Justin O'Brien
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Writing For
XboxEra Latest Reviews
When it comes time to make a possible narrative-altering choice, the game goes into a split-screen view of your possible decisions, reminiscent of the television show “24”. These “decision points” as I’ve dubbed them, can affect what actions our heroes take, how the characters interact with each other, and even their fate. These decision points are a bit glitchy, and given the urgency of making a decision before the timer expires, the cursor is sometimes unresponsive. The UI does try to remain unobtrusive, but at the cost of clarity in what decision you’re actually choosing. There are meaningful deviations in the narrative based on your decisions, which encourages multiple play-throughs, but the stakes for our main characters ultimately feel low. Each episode is always engaging and well-paced, even if the pay-off doesn’t always feel satisfying. One of the chapters is a complete departure with regards to structure and perspective, and the change is a welcome one.
In closing, it feels good to have baseball back on Xbox again, because the core gameplay of MLB The Show 21 remains excellent. You’ll have a blast learning and mastering the mechanics, and once you get the hang of it, everything just clicks. Outside of the gameplay itself, the game feels like a sometimes-ugly, disorganized collection of menus that wants you to pay extra money to really enjoy the most engaging content without falling victim to an endless grind.