponsor logos, became too distracting overall. Keeping the cutscenes to in-engine graphics seems to be the better way to go. Commentary and ring announcing is back in Showcase mode, but it can feel a bit strange listening to current-day commentators discussing things that occurred 30 years ago. I will not go into all the detail on why we probably shouldn’t be using old soundbites, but it still feels jarring, nonetheless.

MyRise works similarly to last year as well, you pick a male or female created wrestler and go through a branching storyline that changes based on the choices you make throughout the story. Rather than implanting two different gender-based storylines, you get to play as two different superstars, one male and one female, and take them both through each chapter.

The game encourages multiple playthroughs to unlock everything, and because playable characters are unlocked in this mode, offers an incentive to replay this mode multiple times. The story still weirdly sits between reality and storyline, where people acknowledge that things are predetermined, while simultaneously telling you to win upcoming matches to get ahead in the company.

MyGM makes incremental improvements, but possibly the biggest addition is the ability to play against other GMs online. There are some limitations such as not being able to customise as much as you would if you were playing locally, but it is good to see these kinds of modes getting improvements over time as well.

MyFaction is quickly taking over as the most important part of the WWE 2K games. Putting together a number of superstars collected through cards and then using those characters against other teams in multiple modes involving tournaments, towers, and a world tour, feels like the place to be. The mode is constantly updated with daily challenges and chances to unlock more superstars that you can add to your growing roster.

Completing certain challenges allows you to unlock “persona” cards, which then unlock that character to be used in other modes of play. Action figure versions of multiple Superstars can be unlocked and used in many different modes of play, as well as unlocking historic versions of current superstars. These persona cards are found through the various modes in MyFaction, and while used primarily as bait to keep you playing in MyFaction, it is still fun to play through all the different matches the mode throws at you.

Of course, the main reason for keeping you in this mode is to try and make you spend money on VC, which you can use to buy bigger and better cards. If you are going to play MyFaction online, then this may feel like a bit of a pay to win model, which I am personally not a fan of. I will not begrudge anyone who spends extra money on a game that they like to play, but I feel like any success online in this mode will be through purchasing powerful superstar cards. I thoroughly enjoyed the single player mode of MyFaction, though, so it is worth the time to play.

A new mode, called “The Island” is a look into what I believe will be the mode that 2K considers its future. Much like NBA 2K’s “The City”, it allows up to fifty players at once to explore an island and compete objectives, with the ultimate goal of gaining approval by The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. As you explore the area, you can go to different districts and gain objectives from WWE Superstars. Completing these objectives unlock different customisation options that can be used on The Island and in creating other superstars for other modes.

In its current form, it feels slightly undercooked, and at times my PS5 was not a fan of trying to load multiple created players at once. Once you complete all the objectives, there is little to do other than playing against other players. There is potential for growth here, and with sponsored clothing being made available in this mode from the likes of Nike and Puma, it could be built into something worth sticking to over time.

There is simply a lot of content in WWE 2K25. For the most part, it is like an expanded edition of 2K24 with improvements across all modes and some additional match types. The Island has potential as a new mode but underwhelms in its current form. While I can recommend this to wrestling fans as a great overall package, I do hope that 2K26 loses the last generation and takes on the full capabilities of the current generation of consoles.