Are you ready?… I said ARE YOU READYYYY? Well, you better, because WWE 2K24 has arrived and it’s jam-packed with new features such as a Special guest referee, Gauntlet, and new match types along with instantly noticeable quality of life improvements that are guaranteed to make returning players say Yowie Wowie! My goal with this review is to focus on some of the major changes in WWE 2K24. So enough with the intro, it’s time to ring the bell.
Presentation
Finally, a long-awaited and requested camera angle has arrived. We now have Ramp camera which is a horrible name (I would have preferred stage view). This camera angle provides the full view of the stage in all its glory. Honestly, this camera angle is a game changer and can be set as your default camera angle by simply going into the gameplay section in the home screen HUB and tab over to Presentation. You will see the Ramp camera set to off. Just turn that on and you’re all set.
I jumped around all the match types and the only one that did not switch to ramp view is the new Casket match, but the Ambulance match which is the other new match type does support the camera angle. I’ll discuss these two matches later in the review. This Ramp camera angle brings new life to every event and match. Having an epic battle with Roman? UH OH! It looks like Solo is walking down the ramp to interfere. Or how about during a Royal Rumble, while the crowd counts down to zero? You can now see the big screen light up with the next participant’s intro video and see the superstar running down the ramp to the ring. Now if you don’t want this as your default, then all you have to do to run it on during a match then pause, go to options, presentation, and turn it off.
There will be BLOOD!
Another major change in WWE 2K24 is the blood. As usual, you will need to first go into gameplay settings and turn on blood since the option is off by default. The amount of blood displayed has received a significant update from previous WWE 2K releases. We now see blood splatter on the entire face along with blood on the chest and the mat.
As you wrestle you will see blood stains all over the mat which is amazing and adds to matches that usually produce such results. For example, the memorable 1997 Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels iconic Hell in a Cell match. You can re-live this match in all its bloody glory now thanks to this upgrade. This new blood also applies to wrestlers wearing face paint such as Doink The Clown and Asuka. The longer the match, the more wear will be displayed on the face paint, and the blood with mix in to produce a gory image.
The ability to throw weapons and climb on the announcer’s tables
I will chalk these two up as quality-of-life improvements. They should have always been available to perform but for some reason were not. To throw a weapon or even the ring steps hold RB and press B while facing your opponent. I’ve won a few matches by throwing the ring steps and knocking out my opponent. This is a great new addition and hilarious to see as there is a new character animation for the receiver which shows them do a wobble before dropping to the mat. Climbing the announcer table also adds more variety of attacks as you can dive off or throw opponents off. You can also perform reversals while standing on the table. I’m currently trying to see if I can perform an RKO while standing on the table and having an opponent diving off the top turnbuckle. If success then the table should break and it would be one hell of an OMG moment.
WWE2K24 gameplay hasn’t strayed from the winning formula they’ve used in WWE 2K22 & 23. If it isn’t broken then don’t fix it, but improve it. Thankfully one major problem we have all experienced has been resolved, which is the collision detection when performing Irish whips. The rebound attacks rarely worked and had to be perfectly timed or else the two wrestlers would bump into each other like drunk guys at the club. This appears to be a thing of the past, now pressing A, X or B will perform a rebound move without issue. Whether you are close or a bit further away, it doesn’t seem to matter, the rebound attack selected will be performed. While on the topic of Irish whips, you can now reverse a whip by pressing Y when prompted to perform a quick reversal. The AI loves this new move so prepare to be reversed again and again.
New match types, special guest referee, and multi-person backstage brawls
The new match options include the following:
- Ambulance
- Casket
- Gauntlet
- Special guest referee (any superstar can now be a referee)
The Ambulance and Casket match pretty much plays the same. The goal is to get your opponent into the ambulance or casket for the win. This is easier said than done due to the mini-game which is identical to submissions. The key difference is the amount of button mashing you will have to do. It didn’t seem to matter if my opponent was all red with no health and stunned.
There will always be a mini-game battle to get out and it will always require button mashing the displayed face buttons A, B, X, or Y. I wished there was a “Special” finisher that could be performed if you have a couple of stored finishers to put a quick end to the match. Now there are new super finishers that can be performed from the top turnbuckle. So maybe there is one that applies to these matches such as lawn dart your opponent into the ambulance and slam the doors or choke slam them from the ring into the casket.
You can climb the ambulance to brawl and throw your opponent off, this gameplay is like how it works on top of Hell in a Cell.
While brawling in front of the ambulance, you press LB to open the backdoors and Irish whip your opponent in or lean them against it so you can soften them up by slamming the doors on them a couple of times. There is a button mini-game for both doors to close and you will need both closed to win the match.
The Casket match visually looks cool but offers little variety other than to close it and oddly when you fight to get out you don’t climb or slide back into the ring. Instead, you get out from the front of the casket and must walk around to an open area to get back into the ring. If you get tossed out of the ring onto the casket while closed you will slide right off. So, it’s not recognized as a table or flat surface when closed. The mini-game battle will begin once you are standing in the center ring apron and then you can try to close the lid. I eventually went back into gameplay settings and turned on the hold button for mini-games. This way instead of button mashing I could just hold the displayed button and avoid a hand cramp. Tip, beat your opponent senselessly in the ring while delivering a few signatures and finishers then strong Irish whip them toward the casket. Once in try to close the lid and win the match.
The Gauntlet match is by far my favorite of the three. There are a variety of ways you can play such as having 4 to 30 participants. You can also customize the match rules so if you want no rules 1 vs 1 elimination or elimination only by pinfall then you can do it. You can also treat it like a rumble so it will fill up with opponents and once a superstar is eliminated another will enter (8 is the max at one time). This looks amazing with the ramp camera on. There is a new animation that shows your beat-up superstar waving to the next superstar heading to the ring to come on in and get some. Another cool feature is the new free-roaming camera option you have when in spectator mode. So, let’s say you just got tossed out of a rumble or lost the gauntlet and chose not to play as another superstar. Hold RT and press X to switch the camera angle. There are some at the ringside, front row, a few rows back, and more. it is fun to play around with and I’m sure content creators are going to have a field day with this feature.
WWE 2K24 devs got the idea to have multi-superstar backstage brawls from the mod community. WWE 2K23 had some great backstage multi-superstar mod brawl matches that could be downloaded to the console versions via the community creation center arena section. It was hilarious seeing all these superstars brawling backstage and getting thrown around. Well now we officially have it in WWE 2K24 with up to four superstars and instead of climbing a ladder to get to the 2nd floor backstage area we now have an elevator. It never gets old throwing your opponent off the 2nd floor and into a huge spotlight below.
Special guest referee was one of the most requested features way back in 2021 when 2K decided to take a year off to re-work the game from the ground up. It looks like the wait was worth it as this is without a doubt the best version we’ve ever had. You can do the obvious like fast or slow count, interfere but now there is a meter that keeps track of your actions. Go too far and you can be removed as the ref and a replacement will take over. You can also turn this meter off in the match settings or with the switch from superstar to ref mode during the match.
When having an AI guest referee their loyalties still apply. So, if you are wrestling Finn Balor and have a member of Judgement Day like Damian Priest as the ref he will be biased toward his stable mate. This means slow pin counts, letting him use weapons or do low blows, etc. At first glance, it looks like whoever you pick will just wear the same ref shirt but this can be customized when you go to edit Superstar. There is a referee attire option and here you can change the referee shirt to whatever you like. You can put an ECW ref shirt on RVD and once you select him as a ref the game will automatically default to this referee attire with shows him wearing the ECW ref shirt.
WWE 2K24 is a MASSIVE game when considering everything discussed is just a fraction of what gamers can play. Universe, MYGM, MyRise, and Myfaction and showcase mode all return and include gameplay enhancements whether it be more rivalry choices in Universe or additional match types and title belts in MyGM. The multiplayer servers along with the community creations center were not available during the time of review so I plan to update this review once those modes go live.
The only complaint I have had to be with the showcase. It’s narrated by Cory Graves which is fine, but I miss the days of old when we had actual match commentary for the showcase matches. This mode did receive a much-appreciated update in that the required actions menu is not on the top left of the screen and once completed the next will display so you don’t have to keep pausing the game to see what’s next and how to perform it.
WWE 2K24 has over 200 playable superstars, plenty of match types, and game modes with the ability to customize and produce an endless amount of unique gameplay possibilities. The gameplay has never been this fluid thanks to the updated collision detection system. And let’s not forget the DLC packs which will arrive throughout the year with the first arriving on May 15th which includes CM Punk, Bubba Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Terry Funk, and Sandman. Well, what are you waiting for? The review is over and now it’s time for you to finish your story.
- DLC 1: ECW Punk Pack – May 15th.
- DLC 2: Post Malone & Friends Pack – June 26.
- DLC 3: Pat McAfee Pack – July 24.
- DLC 4: Global Superstars Pack – Sep 20.
- DLC 5: WCW Pack – Nov 13.
This review was written based on a digital review copy of WWE 2K24 for the Xbox Series X provided by 2K Sports.
