WWE 2K18 Review: How Does This Year’s Game Stack Up?

Gameplay

First and foremost, WWE 2K18 is a wrestling game. At some point or another, you’re going to play an actual match. So how is the actual gameplay this year?

For me – again, terrible at games – it’s pretty easy to pick up on. The controls are fairly simple, so it’s not too difficult to get the hang of. Everything is pretty similar to previous editions of the game, but it seems like things are more streamlined than last year. Well, at least except for reversals – those are either easier than 1st grade math, or more impossible than anything Ethan Hunt has ever had to do.

If you’ve never played a 2K game before, there’s a button for striking, and one for grappling. How long you hold the button determines whether it’s a “strong” or “basic” attack. You can also add a direction on the joystick to vary your moves. Throw in working rest holds with mini games, the ability to pause certain slams to parade your opponent around the ring, and easier to use submissions (kind of), and the gameplay is better than the past.

Of course, 2K games are famous for their glitches. No video game is perfect, so at some point you’ll have your character get caught by a chair backstage, or never be able to move from a certain spot. Maybe your opponent will get stuck in an infinite loop. Either way, you’re gonna have to restart your match.

New match types include the ability to have up to eight characters in the ring at once. Four on four matches? Six-man tags? It’s a major upgrade that makes some of the glitches a bit more tolerable.

Overall, though, it’s a fairly easy game to get the hang of. And if you’re not the world’s greatest gamer, you may be surprised by some results. I lost a match to Kassius Ohno – while playing as Braun Strowman. Keeps you on your toes.

Gameplay grade: B+