WWE 2K25 debuts more fun features, shores up the series' fundamentals

Ever since the series underwent a soft reboot for WWE 2K22, there has been a much clearer sense that the team behind the WWE video games is listening to what the fans want. WWE 2K25 continues that trend, as of a playable build we got to try out at a recent event.

One of the biggest additions this year is that of intergender matches, something that hasn't been seen in the series for 16 years, and it's as good as it ever was with any gender of wrestler able to compete in any match type under any circumstances.

Things run smoothly in the ring too. While putting the smallest women against the biggest men will cause some clipping issues with animations, that slightly wonky charm is almost a beloved feature of the series at this point. Plus, if you're pitting 5-foot Alexa Bliss against 7-foot, 386-pound Braun Strowman, you probably don't take things so seriously as to be upset by that sort of thing.

If you enjoy the sillier side of wrestling, you'll also love the new brawl environments. These include the iconic NXT parking lot and the WWE archive, which lets you brawl on top of the WrestleMania sign and throw your opponent into the classic SmackDown fist.

Surprisingly, you can play with a third-person camera, rather than the fixed one. It's not perfect -- you're sometimes wrestling more with the camera than your opponent -- but when it works it offers a great new perspective on the action, especially in the brawl environments. The community around this game already makes incredible cinematic matches and stories using the existing tools, so adding something like this is a huge boon.

Showcase mode is dramatically improved this year, too. The "Slingshot" technology that overlaid real WWE footage on in-game cutscenes is gone, with everything being animated in-game. The number of cutscenes has been drastically reduced, so you finally feel like you're playing the matches most of the time, rather than watching old clips.

It's not just about recreating history anymore, either. In the Bloodline Showcase, you will be playing historic matches as various members of the Anoa'i wrestling dynasty, but you also get the chance to change history, playing out alternate scenarios that are well-imagined by the 2K team. Then there's the third and final category that puts together dream matches that could never happen in real life, which is where it's the most fun. The Wild Samoans vs The Dudley Boyz in a tables match is as chaotic as it gets and it's nice to see this series finally embrace that wild fantasy that these games make possible.

The mode is presented with segments from Paul Heyman, who does the phenomenal job you'd expect at giving context for every match, putting over all the wrestlers involved, and drawing you into the epic story of the Bloodline. The promo he cuts before you play Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins from Royal Rumble '22 will single-handedly get you hyped to see those two run it back at WrestleMania this year.

Where many people often just played Showcase mode out of obligation to get the unlockables, this year it's worth playing just for the enjoyment alone.

It all comes together to make WWE 2K25 another solid step forward for the series, though it still has a lot to prove that we haven't seen yet. The Island mode didn't feature in the build we played and that is by far the most exciting new prospect for the game, as it will show whether 2K25 is taking a bold step forward or continuing to play it safe.

Either way, players can now have confidence that the fundamentals are stronger than ever, with improvements across the board that continue to make it the best representation of sports entertainment in gaming.