MLB The Show 19 Reviews

“MLB The Show 19 is a comprehensive baseball sim with a wide variety of engaging modes.”

Not just the best baseball sim of the generation, but one of the best sports sims period.

San Diego Studios' emphasis on implementing changes based on community feedback and thinking outside of the box with MLB The Show 19 has paid off. It's the best iteration of the game to date and all the changes are meaningful on and off the field. There are still some legacy issues such as lack of details in certain stadiums, getting some of the ball physics right and the online play. Depending on what mode you focus on, RTTS shines the brightest and March to October is an excellent and varying experience. Diamond Dynasty has enough to keep you coming back for more and this is fueled by the Moments missions. The Show should always be considered as one of the top console exclusive games on the market as MLB The Show 19 is the definitive baseball game of this generation.

Take me out to the ballgame.

If you’ve been following along with my last few MLB The Show reviews, you would know that I’ve started to grow a bit weary of the franchise. It’s never slipped into the territory of being not fun anymore, but overall it was starting to feel a bit tired.

While it’s true that you can play FIFA or Madden on the PC at 4K with a flawless high-speed frame rate, those games are simply inferior to what you get from Sony’s baseball behemoth. Diehards will have no trouble sinking hundreds of hours into various modes, even if they opt to skip Diamond Dynasty (as I did). While I managed to get in around 50 hours of play time, I know I’ve yet to scratch the surface of all the new details and improvements. Sony spends more time hyping their other exclusive games like God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man, but their baseball game is every bit as good as their mass-market action tentpole releases. If you have any interest in America’s favorite pastime, you owe it to yourself to step up to the plate with MLB The Show 19. 9/10 gratuitous bat flips

The Show is back with the latest, but just barely the greatest, addition to the world of baseball video games.

With a sharp crack of the bat, the 2019 baseball season is already upon us. Oddly enough, baseball is the one sport where we, as PlayStation players, have a dramatic advantage over other gaming platforms. Unless you’re interested in slumming it in the ghettos of R.B.I. Baseball 2019, there really isn’t any alternative for those poor, unfortunate souls on the Xbox or Switch. Fortunately, those of us on the PS4 are treated to the one true baseball simulation available on the market. MLB The Show 19 has returned to flash the leather and once again prove why they are the only “Show” in town.

Make no mistake about it, MLB The Show 19 is clearly the next game in the MLB The Show series, and that’s just fine. The latest iteration of the MLB The Show franchise features one of the newest Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Harper as its cover athlete. If you have ever played one of the MLB The Show titles, you will feel right at home with MLB The Show 19.

If a big-market team like the New York Yankees underperforms and misses the playoffs, coaches’ heads roll and the roster is replenished with high-priced free agents and top prospects. MLB The Show is coming off of a down year in which online stability was an issue and card-collecting became a hassle. This was a rare stumble for a series that has been consistently great. Much like an elite team rebuilding in the offseason, developer Sony San Diego took a good hard look at its product and abandoned ideas that weren’t working. The studio also turned to the free-agency market with the hopes of finding a spark in some of the greatest players ever. This flurry of activity paid off; MLB The Show 19 is a return to form that delivers excellent new avenues of play and finds ways to rejuvenate some of its legacy modes in interesting ways.

MLB The Show 19 introduces two of the best additions to the series in years with the very easy to pick up and play March to October and Moments modes that make the game a perfect companion to have for the rest of the baseball season and beyond.

MLB The Show 19 continues the series’ slow march of progress, though with a bigger step this year than last. Moments and March to October offer fresh ways to experience the outstanding gameplay, complete with the refinements on the defensive side of the ball. By integrating overt RPG mechanics into the player progression, Road to the Show has evolved into one of the deepest sports career modes currently available, even if it feels like less of a true-to-life simulation as a result. MLB The Show 19’s refreshed looks and sound closely replicates real MLB games on TV, thanks to some nice camera angles and graphical touches that emulate broadcasting. The biggest disappointment is Franchise, which continues to be the mode that’s left behind. Overall, this is the most compelling version since The Show 12 initially added Diamond Dynasty mode.

MLB The Show 19 is both improved in some important spots and disappointingly unimproved in others that really need love. But though it may not be perfect, it’s still the best baseball game money can buy and well worth any baseball enthusiast’s time.

The first PS4 entry in the series and it really does a lot of stuff to polish the series up, even if the online play leaves something to be desired. A must-own for any baseball fans.