WWE 2K25 first look: New match types, improved gameplay and their first venture into an open world mode marks a giant leap forward

WWE 2K is back with 2025 edition and they've made some huge strides forward that wrestling fans can get excited about - namely The Island. It's the franchise's first venture into an open world mode that mildly resembles The City in their NBA iteration. The game is set to drop in March, just a month ahead of WrestleMania 41 and with WWE business at an all-time high, 2K knew they had to make a game to match the momentum.

Have they? Admittedly, we didn't get a look at the entire game. We can't divulge deep details about the career mode or what the exciting all-new The Island looks like. But, we can talk about the rich, ever-improving gameplay, the new Bloodline showcase and the new match types: Bloodline Rules and Underground matches. Roman Reigns, the biggest name in wrestling today, quite rightly dons the front cover.

First impressions. First of all, I love a good, layered career mode just as much as I love a chaotic backstage brawl just full of carnage and fun. The latter was easy to find during this play-through as 2K offers a variety of backstage environments that they've sensibly made more interactive with each passing instalment. When you bump into stuff now, not only does damage show more frequently and visibly, but it knocks other weapons into the fray that you can use on your opponents. Fighting by or onto old memorabilia can quickly turn into jumping or throwing someone off a ledge.

Having up to four people brawl like this does make the game more co-op enticing. I can certainly envisage battling my friends like this online, there's a good market for it!. The details and graphics for the superstars have reached new all-time highs. There is new abilities to interact with the barricades as well as new match types. The new match types are interesting additions. On paper, the Underground matchup is something fresh and different from the usual. We've had a handful of matchups in NXT since the original concept - WWE's answer to Bloodsport - popped up on RAW during the Pandemic era.

The last battle came between Jaida Parker and Lola Vice in December 2024, but I'm not sure there was a clamouring to make this in video game form. It does give a different options and style of gameplay that does feel more like a fight - that is satisfying. It's a task to make this feel like more than just a match without ropes and while I'd say they do it quite well, perhaps not enough to make me want to play it again and again.

Bloodline rules is more of the chaos that players like me seek. Ostensibly, it's about multiple interferences and anything goes. Neither of those scenarios are new, but blended together makes for a fun time. Can we get Three Stages of Hell? Inferno match? I quit? Championship scramble? I think there are options for 2K moving forward. Roman Reigns is at the heart of the game on its cover and central to the showcase.

The Bloodline story has dominated WWE for nearly five years and this is a fitting addition. With the showcase, this time around players are able to re-write history if they choose to. We had the chance to do this with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at the 2022 Royal Rumble and there are plenty other milestones in this near-five-year storyline you can sink your teeth into. In a nod to the lineage of The Bloodline, we also had the chance to carry out a dream match between The Wild Samoans - Afa and Sika - against The Dudley Boyz, one of the most decorated tag teams in pro wrestling history.

The showcase isn't normally one of my top reasons to play the game, but I will say 2K have done a nice job of giving the mode more avenues to go down this year in addition to their always awesome cinematic delivery in between the bouts. With Paul Heyman bringing most of the pieces together, you can't lose!. What's new?. WWE 2K’s sandbox mode receives new upgrades to give players even greater control over their Universe experience, including the long-awaited return of Promos.

Your custom Superstar from the women’s or men’s divisions in a singular multi-gender MyRISE storyline that features Bayley, Kevin Owens, and other Superstars attempting to infiltrate NXT in an bid to take control of the entire WWE universe. Take your show on the road and challenge friends worldwide in the enhanced MyGM for WWE 2K25, now with online multiplayer for up to four players. Intergender wrestling makes its long-awaited debut in the WWE 2K franchise! Pit WWE or player-created Superstars from the men's and women's divisions against each other to set up countless matchups across multiple modes. Additional features include the return of chain wrestling, Underground and Bloodline Rules match types, and barricade diving!.

The three different covers for the three different editions of the game. A small window into The Island, 2K's first first open-world element in WWE. For the first time in franchise history, step outside the ropes and onto The Island for PS5 and Xbox Series X. 2K say that in this immersive WWE-themed world, players will have to complete quests, take on challenges, compete in live events, and upgrade and customize your MySUPERSTAR through multiple storyline chapters. Your prize?Joining Roman Reigns at the Head of the Table.