MLB The Show 18

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 101 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 101
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 101
  3. Negative: 32 out of 101
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  1. buddahpa
    Mar 27, 2018
    5
    Season and online franchise modes removed!!

    Good: Plays a great game of baseball. Presentation/visuals look fantastic. Bad: SDS (developers) had many live streams leading up to release and never mentioned season mode being removed. I found their lack of transparency disturbing, and underhanded. No changes were made to franchise mode, other than reworked UI (menus). Also found out    Season and online franchise modes removed!!

    Good: Plays a great game of baseball. Presentation/visuals look fantastic.

    Bad: SDS (developers) had many live streams leading up to release and never mentioned season mode being removed. I found their lack of transparency disturbing, and underhanded. No changes were made to franchise mode, other than reworked UI (menus). Also found out that roster sharing is having issues. The same issue that was reported last year, and clearly not addressed. This means that those people who spend countless hours doing all levels (MLB, AAA, AA, A), and trying to upload to the Vault, are unable to do so. Now awaiting response for resolution to the issue.

    Summary: It's truly a great game, but MLB 18 is really a polished version of MLB 17. There are some ball physics which are a nice addition and do shine, but their lack of creativity or just listening to the requests by many customers (same requests for multiple years go unaddressed), is very disappointing. They seem to have done the minimum this iteration, and it shows. Making a $60 purchase is a lot for some, and keeping MLB 17 and skipping this year may be the best decision. I'll leave that up to you...    … Expand
  2. Bugstaman
    Mar 27, 2018
    7
    Slight step back from 17. The only “improvements” they made were the fielding and tagging system other than that it’s the same game as last year. Fielding is broken the players are slower and feel clunky. Online is still laggy every year. I remember playing the 2k series 10 years ago and had smooth online experience. MLB the show online is never smooth. They took out a lot of theSlight step back from 17. The only “improvements” they made were the fielding and tagging system other than that it’s the same game as last year. Fielding is broken the players are slower and feel clunky. Online is still laggy every year. I remember playing the 2k series 10 years ago and had smooth online experience. MLB the show online is never smooth. They took out a lot of the presentation this year. No home run trots or replays or challenges at least in DD They do have a lot of nice legends to play with. It’s still the best MLB game out there compared to RBI.… Expand
  3. sityoazzdown
    Apr 3, 2018
    7
    Pros: Must play for avid baseball fans/only viable triple a baseball game. So-So: Not much changed from last year. Cons: What's up with the glitchy fielding? You run to a ball to have it bounce right past you.. the A.I in prior installations would auto pick up when your close to it... Hitting is a lot easier, reaction time is increased, and the contact percentage is up by alot ( i usePros: Must play for avid baseball fans/only viable triple a baseball game. So-So: Not much changed from last year. Cons: What's up with the glitchy fielding? You run to a ball to have it bounce right past you.. the A.I in prior installations would auto pick up when your close to it... Hitting is a lot easier, reaction time is increased, and the contact percentage is up by alot ( i use zone). This year's version takes a step down a little bit from last year, not much new, some refinement, but it is a lot more noob friendly, and fielding is glitchy as f. It's also impossible to strike someone out this year, me being a veteran, playing competitively is not as challenging, you can hit any ball into play this year it seems.. this being a baseball sim; it's not realistic.… Expand
  4. keepitmetal1989
    Mar 28, 2018
    7
    game play is great ! only thing is i wish there was more things to do in franchise mode. since they took out couple things . i expected more but game play is solid. should be a 9
  5. Alecj
    Jun 10, 2018
    6
    MLB the show has been so good over the years it put its competition out of business. Thats a shame. Now, without anyone to push them, i feel like San Diego Studios has stopped innovating and started pouring more resources into new and more "fun" ways to monetize the game.

    The game has a hugely successful Diamond Dynasty mode, which is its card collecting, online mode. People spend    MLB the show has been so good over the years it put its competition out of business. Thats a shame. Now, without anyone to push them, i feel like San Diego Studios has stopped innovating and started pouring more resources into new and more "fun" ways to monetize the game.

    The game has a hugely successful Diamond Dynasty mode, which is its card collecting, online mode. People spend hundreds of dollars to purchase one players' card, which allows them to use that player in online play (and some solo modes).

    It has become so lucrative that im afraid it may have swallowed most of the devs resources, in order to keep monetized content on a constant release schedule, the game play has suffered.

    For example- Hitting has gone from fine (but too easy for elite players), to completely broken (and unplayable for casuals), and is now a mess of half baked patches and odd physics.
    The most important part of the game is broken. Its obvious they do not have a good physics model and its very obvious they dont know exactly what is causing the problem, so they are merely throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

    Even on the easiest settings, hitting is an inconsistent, frustrating puzzle.....that kills the overall score for this game...in any mode you play.

    MLB the Show does have plenty to offer in modes and ways to play baseball, but since that almost always includes hitting, its difficult to recommend this game to anyone but the hardest of hardcore.

    I wonder if SDS understands the depth of this issue, or as long as enough players spend thousands of dollars on card packs and players.....they even care?

    It could be a great game, but its just not.    … Expand
  6. Jk9785
    Nov 1, 2018
    5
    **** **** **** This game disappoints on so many levels, it's baffling. Road to the Show? Repetitive. Diamond Dynasty? Broken. Online Franchise...GONE?!?! They've actually taken one of the most universally loved modes and thrown it in the dumpster like Luke Scott's career (look him up). That said, the visuals are mind-blowingly good and the soundtrack is okay. But that's it.
  7. Un_Creative
    Mar 29, 2018
    5
    Coming from MLB THE SHOW 16 I was hoping for an enhanced experience. It only somewhat came through. I noticed season and online franchise modes were removed from the new game. I was pleasantly surprised by the upgrade in visuals. The only thing new to me in this year's release was the update to Road to the Show, but that change was made to last year's game.

    Reccomended To: - Those    Coming from MLB THE SHOW 16 I was hoping for an enhanced experience. It only somewhat came through. I noticed season and online franchise modes were removed from the new game. I was pleasantly surprised by the upgrade in visuals. The only thing new to me in this year's release was the update to Road to the Show, but that change was made to last year's game.

    Reccomended To:
    - Those New/Returning From One or More Years
    - Hardcore Baseball Fans    … Expand
  8. Dompozzan
    Apr 20, 2018
    7
    I liked the new direction of Be A Pro, leveling your player up by how well you perform on the field, but its still lacking the immersion youd expect from a career simulator. The micro-transactions are ridiculous but the game play is smooth, hitting and ball physics have been improved but many of the game modes haven't.
  9. RynOpp12
    Jun 20, 2018
    5
    Simply put, this is baseball, and if all you want is a baseball experience, this game will provide you with that. However, since I spent a good chunk of money on this game (as I have done in the past with The Show games), I was hoping for a much fuller experience. There are so many simple flaws, as well as frustrating parts of this game that do not make it worthwhile. Let me give you someSimply put, this is baseball, and if all you want is a baseball experience, this game will provide you with that. However, since I spent a good chunk of money on this game (as I have done in the past with The Show games), I was hoping for a much fuller experience. There are so many simple flaws, as well as frustrating parts of this game that do not make it worthwhile. Let me give you some examples to show you what I mean.

    - This has been a problem for year now, but MANY of the batting stances and pitching motions do not look or feel at all like the actual players. This is a simple fix, just watch video of the players actually swinging! For example, the Giancarlo Stanton swing has his knees way too bent and the bat isn't quite in the right position. This is just one of many of the motions that is off. It is sloppy game design and really takes you out of the experience.

    - Apparently The Show still doesn't even know what the players in the game look like. Ex: The SF Giants reliever Will Smith does not look like the actual player at all! Not only has he (in real life) had a beard for about two or three years now, but he also looks less heavy in the face, than the game portrays his character as. By the way, his pitching motion isn't accurate with real life either.

    - Simple mistakes kill this game! As I was playing Road To The Show, I noticed the the El Paso Chihuahuas, a minor league team in New Mexico, plays home games at a field called Baypoint Park, and also has a beach boardwalk in the background. New Mexico is landlocked, they could never play at this field! This is careless game design that makes me think they didn't put much effort in to making the game realistic.

    - The graphics of this game haven't really changed much since about The Show 14 or 15. If you put both games in front of me, excluding roster updates and stylistic changes, I don't think I could tell you which one was which, which is just unacceptable.

    - I don't know if this one is just me, but this game has had a really bad lagging problems. When I pitch in Road To The Show, the meter will sometimes lag badly, causing me to really miss my spot and throw a wild pitch. I've noticed this usually happens with runners on base, making it more impactful and frustrating, as the other team usually scores because of this. Like I said, I have had many other The Show games before, and they have never had problems like this before.

    While this game does have some improvements, like the revamp of the Road To The Show progression, they seem few and far between. It really feels like San Diego Studios has lost the motivation to make quality baseball games with continual, positive improvements. They could really use a a serious competitor to their game to spur them towards improvement again, but sadly, it does not seem like that will happen anytime soon. It's really quite sad, as an avid baseball fan I hate to see this series drive itself further into the ground.

    Finally, I think a five score is GENEROUS given all of the issues with this game. I might be going a bit easy on the score because of the fun this series had given me for so many years.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Best PS4 Game of 2018
88
#88 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
43
#43 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 21, 2018
    80
    This PS4 exclusive still merits Hall of Fame consideration, but with nothing truly original it will feel underwhelming to the hardcores. For casual players, it's a must-buy. [June 2018, p.89]
  2. Critical Hit
    May 21, 2018
    80
    MLB: The Show 18 is an incredible game with as much depth as you are willing to handle. It has incredibly intuitive and nuanced controls, entertaining commentary and a swathe of freedom that allows you to traverse the immense depth of the game as you feel comfortable doing. This is a game you can enjoy whether you’re a hardcore baseball fan or someone looking for something new in the sporting genre that isn’t FIFA 2018.
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  3. Worth Playing
    Apr 23, 2018
    77
    Road to the Show remains the soul of The Show 18 to me, with everything else feeling like a fun distraction, like getting to step into the shoes of baseball's past greats or the tasting the 8-bit flavor of retro mode. As I progress more into my player's career, there's this unshakable knowledge that he's never going to be better at some things than he is now. He will be in a box — an enjoyable one, but a box nonetheless.
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