WWE 2K Battlegrounds Reviews
WWE 2K Battlegrounds works as a shallow party game you play for an hour, then move on to something else, and that's it
Like an early card match at a pay-per-view event, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is meant to keep the crowd entertained before the main event re-enters the arena, but it's rarely as flashy or fun as its concept implies.
A simple but enjoyable party game that's very easy to pick up and play with friends – and a considerably better video game than last year's WWE 2K20.
It lacks so much of what made over-the-top arcade wrestling games great in the first place, while also being filled to the brim with microtransactions. The spectacle of its over-the-top moves and abilities are quickly lost in the tedium of its progression, lack of depth, budget presentation, and technical issues. It almost feels like 2K has come crashing down with the WWE license...and it hurts inside.
WWE 2K Battleground it's an interesting change of course, an arcade that's far from being perfect, but is by far the most entertaining title that WWE has left in the recent years. It's fantastic for short sessions, with tons of unlockables (even with microtransactions), but it can be repetitive soon and some ideas are far from the right spot.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
WWE 2K BG isn’t going to provide you the depth that the traditional, more sim-related version aims to deliver. However, for what it is, which is an arcade, over-the-top, dump-your-rules, beat-em up, it hits on all the major points. The game is fun, deeper than you might expect and offers a very good bang for your 40 bucks.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is fun and attractive for wrestling and WWE fans, crazy and entertaining. However, the combat still feels imprecise and the number of game modes is insufficient, with a character unlock system that is too similar of a free to play.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
WWE 2K Battlgrounds is going to divide a lot of people with its pay to play mentality, but there are plenty of ways to earn it. With modes like the enjoyable King of the Battleground and its Campaign, you are never short of opportunities to experience the over-the-top gameplay.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a game that seems like it exists purely to house its storefront, offering predatory microtransactions which would be overly pricy in a free-to-play game. In a paid title - even a budget one - they're offensive. The only silver lining here is that the game is rubbish anyway, so feel free to skip it without feeling like you're missing out.
Far less stuffy than the mainline WWE 2K series and designed for quick bursts of entertaining casual play with friends, WWE 2K Battlegrounds lack of depth and technical issues sadly undercut its energetic audiovisual presentation. Hardly the sequel to WWE All-Stars that so many wanted, WWE 2K Battlegrounds could simply be so much more - but it just... isn't.
Over-the-top action, ridiculous animations and attacks, and a cartoony reimagining of your favorite superstars aside, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is hampered by its lackluster class-based movesets, as well as a system that requires you to grind for a vast majority of superstars that still need to be unlocked. With limited customization options and game modes, it's best played in short bursts, and you'll hardly feel engaged from a single-player standpoint.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is clearly a rush job, but the game's simple, fundamentally sound action can be a real breath of fresh air at times. Unfortunately, that air is tainted by overbearing microtransactions that feel particularly crass given the game's cartoony, kid-friendly aesthetic. Battlegrounds could have been a contender if 2K had truly believed in the game, but once again, the publisher only seems to be interested in wrestling open fans' wallets.
A great idea and a lot, a lot, a lot of repetitiveness. The change in style and setting could bring a beneficial breath of fresh air to the WWE wrestling produced by 2K, instead the game made by Saber was lost due to an excessive trivialization of the fighting styles accompanied by a system of microtransactions quite invasive.
Review in Italian | Read full review
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a fun romp that I enjoyed a lot more than I anticipated I would. Again, take it with a grain of salt as I am not a wrestling fan anymore. This reminded me of the more friendly spectacle of past games like WWE Arcade and Superstars. I wish there were more legends to be found and the models weren’t so creepy at times, but as a whole this is the best use of the license in years.
Despite some serious drawbacks, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is the first exciting game licensed by WWE in over a decade.
Review in Russian | Read full review
The concept behind WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a solid one, but it's let down time and time again by limited and repetitive combat, dopey AI, an excessively locked roster and a series of bewildering design choices that really should have been questioned at some point during production. We hope it eventually gets an improved sequel, but until then, the Switch is still lacking a proper main event-tier wrestling game.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is the best WWE game in a long time. Its over-the-top combat leans heavily on cartoon violence, so if you're looking for a wrestling sim, you won't find that here. What you will get, though, is a fun, fast-paced, and lighthearted wrestling game.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds feels like a missed opportunity at the best of times. What could have been a mad breath of fresh air until WWE 2K22 comes along, is instead a boring grind that's all style and no real substance. Invasive microtransactions tarnish the few remaining bright spots of this game, barely allowing it be okayfabe.
WWE 2k Battlegrounds brings us the craziest and funniest wrestling, but it ends up being repetitive.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I am so mixed on WWE 2K Battlegrounds. In some ways, I really dig that 2K decided to create an arcade-style wrestling game. I do believe the basics of this game make a solid foundation for another entry. The “pick-up and play” direction is great if you want to play with a few friends. Still, a lot of its flaws make it hard to recommend to those who usually play these games alone. After a couple of hours, all of WWE 2K Battlegrounds’ silly over-the-top gimmicks lose their luster.