WWE 2K Battlegrounds Reviews
Check out WWE 2K Battlegrounds Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 17 reviews on CriticDB, WWE 2K Battlegrounds has a score of:
WWE 2K20 was an unmitigated disaster. I gave the game a 3 out of 10, and in retrospect, I may have been too generous. That game was so bad it forced 2K Games to do the unthinkable and take a year off from their annual WWE release schedule. 2K and developer Visual Concepts are working on a new core WWE game for 2021, but in the meantime, contractual obligations need to be met, so we’re getting WWE 2K Battlegrounds from the reliable workhorses at Saber Interactive.
I’ve been a fan of wrestling since the WWF Attitude era, and even in the current state of a pandemic-affected crowdless arena and Vince McMahon’s current booking abilities, the product is still enjoyable, despite what an AEW fan will tell you. Unfortunately, when it comes to wrestling games, especially now more than ever, I find them to be convoluted as a result of overambition.
Most know of the debacle that was WWE 2K20, a game so bad it effectively put the series’ development on hiatus. Thus, back to the drawing board went publisher
You better have to choose if it’s worth spending your spare cash, because it might not be the game for you and it might be for others.
WWE Opens up Shop on the Battleground
WWE 2K Battlegrounds turned out to be a major letdown. There was a lot of outcry over WWE 2K20 because of the multiple glitches and the fact that the game felt unfinished. There was hope that WWE 2K Battlegrounds would be a new addition to the series that would add something novel but it was just a step in the wrong direction.
Over-the-top action, ridiculous animations and attacks, and a cartoony reimagining of your favorite superstars aside, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is hampered by its lackluster class-based movesets, as well as a system that requires you to grind for a vast majority of superstars that still need to be unlocked. With limited customization options and game modes, it's best played in short bursts, and you'll hardly feel engaged from a single-player standpoint.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a budget brawler with a high price tag. Despite the core gameplay being quite solid, a lot of the content is locked behind microtransactions and grinding away at matches. These things stop it from rising to Superstar status.
If ever a wrestling game accurately reflected the current state of the WWE, it's WWE 2K Battlegrounds. So much talent, so much waste. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if WWE creative got their hands in this game, forcing 2K to make some dubious decisions.Read More
I am so mixed on WWE 2K Battlegrounds. In some ways, I really dig that 2K decided to create an arcade-style wrestling game. I do believe the basics of this game make a solid foundation for another entry. The “pick-up and play” direction is great if you want to play with a few friends. Still, a lot of its flaws make it hard to recommend to those who usually play these games alone. After a couple of hours, all of WWE 2K Battlegrounds’ silly over-the-top gimmicks lose their luster.
While WWE 2K Battlegrounds shows that it has some potential to be something greater, it ends up jobbing for the lack of personality. A lot of the ideas are there, though they don’t supply enough depth for a much needed fleshed out experience. Fun at times, but mostly repetitive, fans of the WWE universe will probably find this to be a good time killer. Sure, I enjoyed this a whole lot more than last year’s release, there just isn’t enough here to really say this is a good replacement.
I don’t hate WWE Battlegrounds. It’s a much more arcadey style of game that I think is a better representation of what a pro wrestling game should be. But it does have its own set of problems in its lack of depth and aggressive microtransactions. I wouldn’t mind seeing more from this series, but it needs some big changes to truly be a fun experience.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds steps into the ring with an over-the-top action figure style of arcade wrestling mash-up, targeting a more casual gamer and attempting to right some of the wrongs caused by last years glitch-filled WWE 2K20. While WWE games normally have a more simulation style, with complex gameplay, motion-captured superstars, gigantic lists of move-sets and create-your-own features as far as the eye can see, although they have dabbled in a more arcade style in the past with WWE All Sta...
Going in the direction of a simple, easy to pick up and play pro wrestling game was absolutely the right move as an alternative to the simulation-heavy mainline WWE 2K games, but WWE 2K Battlegrounds botches what should’ve been a sure thing. Its gameplay is too shallow, its microtransactions are incredibly obtrusive, its cartoony art style lacks charm, its hit detection is constantly wonky... the list goes on and on. It can be fun on a very casual level for a short amount of time if you’ve got a group of friends to play with, and it's not quite a disaster on the level of WWE 2K20, but WWE 2K Battlegrounds is nonetheless another in a growing series of misses for WWE video games.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds has significantly less online and technical issues than most of the WWE 2K games, but it still struggles to shake off its identity as a small-scale, "budget" game. A lot of it feels rushed or lacks depth, and the result is a relatively barebones, repetitive wrestling game that loses its appeal in mere hours. That being said, those looking to use it as a multiplayer party game may find it to be a worthwhile investment after a price drop.
Republished on Wednesday 30th June 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.
It lacks so much of what made over-the-top arcade wrestling games great in the first place, while also being filled to the brim with microtransactions. The spectacle of its over-the-top moves and abilities are quickly lost in the tedium of its progression, lack of depth, budget presentation, and technical issues. It almost feels like 2K has come crashing down with the WWE license…and it hurts inside.