WWE 2K Battlegrounds Reviews
A fun arcade wrestling brawler in small doses. Not quite the great apology needed but a healthy start.
It isn’t the game it could be, or the game I see in my head when I think of its concept. But it’s an earnest, goofy, breezy, little multiplayer brawler I can enjoy with my wrestling fan friends without trying to make sure everyone understands the controls over on the simulation side.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is, ultimately, one of the worst games this side of the current console generation. While it has some cool-looking comic book cutscenes and a decent story, the campaign quickly devolves into a repetitive grind with no real end. The grind is so boring that players actively feel encouraged to spend real-world money just to get anywhere in the game. This is astonishing, to say the least, and extremely unacceptable. Multiplayer would make sense if played with friends, but after a little while, there is no feasible reason to continue playing. Wrestlers feel generic and unoriginal, except for the five overarching classes. Frankly, the game is not worth recommending, not even for the most hardcore of wrestling fans.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is one of the weakest WWE-based titles. A very shallow and weak title that is made only to empty the pockets of the fans of WWE and has no value for the experience. The game is miles away from the standards of console titles and can ultimately be compared to a mobile title.
Review in Persian | Read full review
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.
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.
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.
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.
Average, in some parts even very below-average wrestling game. In addition, it contains microtransactions, which is incomprehensible due to its high cost. Bugs and crashes of FPS in multiplayer are a matter of course.
Review in Czech | Read full review
After completing the story, the rest of the single player modes will hardly keep your interest in the game alive for more than three hours.
Review in Greek | Read full review
The only redeeming quality WWE 2K Battlegrounds has at present is the simplicity of its gameplay. Even that can become frustrating after a while. There are no combos or sequences to remember or even master here. Throw a controller at a friend, mash a few buttons, and move on to another title altogether when the system inevitably grows stale.
With WWE 2K Battlegrounds, 2K has made it impossible to recommend for price and value. All aspects of the game revolve around microtransactions and by offering so little to begin with, the motivation to continue playing isn't present. Even the little things that make WWE games worth playing, such as seeing your favourite star enter the arena, are ruined with short audio clips and the same punch out of casket or box entrance. With baffling modes and gameplay that doesn't ever need to extend past single button bashing, it really highlights how 2K have gone for the cash grab and decided a mobile game may reach a wider audience on consoles. This is one title that needs to Rest….In……Peace.
It is derated wrestling with missing adrenalin. Just several similar game modes without piquancy.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a bad game. It tries to be arcade and fun, but instead it's buggy, shallow and repetitive. Even for a fan of WWE, there are far better option out there.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Although WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a way more pleasant experience then last year's wrestling debacle, the franchise still has a ways to go. The title sets out what it wanted to do, which was a provide a light, arcade-like take on the WWE. However, between the lack of depth and intrusive microtransactions, I'm not sure how much staying power it has.
I don't hate WWE Battlegrounds. It's a much more arcadey style of game that I think is a better representation of what a pro wrestling game should be. But it does have its own set of problems in its lack of depth and aggressive microtransactions. I wouldn't mind seeing more from this series, but it needs some big changes to truly be a fun experience.
There’s a bit of a budget feel to WWE 2K Battlegrounds, thanks to its shared movesets and story presentation. Despite that though, it’s actually quite endearing to play, and it’s easy to have fun with it. Get a friend or two to play it in local multiplayer with you, and it really is a blast.
There's an opportunity to have fun with WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Playing with friends or family who aren't fully up to speed on how wrestling games works should make for an enjoyable experience.
When it’s all said and done, I can’t shake the feeling that WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a quick pivot after last years disastrous WWE 2K20, a way to simply distract wrestling fans with a new shiny object while they work on what will hopefully be a stronger WWE 2K22. So much of this wrestling experience is copy and paste, from the animations, to the move-sets, to the painfully slow method of unlocking the roster and even the lack of polish that sometimes brings frame-rates down to a grinding halt. There’s a fun arcade fighting experience to be had, especially when it comes to local multiplayer where the shallow nature of the gameplay is less obvious. But while this may be accessible and “fun for the whole family”, it’s ultimately about as successful as a Sasha Banks title reign. Satisfying at first, but inevitably short and disappointing. We deserve better.
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.