WWE 2K22says it will “hit differently,” and fans are still trying to decipher what this means. In the last month, no news onWWE 2K22has come out, leaving fans wondering what is happening with its development.WWE 2K20was received poorly by fans as being a buggy mess, and as the quality of theWWE 2Kgames seems to have been waning in the last decade, expectations are low thatWWE 2K22will what people have dreamed of. This is because no matter how much fans have wished for certain features and gameplay elements to return, no game sinceWWE Smackdown! Vs. Rawhas seemingly included the entire package.
AEW skyrocketed in popularity due to the quality of its programs and the superstar roster it employs. With more creative freedom for AEW’s superstars to develop compelling storylines, AEW has garnered a large fanbase in a short time period, especially impressive as AEW launched only a few months before the world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, AEW has a General Manager simulationmobile game calledAEW Elite General Manageravailable now, with a full-fledged pro wrestling game in the works for consoles that show a lot of promise.
Some of the more popular wrestling games happen to be from well over a decade ago. TheWWE 2Kgames have increased in visual quality over the years, but that doesn’t mean they have the gameplay that will keep fans engaged long enough to remember for years to come. It is not uncommon to see the likes ofWWF No Mercy,WWF Wrestlemania 2000,WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, andWWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Painon many top listsof pro-wrestling games, and there is a good reason for it. One common factor between these games was the ease that fans could simply pick up the controller and play.
Many of these games featured a more unrealistic approach when it comes to combat while maintaining the feel of pro wrestling. This includes inter-gender matches, inferno matches, the ability to throw opponents off of buildings, and more. There are many sports fans who don’t play video games but enjoy playing video games of their favorite sports, and the key to that is the ease of access.WWF No Mercywas the pinnacle of this conceptby introducing a dynamic branching story mode where whether a player wins or loses, their story continues and branches off. This more fluid approach than many of the linearWWE 2Kgames is sorely missed.
AEW has shown in a teaser video thatits next game in the AEW franchisewill be akin to standard pro wrestling games likeWWE 2KandWWE SmackDown! vs Raw. It is still too early to tell the quality of gameplay this new title will implore, however, it has shown an inter-gender match between Kenny Omega and Hikaru Shida. This is one feature that WWE games have removed sinceWWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. Another long-gone fan-favorite feature of wrestling games was the General Manager mode that gave players a break from the action and allowed them to have their own managerial role.
As is seen already with AEW, the company has already released a General Manager mode and confirmed inter-gender fighting as a possible option in its future title. It seems like AEW is listening to fans, and with many top superstars in AEW being avid gamers, the games under the AEW brand may deliver the quality fans have been waiting for.WWE 2K22will surely have to hit differentlyif it wants to stay afloat and earn fans' respect once again, especially considering AEW has long-time developer Yuke’s on board.
