MyRise Legacy: Surprisingly engaging and soulful. Had a lot to say about women in the WWE past and present and the conditions they exist in and the conversation around their legacy. Very happy with how it was written and paced.
MyRise Lock: Not as good as Legacy but still decent. "The Lock" himself is pretty unlikable but that serves the story around him so that's fine. Felt like propaganda for the Fed in the end. Bad behaviour is an excuse the Fed gives for many top stars failing out of the company. Ultimate Warrior and Cm Punk being the biggest ones. So the resolution being "See? He stopped being an ashole and worked within the system. That's why he's successful." was more than a little cringe. The story treats WWE as the end all be all of wrestling and gives some lip service to there being other types of success but the Fed remains the place to be. That rubs me the wrong way especially with people like Matt Cardona seeing more success on the indies than he ever has with the Fed. I know this a WWE story in a WWE game but still. It did let me lead faction with Cody Rhodes and Drew Mcintyre which is thematically perfect.
General Gameplay: I tried with this series. I always felt like 2016/17 were a step in the right direction. 2019 was a step down but still decent. But I cant do it. The Creation suite is broken and stunted in a lot of ways but still lets you create pretty much anything you want. I got started making my shows and roster and decided to take a break and actually play. Then it happened. I was playing War Games and literally fell asleep in my chair. Everything about this series is mind meltingly boring. Animations are still subpar, the visuals have no sauce, and the controls are sluggish. Under no circumstances should I be bored into a coma while playing War Games. It brought up decades old feelings on the WWE series. Starting at SVR 2008 these games have never been fun to play. And if there is some fun to be had, some system that really grabs you, it's gone the next game. We have not been able to completely form our CAWS body shape since WWE 2K14. For 10 years. Slobber Knocker hasn't been in since SVR 2006. The whole point of Showcase is seeing historical moments recreated in game. 2K22/23 don't do that. 2K22 let you use the soundtrack as entrance themes. 2k23 does not. Kingdom, Codey Rhodes' theme, is exclusive to him and is lost when you change anything about him, meaning unless you want complete silence when he comes out all the custom stuff for him is locked. Some of the gear in CAW have locked colors. New hair styles look fantastic with good textures. Old hair still looks plastic. There is a lot of good wrestling games out there, old and new. Play those. Stop giving 2K money.
MyRise Lock: Not as good as Legacy but still decent. "The Lock" himself is pretty unlikable but that serves the story around him so that's fine. Felt like propaganda for the Fed in the end. Bad behaviour is an excuse the Fed gives for many top stars failing out of the company. Ultimate Warrior and Cm Punk being the biggest ones. So the resolution being "See? He stopped being an ashole and worked within the system. That's why he's successful." was more than a little cringe. The story treats WWE as the end all be all of wrestling and gives some lip service to there being other types of success but the Fed remains the place to be. That rubs me the wrong way especially with people like Matt Cardona seeing more success on the indies than he ever has with the Fed. I know this a WWE story in a WWE game but still. It did let me lead faction with Cody Rhodes and Drew Mcintyre which is thematically perfect.
General Gameplay: I tried with this series. I always felt like 2016/17 were a step in the right direction. 2019 was a step down but still decent. But I cant do it. The Creation suite is broken and stunted in a lot of ways but still lets you create pretty much anything you want. I got started making my shows and roster and decided to take a break and actually play. Then it happened. I was playing War Games and literally fell asleep in my chair. Everything about this series is mind meltingly boring. Animations are still subpar, the visuals have no sauce, and the controls are sluggish. Under no circumstances should I be bored into a coma while playing War Games. It brought up decades old feelings on the WWE series. Starting at SVR 2008 these games have never been fun to play. And if there is some fun to be had, some system that really grabs you, it's gone the next game. We have not been able to completely form our CAWS body shape since WWE 2K14. For 10 years. Slobber Knocker hasn't been in since SVR 2006. The whole point of Showcase is seeing historical moments recreated in game. 2K22/23 don't do that. 2K22 let you use the soundtrack as entrance themes. 2k23 does not. Kingdom, Codey Rhodes' theme, is exclusive to him and is lost when you change anything about him, meaning unless you want complete silence when he comes out all the custom stuff for him is locked. Some of the gear in CAW have locked colors. New hair styles look fantastic with good textures. Old hair still looks plastic. There is a lot of good wrestling games out there, old and new. Play those. Stop giving 2K money.