Of course, there is the option to unlock everything through micro-transactions, but it’s not ideal for a game that already costs Rs. So from matches where you would entirely dominate over your opponents, you’re suddenly presented with a progression wall where almost all your moves are reversed by an opponent that’s clearly more powerful than the character you’re controlling. The problem with that is that the campaign sees some major difficulty spikes that aren’t easy to overcome. Then there’s the unlockables, which gets pretty annoying as the game expects you to grind through the campaign for not just power-ups and gear but also to unlock superstars. In fact, there is a separate Battleground Challenge mode for that character. What’s weird is that the game has a Create a Superstar mode where you can create your own character, but you can’t run him/ her through the campaign. So, the campaign has you play as six fictional wrestlers to familiarise you with each fighting style that I spoke about earlier. The campaign mode takes you through the story where ex-WWE Superstar, Stone Cold Steve Austin, goes on a recruitment spree for the franchise’s new IP – Battlegrounds. The design of the game calls for these ridiculous moments, and it is weird that they decided to go realistic for this particular mechanic. Sure, it’s realistic, but I think it would be a lot more fun if Rey Mysterio could pick and toss The Undertaker into traps. If you are a technical wrestler facing off against a smaller class, then you will not be able to lift your opponent at all. For example, certain stages or ‘battlegrounds’ have traps that can be triggered by picking and tossing your opponent into them. The technical character class in particular carries a disadvantage, in the sense that they can’t pull off certain power moves against the more powerful classes. Needless to say, it starts to play out as repetitive since the wrestlers start to feel like palette swaps of their respective categories rather than unique characters. So, all wrestlers classified as brawlers will have the exact same moves, regardless of gender. However, aside from signature moves and finishers the move sets are limited to the fighter type that each wrestler is classified under. There is enough to fill a match and keep your opponent on his/her toes. The move list is well rounded with punches, kicks, grapple moves and more. Though not as in-depth as the regular WWE 2K series, there are quite a few moves to master. The quality of humour on the panels make it worth reading.
The overall narrative of the campaign mode is done through a comic book, which I would complain about a lot more if it wasn’t funny. It is a weird cutback that doesn’t make much sense. Then there are the entrances – everyone comes out of a box for some reason instead of making the character’s actual iconic entrance.
WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS DLC 5 PRO
The overall visuals do not look too sharp, even on the PlayStation 4 Pro which was the platform used to review the game.
That said, it does have several cutbacks that give it a very low-production value. The ring movements, and impacts too have a comical feel to it, where certain animations happen too fast, or with a stream of light around your character’s arms. This carries forward to the overall art style of the game itself, which relies on a comic for narration and looks like a kid’s cartoon overall. Still, for a game like this, having accurate character representation probably would not work as well as these sillier avatars that look more like toys of the actual wrestlers. The deformed characters do have a bit of a charm to them – an opinion that is highly subjective depending on whom you’re asking. But there are a few caveats that stop it from becoming great, which we’ll discuss in the course of the review. The game also adds fun extras like interactive elements around the rings, power-ups and abilities, and a decent number of match modes to keep things interesting. It is a way to bring in new fans to the franchise, without encumbering them with too many techniques and maneuvers to master. Instead of focusing on technicalities, the new WWE 2K Battlegrounds focuses more on accessibility, fast-paced action, and is generally over-the-top in every way. After the colossal mess that was last year’s WWE 2K20 (pretty much like the year it was named after), this year the franchise takes a different approach in the form of a more casual family game. But the one thing that WWE has, it’s staying power. The WWE franchise, just like its games, have been through the ringer more times than anyone can count.
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