WWE 2K22 Returns From the Dead

Believe it or not, there is a large wrestling game community out there. Over the past couple years, there has been a somewhat large resurgence in looking back at old wrestling games. This has been evidenced by the large amount of content creators on YouTube playing past games such as the (mostly) well received Smackdown vs. Raw games. There have even been many retrospectives done on these games, such as the great ones from 616 Entertainment. And even these go back to the always beloved N64 games. Unfortunately, the last couple WWE 2K games before WWE 2K22 did not lead to these sorts of retrospectives. Anyone who actually played WWE 2K20 would basically only do it to make fun of it, and who could blame them? Beyond editing the game to the absolute max, it really only existed to remind us of how much better we used to have it.

WWE 2K22 Is Winning People Back

In the months leading up to the release of WWE 2K22, these content creators were cautiously optimistic. After all, a good wrestling game would be good for them and their views. I followed many of these creators leading up to the release of these games because 2K was smart about dishing out some exclusives to some of these folks throughout the preview process. And you could just hear the excitement in their voices. As a huge WWE and wrestling game fan, this in turn got me excited again.

I did the review for WWE 2K22, and the easy way to put it is I was not disappointed. I knew the franchise was back. And when I saw others agreeing with my take, I was even more excited. As with any game, there are going to be flaws. GM mode isn’t as fleshed out as it could be and there are some bugs and glitches, but they pale in comparison to WWE 2K20. Plus, it does not hurt that the development team tried to be reactive to some of the big crashing concerns coming off launch with an early patch.

I also knew I would like MyRise. Some may not love it, but this is the bread and butter for the game’s content creators. People very much enjoy watching others progress through games — and especially fans of WWE and wrestling games because of the branching storylines that mimic real wrestling drama. I thought MyFaction might be the go-to mode for YouTube content creators, but it seems like interest in that died down quickly, in part because of some odd design decisions that make grinding the mode miserable.

Others love seeing all the crazy moves that can be pulled off — and there are a ton. Also, people like to learn how to do things in the game, so naturally they gravitate to YouTube and Twitch. But the truly unending part of this creation cycle — and why it’s so important people think the game is good enough to play again — comes back to community creations. With a record number of community creations, and just how good they look this year, the replay value is insane when a large number of folks buy into this particular game. At that point, WWE 2K22 becomes a popular game on Twitch that is able to break out from just “wrestling fans” to video game fans because community creations can be so flexible and enjoyable for so many.

So the best part about WWE 2K22 is that it’s getting much of its past player base back. The review scores might not be overwhelmingly positive, but I’m pretty sure 2K has brought this series back from the dead. And while some may still not be impressed, you can’t please everyone. If you haven’t played the game yet, and have any interest in it, I would encourage you to check out the many videos and live streams on YouTube and Twitch. Read some of the reviews (including mine, of course) and if you are on PC, give it a shot through Steam.

Related: WWE 2K22: MyRise Career Mode Guide on PC Invasion