WWE 2K23 Reviews
Though the Showcase mode isn’t as super as its subject, John Cena, the sharp focus on refinement instead of reinvention helps keep WWE 2K23 as the gold standard of wrestling sims.
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.
An improvement on last year's already firm foundations, WWE 2K23 continues the franchise's rebirth with steady improvements, beefed up game modes, and an epic recreation of WarGames.
WWE 2K23’s more incremental bells and whistles means it’s technically an overall stronger package than 2K22. However, unlike last year, it doesn’t benefit from the rose-colored excitement of getting to play a big wrestling sim again after a years-long absence. The similarities to its predecessor means 2K23 feels more formulaic than special, but it still continues the series’ overall positive trajectory. Like watching a returning legend perform their greatest hits night after night, the novelty has faded, but I’m still pleased to have them back – for now.
WWE 2K23 sees the series return to form by building on the solid foundations laid down last year to improve both its in-ring action and suite of game modes.
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
As a wrestling fan, I want to create five-star classic matches, with back-and-forth action, near falls, and iconic moments, but ultimately WWE 2K23 cannot facilitate that. Messy and overly complicated controls hamper those efforts, but it's 2K's obsession with players winning matches that ensure this professional wrestling game misses the point entirely.
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.
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
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.
WWE 2K23 is without a doubt the best the series has been in years, with solid gameplay and tons of fantastic modes to enjoy.
WWE 2K23 isn't a revolution, but a welcome evolution to the series with just enough new features that are sure to please WWE fans and newcomers alike.
Even discounting the upcoming community creations, WWE 2K23 has so much content baked in that fans should be able to play for hours on end without even scratching the surface of everything the game has to offer. Whereas WWE 2K22 was a rebuilding year for the franchise, WWE 2K23 is all about building on that foundation, offering players more bang for their buck and taking everything a step forward. There is still plenty of room for improvement for sure, but WWE 2K23 is easily one of the best WWE games of the past decade.
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.
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.
I have and will continue to enjoy my time with WWE 2K23. It’s nowhere near the overall improvement 2K22 was when compared to 2K20. But it didn’t need to be. 2K23 is a fantastic follow-up to last year’s game. If Visual Concepts continues in this direction, it won’t be long before the WWE series stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the giants of the sports game genre.
WWE 2K23 sits at the head of the table as the best sports simulation game on the market. Fine tuning last year's entry to an impressive level of detail, and adding a layer of realism that is needed in a simulation game. With an array of modes, including the highly addictive MyGM, the introspective MyRise, the improved Showcase, and an extensive creation suite, wrestling fans will find themselves spoilt with WWE 2K23's offerings.
WWE 2K23 builds on the excellent foundation laid with the last edition of the game and moves forward a small step. The new features are limited, but they go a long way toward filling the gaps in WWE 2K22, for example with a significantly larger roster (nearly 200 wrestlers in total). The show stealer is undoubtedly the Showcase mode focused on John Cena and his (rare) defeats The experience overall is good, but the feeling is that little has been done to offer anything really new, merely tweaking the winning product of 22.. Like WWE's TV shows, 2K wants to pleasure to everybody, but that's simply non possible.
Review in Italian | Read full review
WWE 2K22 set the foundation and WWE 2K23 pushes the series forward with another great wrestling game. My Rise is fantastic, War Games is a ton of fun, GM Mode has been updated, and created wrestlers look better than ever. If 2K keeps up this momentum, WWE 2K24 could be up there along side Here Comes the Pain and No Mercy as one of the all time greats.
All in all, I am really encouraged by this year’s game. They’ve made some significant improvements on some important legacy issues that have held the game back for way too long. There is a ton to do here and a lot of different ways to experience the core gameplay. Showcase remains a highlight and the expansion of MyRise continues to flesh out the series as a single player experience. I’d like to see GM mode get a significant rework next year to make it feel like a more fully fledged option and continued work on the physics around foreign objects if you are a fan of wrestling games at all, WWE 2K23 is an easy recommend.