WWE 2K23 Reviews
WWE 2K23 is like watching a follow-up to a spectacular match between two wrestlers the week before — it crackles with the same energy, but you’ve seen this fight before. Fortunately, the game stands as a solid sequel that offers an intriguing 2K Showcase retrospective on John Cena, an intuitive timed kick-out mechanic, and two separate stories in MyRISE. While it still struggles with several flaws carried over from past games in the series, the game has plenty of ways to send you hurling toward one of its numerous modes and then holding your attention there for days on end. WWE 2K23 doesn’t risk going for a high-flying splash from the top rope, but it still packs a mighty haymaker.
WWE 2K23 stumbles slightly with occasional glitches and a mode or two that doesn't quite hit the mark, but it ends strong with stellar gameplay, a captivating MyRise/GM Mode one-two punch, and a brutal, chaotic inclusion of WarGames that simply says, "Acknowledge Me."
WWE 2K23 continues the series’ upwards trajectory. It’s a massive package full of different things to do. The roster is enormous, the microtransactions seem egregious in familiar “yearly sports title ways”, and the in-ring action almost nails riding the line between sports sim and scripted tv show. There is a love of the genre on display here and for any major or minor fan of sports entertainment, this year’s entry is worth checking out.
WWE 2K23 is a decent sequel that builds off last year’s foundation in several meaningful ways. MyGM has been heavily improved, and the two new story modes feature some interesting scenarios and carve just enough of their own new and interesting paths.
After a tumultuous few years of WWE releases, 2K and Visual concepts have finally been able to begin building on the solid foundations of last year's game. WWE 2K23 isn't a huge step up from 2K22 with long load times and a surprisingly unpolished Showcase Mode for John Cena, but the series has still shown growth, considering War Games is pure chaos and MyRise is much improved. The future is once again bright for WWE and 2K, and so WWE 2K23 should be celebrated by fans as though they've just won their first world championship.
If you are a WWE fan, don't look for many excuses: although WWE 2K23 is a tremendously continuist game with very few new features, those incorporated are more than enough reason to enjoy it for hundreds of hours.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Enjoyable in almost every department, WWE 2K23 serves up joy for wrestling fans young and old, dedicated or casual. There really is so much to love here.
WWE 2K23 is the best entry this long-suffering franchise has put out in nearly a decade, offering mechanically-sound action, a pair of satisfying MyRise career mode storylines, and a handful of other well-executed, if limited, additions like WarGames. WWE 2K23’s gameplay and presentation could still use some further polish and not all of its modes are must plays, but for the first time in a long time it feels like this series’ star is on the rise, even if it hasn’t achieved main-event status yet.
Watching the rise of John Cena was electrifying, and the general gameplay improvements have made this the most competent Wrestling game to come out in decades. With an almost overwhelming amount of content in this entry, it's going to be hard to find time for many other games coming out this year.
Even better than last year, WWE 2K23 shows the rising return of the series, building on last year's already solid foundation. With an excelent Showcase mode, an even better MyRISE and many additions to MyGM, it is a must-have for wrestling fans and capable of providing players dozens of hours of fun.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
2K and Visual Concepts continue to show commitment to this franchise in WWE 2K23 by making necessary gameplay changes and additions to an already-strong core that was established last year.
Ultimately, WWE 2K23 has something for everyone. Whether you’re a casual wrestling fan looking to jump into the squared circle for a quick match, or a die hard WWE fan looking to create and brand your own WWE Universe, each game mode brings something new and exciting to the table – even if the depth is somewhat lacking. The gameplay and combat is the best the franchise has seen for over a decade, the customization suite offers near endless possibilities, and the community content portal is incredible. All this, but I still can’t help but feel the game was so close to something more.
While some will no doubt question whether returning to an annualized release schedule was wise given the jump in quality Visual Concepts was able to deliver by taking a year off prior to WWE 2k22, WWE 2k23 makes enough refinements to its in-ring action and improves its core modes to such an extent that this is absolutely a must-buy for wrestling fans. With two chunky career modes to get stuck into, Universe and MyGM modes offering more control than ever before, and Showcase mode changing up the formula to great effect, there’s a ton of fantastic content here that’s sure to keep players busy over the next year. If you’re itching for some satisfying wrestling action that has never looked as good as it does here, then don’t hesitate to pick up WWE 2k23, as it truly is championship material.
Overall, I love this game and – apart from Wargames – I can see myself playing this for hours upon hours without getting bored of it. The days of button-bashing your way through a WWE game are definitely over.
There are plenty of things to enjoy about "WWE 2K23," but it doesn't do much to step outside of the already established "WWE 2K" formula.
While WWE 2K23 is a minor upgrade from its predecessor, there is enough here to satisfy returning players and introduce new ones.
WWE 2K23 is another successful chapter in the wrestling series' comeback story, but the red flags of annualization are starting to appear already.
WWE 2K23 takes everything that was considered an improvement in WWE 2K22 and just copy/pastes it over and expects people to buy it for 2 things: A Cena showcase mode and one new match type. While WWE 2K23 is still a solid game, you can feel that there just wasn't enough of that drive that made WWE 2K22 such a good game after WWE 2K20 almost tanked the franchise. WWE 2K23 could do much more than just be a roster update of a game, if only they didn't rely so heavily on the past.
WWE 2K23 shows that Visual Concepts and 2K are continuing their trend in the right direction for wrestling games. Flaws aside, the fighting engine is still good, while the pageantry also remains nice even if some flourishes are missing and some other issues are no fault of Visual Concepts. The game does a good job of being up to date, and the modes ensure that there's plenty to keep people busy and glued to the game for quite some time. There's still stuff that needs work, like having cross-play from the get-go and some tweaking to add more polish, but wrestling fans will really enjoy WWE 2K23 since it still emphasizes fun above all.
WWE 2K23 successfully builds upon the foundations laid down by its predecessor. While it's still far from the best pro-wrestling game out there, it's the only one we really get with a modern roster anymore. With that caveat in mind, however, WWE 2K23 remains a blast to play. It's got a great roster, a host of new features and match types, and its new take on the MyRise career mode is incredibly fun.