WWE 2K20 review: Not exactly a nightmare, even with horror-themed DLC

It's been a week since WWE 2K20 hit shelves and reviews are... ehhhhh... mixed?

We've been holding off on ours for a couple of reasons. First, we're clearly aware of the bugs and glitches in the game and, since there was no Day 1 patch released with it, we wanted to wait. While we haven't gotten a fix for these issues as of writing this, we've at least been assured they're coming. So, we're going to review it with that in mind.

Secondly, when we first played the title a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas, it included the now released Bump in the Night 2K Originals DLC. Since that was our initial experience, we wanted to wait until the DLC was released commercially so we could compare the two.

Also, for reasons totally unrelated to the title itself, I found my original copy unplayable (along with everything else on my Xbox), so I had to find an alternate way to play it. Which I did. so here ya go.

Yes. There are issues

I'm not going to lie to you guys and tell you that there's nothing wrong with this game and it's perfect right out of the gate. I honestly can't remember the last time a WWE 2K game was, to be honest with you. I didn't buy The Witcher III: Wild Hunt until a year after it was released, and they were still patching and changing that game even then.

Seriously, I bought that game and then, a week later, the menu screen was completely changed.

That's not to excuse the obvious problems this game has. They're frustrating, and they take away from the enjoyment of the game. But, let's not sit here and act like WWE 2K20 is unplayable, because that's fundamentally dishonest. If it's unplayable, what have I been doing for the twenty hours I've logged into the game so far?

OK, to be fair, a couple of those hours were spent with the game paused because I was playing Lumino City on my phone, but that's not WWE 2K20's fault.

Also check out: 5 unique features about WWE 2K20

Assuming control

The controls are vastly improved from previous years, although some features have moved around the controller. The reversal button, for example, has moved to the Triangle (or Y) button, which is a lot easier to access. However, I've spent the last five or six years pressing some other stupid button and I still keep doing it and I'm getting irritated just thinking about it.

So, it takes a couple of minutes to get used to but, once you do, you'll notice that things are way more intuitive than in previous years.

Looks aren't everything

I'm not going to dance around the truth of this one, either. The character models? Eh... some of them have looked better. Some of them are downright awful, in fact. I mean, everybody looks like they're supposed to. For the most part. I guess it depends on who you ask.

.@WWEgames Who even is that girl !??? 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I look possessed and never wear my hair that short... comonnnn get ur shi*t together !!🙄 https://t.co/GAEbauglHK

— Mandy (@WWE_MandyRose) October 29, 2019

On the other hand, at least according to my admittedly untrained eye, the lighting effects and textures in this game are really good. It feels a little darker than in previous years, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I like it.

Look, if they can get the characters in Mass Effect: Andromeda to eventually look decent, they can do the same for WWE 2K20.

Boo

As in what a ghost says, not what everybody yelled at the end of Hell in a Cell this year.

Bump in the Night is the first of the four planned WWE 2K Originals DLC content packs and, well... look, if you don't know the concept behind these yet, let me give you a quick rundown.

Instead of just adding a handful of new wrestlers (that should honestly be in the game already, anyway) to the game every few months, Visual Concepts and 2K have put together four unique themed packs.

The first one, Bump in the Night, adds Bray Wyatt's Fiend persona, as well as spooky versions of Aleister Black, Braun Strowman and Randy Orton; zombie versions of stars like Cesaro and Sami Zayn; and a version of Sheamus inspired by Shaun of the Dead.

I am not kidding, it is awesome.

The next three editions have yet to be confirmed (apparently there was a leak regarding it earlier), but I've been assured by creative director Lynell Jinks that each one will be significantly different from the others.

Final verdict

Look, if you're itching for a new WWE game and you're kind of over WWE 2K19, go ahead and pick this up. It still needs plenty of patching, some of the features aren't even in there yet (we've been assured the Create-A-Championship mode is coming), and it's a little bit of a mess. It's still fun to play and it will get better. They always do.

However, if you can hold off, you probably should. Wait a few months, see how things improve, nothing wrong with that.

Me? I'm just anxious to finally get into MyCareer and Showcase modes.