The one-word catchphrase is a mythical achievement in professional wrestling. If you’re so well-loved by the fans that you can get a single word ‘over’ with the crowd – Ric Flair’s “woooooo”, Steve Austin’s “what”, Daniel Bryan’s “yes” – you’ve clearly earned legend status.
In trying to make us feel like a WWE superstar, WWE 2K Battlegrounds also resulted in us developing our own one-word catchphrase, one we regularly shouted as we played the game. Unfortunately, this word was simply “why?”, and in true WWE promo fashion, we’re going to shout it in capital letters every time we say it so we can sound all cool and stuff.
WHY is only 30% of the roster available when you first start the game? 2K Sports boasts that 70 WWE Superstars are included on day one (with another 60 or so coming later down the line), but when you boot up the software for the first time you’ve only got a grand total of 20 to choose from. Half the characters on the cover aren’t actually playable right away. Steve Austin? Locked. The Rock? Locked. Andre the Giant? Ronda Rousey? Asuka? All locked.
Other big names who didn’t make the cover and aren’t available from the start include Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Hulk Hogan and Becky Lynch. Even Drew McIntyre, the current WWE Champion, has to be unlocked before you can use him. Most of these superstars can be unlocked through an in-game store, but WHY has 2K made it such an enormous grind to get them all?
The store runs on Battle Bucks, an in-game currency that Battlegrounds rewards you with as you play matches. In a good match you can get 250 or so Battle Bucks; unlocking a premium superstar like Triple H requires 12,000 of them, but you can earn bonus Battle Bucks by levelling up, completing daily tasks and the like.
The problem is – and yes, we did the maths because we’re just that dedicated to you lovely readers – it costs a total of 276,000 Battle Bucks to unlock everyone, and after a solid weekend of play (during which time we finished the entire campaign mode) we’d only earned 66,000 of them. That may not sound too bad, but each wrestler also has a few alternate costumes which are also unlockable, meaning the total cost to unlock absolutely everything is 741,000 Battle Bucks.
Naturally, this being a 2K game, you can, of course, spend real money to unlock everything quicker, but WHY has it even bothered this time? It would cost you around £120 / $150 to buy enough currency to get all the wrestlers and outfits, so there’s no point in even going down the usual “typical 2K, trying to make us pay even more” routine this time; nobody in their right mind would be daft enough to even entertain that idea, so these ‘micro’ transactions are a non-starter, frankly.
Perhaps even more annoying is that some other wrestlers can’t be unlocked in the store, and can only be added to your roster by progressing through the bizarre campaign mode. If you’re a fan of Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon or the like, you’re going to have to get stuck into this single-player story mode before you can play as them – even if you only bought the game for multiplayer purposes.
Most ridiculous of all is that John Cena is only unlocked when you beat an extremely annoying Royal Rumble match near the end of the campaign, meaning any kids hoping to play as their hero will either have to ‘git gud’ and fight their way through a lengthy, often cheap single-player mode, or hope they have a parent or sibling good enough at games to play through the campaign and unlock him for them. Not that the game ever explains that this is how to get him, mind you; until you play the campaign and reach that point, a whole fifty-seven matches into it, there’s no trace of him in the game whatsoever. We know his catchphrase is “you can’t see me”, but there was no need to take him that literally.
Speaking of the campaign, WHY was it decided that players would be forced to play through it with completely fictional characters? The story follows Stone Cold Steve Austin as he travels the world in search of new wrestlers to take part in Paul Heyman’s new brainchild, WWE Battlegrounds. What this essentially results in is a seven-chapter campaign, with each chapter putting you in control of a different, entirely made-up wrestler.
From the New York brawler to the Florida gator-rassler, to the bulky Scottish warrior ‘lassie’ and the weird Detroit-based hacker chap, each character in the campaign mode certainly has personality, but we just can’t understand why the story didn’t just involve WWE wrestlers people actually know (or let you use your own created wrestler). The final chapter is an especially pointless way to finish things; even though you’re asked to choose a male and female character to take part in the final matches, the game has already decided which ones it wanted you to pick and so the final scene shows them winning, regardless of who you selected.
All this would be softened a little if the action in the ring made up for it, but while it has decent enough foundations WHY does it have so many disappointing and undercooked elements? Take the class system: there are five ‘classes’ of wrestler – All-Rounder, Technician, Brawler, Powerhouse and High-Flyer – and each has their own standard move-set that everyone assigned to that class gets. As a result, other than signature and finisher moves, practically every superstar in the game only has one of five different move-sets.
This basically means that the Big Show and Natalya share almost all the same moves and therefore play exactly the same way, as do Mankind and Becky Lynch, or Dolph Ziggler and Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts. Fans will immediately know why this is disappointing: these pairs fight nothing like each other in real life, but because they both fall under the Powerhouse, Brawler and Technician categories respectively here, they basically become clone fighters. This makes for far less variety and, given that each class only has about nine or ten moves, means things get repetitive very quickly.
The same can be said for the various gimmicks that lie around some of the stages. The Everglades arena has an alligator you can throw an opponent into, Detroit lets you chuck someone under a car, Mexico has a radio-controlled goat (look, we don’t know), and Scotland lets you play the bagpipes, causing your opponent – even the Scottish ones – to cover their eyes as their health drains. Which is just rude to Scottish culture, frankly. All of these traps are fun the first time around, but they get old fast and take too long to implement, meaning before long you’ll just pretend they aren’t there.
On another note, WHY is the AI so atrocious? Either you play it on hard difficulty and have the vast majority of your moves automatically reversed, or you play it on an easier difficulty where they display all the intelligence of a bucket of clothes pegs. If both of you are outside the ring, they’ll suddenly turn away after a while, completely ignore you and try to run back in. This lets you easily attack them, put them on their backside then climb in yourself as the count ends. Tag matches, meanwhile, can often be won by pinning one opponent, which makes their partner enter the ring. They’ll then often ignore the referee’s five-count to make them leave, and you’ll win by default.
We could be here all day with this “WHY” gimmick, even though we’re sure it’s probably getting annoying by now. WHY is the character creation suite so painfully limited, and WHY do you have to use Battle Bucks to upgrade their stats, essentially making players choose between improving their creation or unlocking real-life superstars? WHY are Erick Rowan, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson still in the roster despite the fact they were let go by the WWE five months ago (could they not have been swapped out for one of the 60-odd planned DLC fighters)? WHY does everyone’s entrance bizarrely involve a giant crate falling from the sky before they burst out of it? WHY do online matches lead to so many teleporting players that we no longer feel the need for a Portal remaster on Switch?
We haven't even discussed the handheld performance, either. While docked it actually does a pretty good job; the fighters and environments look sharp enough, and everything does its best to hold together and deliver a stable performance most of the time. Transition to handheld, however, and suddenly things look extremely rough and blurry (as you can probably tell by comparing the screenshots on this very page), especially when there are four wrestlers on-screen at the same time; small details are almost indecipherable at times.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about all of this is that, deep down, there’s the foundation of a genuinely entertaining wrestling game in there. When you play in local multiplayer it can honestly get quite enjoyable, partly because everyone’s in the same boat and putting up with the occasionally poor performance together (it occasionally locks up for a couple of seconds mid-bout in handheld mode, for example). In situations like this, the anarchy becomes almost endearing at times. There is undoubtedly clear potential here.
As is well known, the ‘proper’ WWE 2K game for this year was dropped due to the abysmal state of WWE 2K20. Had that not happened, this is the time of year we should have been expecting WWE 2K21, not Battlegrounds. We don’t know what the situation was here; was this game hastily put together to fill the gap? Was it originally planned for some time in 2021 and brought forward so there was something available for WWE fans this holiday period? If so (and again, we don’t know), that would have been unfortunate, because with a bit more time in the oven this one could have turned into a delicious feast, rather than the significantly undercooked dish we’ve ended up with.
If this foundation can be built on properly, then a potential WWE 2K Battlegrounds 2 could be a brilliant game. This absolutely isn’t one, but it doesn’t mean it can’t eventually become a much-loved arcade-style series that provides a more light-hearted alternative to the main WWE 2K series. Fans have been hoping for a spiritual successor to WWE All-Stars for years, and while this doesn’t live up to that, we hope 2K doesn’t ditch the idea now. With any luck, if a potential sequel comes around, the only ‘why’ question we’ll be asking is: “WHY wasn’t it like this the first time around?”
Conclusion
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.
Comments 84
And people said the 3D All Stars game was lazy lol
Well... at least it ain't $60?
You do surprise me. When the N64 and Cube games haven’t been surpassed, you know somebody sh*te holds the license.
I said this back in April, and yup, 2K are still on track to losing their WWE deal.
Best thing related to this game is that dad-joke level pun in this review's tagline.
This was probably one of the funniest, most entertaining reviews I've read in a long time
The game never looked anything but awful so this score isn't a big surprise.
we hope for RETROMANIA WRESTLING
@nessisonett they just need to give us an HD version of No Mercy and/or WCW vs nWo Revenge. Everything since has been inferior
@Aneira No more ridiculous than your typical, scripted television show. When there was competition and creative was forced to actually be creative, there was nothing like WWF during the late 80s or the Attitude Era. And it's supposed to be over the top and absurd.
TBF, the trailers looked bad. THIS bad though? Sheesh.
@Aneira This review was written by a wrestling fan for wrestling fans. With the very greatest of respect: if it doesn't interest you, is there really any point coming into a review about a wrestling game and saying you don't care about it?
Wow, that’s even worse than I expected, @scully1888. Great review, buddy
The last good wrestling game was SmackDown Vs. Raw 2011.
Well, it least it's better than the last wrestling game on the Switch, right? Anyway, I don't care - this looked awful from the start.
Ever since 2K took over the WWE games after THQ (original, not Nordic) went under, innovation has been lacking. I enjoyed WWE 2K14 on the PS3, but I haven't bothered with the series since that time. Every version would add something, but take out a bunch of fun things in its place. I was set to buy WWE 2K18 on my Switch, but the poor reviews and experiences from other gamers just got me fed up with any WWE video game going forward.
I hope Fire Pro makes a Switch debut soon.
@scully1888
Yes, cause you can care about a game even though you do not care for the "sport".
I once liked a baseball game.
Oh look 2K ruining their games with microtransactions, game always looked garbage and this is just further proof that the presence of microtransactions always negatively effects game design
Didn't they just throw this together to make up for the cancellation of WWE2K21, because 2K20 was a steaming pile of 💩?
What a waste of time to make the progression system painfully slow to unlock things to try to trick you into buying micros. I am over this style of gameplay, it would be better to have no unlockables at all than to be teased consistently by a game you already spent money on.
Seriously, F 2K, I used to say the NBA games were ok because they played somewhat well, but now I'm against all of it.
I dunno who's been wanting a successor to WWE All Stars because everyone I know has been waiting the next in the WCE vs. NWO of the AKI Corp lineup.
This is unfortunate. I was REALLY looking forward to this one and nearly just up and bought it. Was waiting on an NL review first; and im glad I did. Ah oh well, I guess maybe next time.
It’s time for WWE to ditch 2K.
If the game was good otherwise, I wouldn’t mind a long unlock process, as it can keep the game alive. Based on the rest of the review, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Damn!
@carlos82 you dont need to spend real cash to unlock everything lol grind and you unlock everything for free.the microtransactions are for lazy people
@Aneira "Why would you waste your time with video games anyway? The most ridiculous activity in the world. Unless it's an actual genuine game, like chess."
See how this sounds to folks? Tell us what you enjoy, so everyone can dump on it
@scully1888 Liked the review, sad for the outcome.
@Darkyoshi98 yes but they are the reason why its so grindy to unlock everything
I thought this game could have been the proper return of the less simulation-based and more arcade-styled WWE game. I probably should have realized 2K was going to make this a grindy-microtransaction hellhole to make up for the potential lost sales of 2K21. This is a game I'd rather watch newLegacyInc destroy than actually play.
If it goes on sale super cheap at some point i might grab it
@Darkyoshi98 Just because you don't have to purchase the microtransactions doesn't make their inclusion and the game being designed around getting you frustrated enough to spend money and more justified.
When it was announced I wasn't sure but over time I started to like the look of it and to be fair I've enjoyed my time with it. Is it perfect? Of course not but I picked it up at a reduced price on amazon on launch day and I think its a fun game and my young nephews enjoyed it too so im happy.
@HobbitGamer
Well that makes no sense. I was obviously referring to the fact that show wrestling as a form of theatrical entertainment should not be labeled as a sport, since it's not as opposed to greco roman wrestling.
Yes, my statement was uncalled for and rude. It merely served as a mean to see if we still live in an era where we absorb every chance we get to feel offended. Thus my quest has been completed.
And I never apologize. I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am 😉
This dosent look like a good game. But it does radiate switch game energy
@TheDragonDAFan for some reason many don't seem to grasp that even if you don't spend any money, your game is still worse to play because they are included
@Aneira At least you made up for it with the Simpsons quote.
I have been blasting this game since the Direct reveal.
Horrible art style and the gameplay just looked god awful from the get go.
Why you don’t just do a new wrestlefest with updated roster, it’s beyond me.
Stop with the realistic look, stop with these horrible designs. It’s not working.
Total fail. Yet again.
I’d love a good arcade wrestling game!!!!
Who didn't see this coming? Pass.
This is that game Nintendo used to troll us before dropping SMT news, haha.
No thanks.
@Aneira If someone were actually offended, that'd be a sad state. I agree it's as much a sports game as hot dog eating is a contest.
@carlos82 A lot of the people I've seen make these arguments regarding microtransactions don't seem to understand that microtransactions in these "fee-to-pay" games aren't a surface level issue, rather, they are baked into the game's design and gameplay loop. These companies don't put these opportunities to make extra cash in their games just to give people an "optional" way to unlock stuff, they want the player to get frustrated enough with the boring, repetitive grind and spend extra money to get what you want.
Having got back into WWE & catching up on NXT I had hopes for this (after swerving WWE 2K18!) .. was seriously tempted but I think even a sale would make me still avoid it.
I’m going back to Def Jam Vendetta
Anyone has bought the complete edition? I bought it and I haven't nothing of complete edition. Not 1100 golden bucks, not edge, not the rock, stone cold and Ronda unlocked. Nothing. I send an email to 2k and still waiting
I bought this on Friday and have been playing it with my kids over the weekend.
I agree with pretty much everything said in this review and yet I have to admit that I have enjoyed it.
Call it a form of video game Stockholm Syndrome but I really enjoy unlocking characters through grinding, be they wrestlers or superheroes.
The reviewer is absolutely right that the grind-to-currency ratio is infuriatingly unbalanced but it's something that seems to exist deep within my psyche from my gacha game phase. I am a glutton for this particular kind of punishment.
Ultimately, my biggest frustration with gaming this weekend was, and remains, the camera in Mario 64.
shock horror after nba playgrounds 2 did anyone expect anything else than another bend over please while we try screw you out of every penny. my wish fir next gen EA 2k activision idiots wake up and stop buying their begging games
all this review did was make me want portal on switch
SUPER disappointed by this! I wasn’t going to get it at launch, as 2K games ALWAYS go on sale, but I was 100% onboard with getting it eventually. My & my two sons enjoy wrestling and this looked like a great game for some multiplayer mayhem. Hopefully by the time it hits the sales page on the eShop there will be some gameplay patches & adjustments to the battlebucks system, although I realize I am probably hoping for too much.
@TimboSlice I would buy a wrestlefest arcade 1up cabinet in a heartbeat...
why was this even taken to fruition?
@MachomanSavege The roster in that game is irritating to me. Austin Idol? Colt Cabana? The bWo? They can’t even keep the timeline straight.
@Supadav03 I recommend to watch some gameplay on YouTube before deciding. The reviews on here are suspect at best (remember their Adventure Time review?), and as someone who owns the game, I can assure you that it’s better than a 4.
@Dromosus I'm the same haha. I bought it and I'm enjoying it, even though objectively speaking I acknowledge and agree the game is severely flawed. I'm not a completionist and you can bank some serious points through the online modes if you're good, so I have already unlocked the majority of the wrestlers I care about in just three days...
The core gameplay is pretty fun, but I agree the grind isn't fair, the campaign mode is just stupid and lazy and I feel they could have added more match types. Surely, an over the top arcade style wrestling game would benefit from matches like TLC, Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber etc? Hopefully they work on the game post-launch and refine the gameplay and adjust the reward amount given for actions.
Overall though, I'm so over the simulation 2K wrestling games. 2K14 (THQ's last game before 2K took over) is the last wrestling game I actually enjoyed. I actually enjoy Battlegrounds far more than any of the games from 2K15 onwards.
Anyways, can't we just have Fire Pro World on Switch please?
too bad
this could have been the modern "WWF Arcade" game.
Playing devil's advocate here. I bought it and Mario on the same day and I have played this more than Mario tbh. It may be a mess but it is a fun mess. The huge points buy in for a character feels more rewarding when you finally get that one character you really want. I think that the price will drop very fast due to everyone bashing it so bad. The stage takedowns are awesome. The crunch of actually connecting a move is very satisfying that the other wwe 2k games just don't have. I am having a blast with it especially with my son. The handheld mode isn't as bad as they make it out to be. If i was reviewing it i would give it a 7.5 but it would be an 8 without the microtransactions. If you are really interested in the game wait for it to go on sale. It really doesn't deserve a 4.
Yep I knew this was going to be a disaster that even Stevie Wonder saw it coming.
I'll just keep waiting to some sort of re-release of WCW/NWO Revenge.
@TimboSlice You're angry at the art style for being "realistic" when it really isn't? That makes no sense.
going to buy my Nintendo 3DS and i hope to seing this game running smothly there, this a shame game.
@Dog I mean the wwe 2k games’ look - which I’ve never thought were a good idea, and then this one’s. Sorry, should have been more clear.
I think they just aren’t hitting the mark on finding a great look....
People have been clamouring for a Wrestlefest remake for sooo long. It would be an easy and much well-received choice.
I thought this conclusion would be clearly apparent from the front cover on the case? No purchase necessary
Wait, one of the wrestlers they made up is a hacker from Detroit? Lol
@Reprise Fire Pro is such a natural fit for the Switch. They're a small developer and have had their hands full with DLC for PS4 and PC for the past couple of years. Hopefully the Switch might see a port or a bespoke new Fire Pro soon. Retromania looks fun but it won't have a creation suite at launch and while I'm a fan of Zack Sabre Jr and the Road Warriors, the roster is pretty underwhelming, though understandably so.
Now with the possible updates for Battlegrounds, I'd love to see some bare bones kind of GM or Universe Mode, nothing too fancy, having something similar to the original Smackdown versions would be fine for me. Otherwise I could always go full on pen and paper booker like the Fire Pro geeks do.
I've actually found this game to be very enjoyable, and so have 3 of my other friends. Most fun we've had with a WWE game in years.
Definitely agree that the MTX are a bit much, but I feel like I earn enough in each match to buy what I want so I don't feel compelled to spend real money at all. You can win matches in less than a minute and get over 1000 bucks. Just wreck your opponent and them submit them.
Definitely the best WWE game since 2K has taken over the series. They've completely butchered the franchise, so this was a nice change.
@Dromosus was just about to comment that fire pro should just get a release/reboot on the switch. If the devs released a fire pro type aew game it would be awesome.
@Dromosus Yeah, Fire Pro would be amazing on Switch. It really would be a natural fit. I hadn't realised they had done DLC by the way! Is it any good? I played FPW a ton when it was first released on PS4, but haven't played in ages, as I don't really play my PS4 much anymore.
A barebones Universe Mode or GM mode would be great in Battlegrounds. Anything that can just add a little more depth and longevity would be great.
Oh look. another WWE cash gran on Switch, just like WWE 2k18. Really hoping RetroMania Wrestling pulls through.
Such a shame, that there is still no sign of "Fire Pro Wrestling World" for the switch...
Might still get this on a deep discount. But yeah, Retromania Wrestling is where it's at now. Hopefully the AEW game is good.
Yeah, I think I'll just stick to playing WWE 2K19. Even from the trailers, this game looked like something I would never be interested in.
Disappointing indeed and to think this was developed by the same studio that port the Witcher III to Switch. With THQ, Yukes, and AKI no longer involve, WWE games are just hot garbage going forward.
I can't say that I am disappointed because this always looked bad and I always expected it to be bad.
Have to say I disagree.
I’ve not paid a penny... and through just playing and unlocking I’ve unlocked Andre and all his attires, Jake the snake, Mankind and both his attires, Takers classic attires both Rock and Stone cold, K-Kwik, Samoa Joe, a couple of Divas, Lashley, Strowman, sgt slaughter, Hogan, Jeff hardy, Cesaro, Rowan, Corbin and Crews.... only had game four days and played far from non stop. Career is great fun and comic book style works well for drop in and out and the new characters work for the silly OTT story.
The caw mode is limited but levelling up the caws through playing in a separate mode encourages play.
So much to do solo and it rewards with plenty of coins to unlock stuff.
Very old school. Play game and unlock stuff. With 70+ more wrestlers coming - yes it will take time but with the daily challenges and bonus coins for levelling up and bonus 5k and 7k coins in the caw upgrading mode it really isn’t that grindy at all.
Best wrestling game since ps2 games maybe even n64. It has limitations but is fun. I’m loving it. Respect Chris and own some of his books and usually agree but I’m loving this game.
If I’m being completely honest, this game looks fantastic to me.
I haven’t played it and it’s very possible that I do play it and come to a similar conclusion but, frankly it feels like hating on 2K and their wrestling games is just the “thing to do”, and people expect that response and want to see a review trashing it, and I have to question whether the reviewer genuinely feels the way they do because it’s actually a bad game, or because they convinced themselves it was bad ahead of time and then looked for reasons to justify it.
I’m not making any accusations here. Just saying, I’m not entirely convinced it’s as bad as presented. Not yet anyways. I’m going to try it for myself and then I’ll see. If I agree with the review, seems you’ll have earned my trust. But if I find out it’s better than the score presented I probably won’t read any more reviews from this author.
Oh wow that is a harsh review.
I have a lot of fun with the game so far.
And it kinda is exactly what I expected it to be knowing NBA Playgrounds (also from Saber for 2K).
For me it's more a 7/10.
Darn. I was actually looking forward to a new wrestling game. Oh well, guess I'll just have to dig up Def Jam FfNY.
I think this review is a little unfair.
I mean it's not the best but it's a lot better than the last wrestling game they made and to be honest it's a step in the right direction.
If they can improve further on this formula then they could be onto a good lineup of wrestling games, like we use to get.
Personally I give it a 6.5/10. With a few patches and updates, easily 7.
@Auenegheps I got the 3 costumes for each character, edge and the bucks
@Darkyoshi98 I got only the 3 costumes
@TheDragonDAFan
What you've gotta remember with these microtransactions is that the thing your grinding to unlock wouldn't even be in most games at all without them. You'd have probably had like 30 wrestlers like All-Stars, if that.
Trash. wwe is dead. Wrestling is dead and I don't understand why people still watch it? It was fun in the 90's and early 2000s, but it really did die off.
@Alpha-2002
I wouldn't play this trash for free lol
I clicked on this review just because I thought the subtitle was funny! 😂
Didn’t plan on buying/playing anyway. I’m waiting to see how the AEW game turns out.
@Stocksy I agree. I absolutely love this game and the arcade feel. Tons of great wrestlers old and new. Great multiplayer. Solid Controls.
Okay sorry i know this is an old review but the review is actually way off the mark, i mean in terms of gameplay this is really fun, it runs very smooth and honestly doesn't take nearly as long to unlock decent wrestlers, as this review makes out.
You can easily ignore the micro transactions and have tons of fun on this game.
You can't give NBA 2k 21 an 8 out of 10 and give this a 4. NBA 2K 21 deserves 8 but to be honest so does this game here, or at least a 7.
Quite a few of the later comments here seem to point to what im saying, this game was unfairly reviewed, its a lot better than a 4.
Edit: i forgot about my comment from before, i was playing this game again and realised again how good it was and how unfair this review was.
Wrestling Empire comes out on the 11th. Anyone looking for a great wrestling game, this should be it. I have "Wrestling Revolution" from the same guy on my Android phone and have been playing it for years. I think I paid $8 for it on Android and it is $20 on switch, but I'll still pick it up when I have time to play.
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