MLB The Show 21

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 67 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 67
  3. Negative: 36 out of 67
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  1. Gusbus02
    Apr 20, 2021
    0
    They ruined Road To The Show. Forced integration with Diamond Dynasty. Can only make one character model so you would have to change it every time you want to switch careers. The progression for "programs" is broken and doesn't register forcing you to play DD to upgrade your RTTS players. The perk system is terrible. What is so bad about just getting your attributes up by playing the game?They ruined Road To The Show. Forced integration with Diamond Dynasty. Can only make one character model so you would have to change it every time you want to switch careers. The progression for "programs" is broken and doesn't register forcing you to play DD to upgrade your RTTS players. The perk system is terrible. What is so bad about just getting your attributes up by playing the game? Can only max the attributes out at 50 without spending money currently. The equipment glitches and switches every time you check your " loadout " to see the progress you aren't making on it making you have to re edit your player every time. Forced to be a Two- Way player at the start. Why can't I just pick my position from the start? No " Show Case" it just randomly starts with the MLB Draft and puts you on a random team. ( You do have the choice to pick a team but whats the point in that why not have a combine/showcase ) The podcasts are fine but ehhh don't really add much. The skin tone editor is terrible for the player creation. Absolutely awful they ruined it. Also can't play the mode offline because it requires you to be online to earn progress for the "programs" so when the servers shut off you won't be able to play the mode. No year to year saves anymore so even if you had fun playing with your player this year you won't be able to take him to next years game because of the DD integration they would be worried that the player would be too good for DD at the start of next years game which is why they should have never combined the 2. Terrible decisions all around skip this game if you play this mode. 0 out of 10… Expand
  2. Gemini2k
    Apr 25, 2021
    1
    I have played mlb since this was still 989 sports. My first was 01. Played every game since 04. Rtts is terrible now. Loadouts are beyond retarded. It's very simple developers only care about money. So they never put the time or effort into anything but DD, UT, MT. A game designed to steal your money leave you wanting more. There in lies the cycle until you stop wasting money on in gameI have played mlb since this was still 989 sports. My first was 01. Played every game since 04. Rtts is terrible now. Loadouts are beyond retarded. It's very simple developers only care about money. So they never put the time or effort into anything but DD, UT, MT. A game designed to steal your money leave you wanting more. There in lies the cycle until you stop wasting money on in game micro transactions they will continue to put out crap games designed to steal your money and leave you wantin… Expand
  3. colt45z
    Apr 23, 2021
    2
    Very buggy. 20 was a much more polished product. Seems like it should have been delayed since we are playing the Beta version. I guess the deal is now on Playstation that you pay $70 freaking dollars to test games so people that wait for a sale get the complete game. Guess Im going to thatother group of peope. Gotta keep gamestops used game business going.
  4. MoreThanLonzo
    Apr 24, 2021
    4
    Servers are an absolute mess. RTTS has been absolutely destroyed by being integrated into Diamond Dynasty in a move I can only assume is money motivated. They force you to play Diamond Dynasty to get upgrades for your RTTS player, if your not a fan of Diamond Dynasty it makes the game a chore to play. Cross play is a plus but other than that I can't find much positive to say about thisServers are an absolute mess. RTTS has been absolutely destroyed by being integrated into Diamond Dynasty in a move I can only assume is money motivated. They force you to play Diamond Dynasty to get upgrades for your RTTS player, if your not a fan of Diamond Dynasty it makes the game a chore to play. Cross play is a plus but other than that I can't find much positive to say about this game. Gameplay is very meh and not much has been added to improve the overall experience. The tweaks that have been added are mostly minor or unimportant. Really disappointed in SDS.… Expand
  5. Scritty
    Apr 22, 2021
    2
    Played for 15 years and bought every version in those years. I play exclusively RTTS. I have tried DD and other modes. I don't enjoy them. I'm too old and my reactions too slow to complete online (I can't "get gud" - cause I already "got old")
    This year RTTS is - frankly terrible.
    You have one character. You can't create another. Pressing square in the start RTTS menu makes it look    Played for 15 years and bought every version in those years. I play exclusively RTTS. I have tried DD and other modes. I don't enjoy them. I'm too old and my reactions too slow to complete online (I can't "get gud" - cause I already "got old")
    This year RTTS is - frankly terrible.
    You have one character. You can't create another. Pressing square in the start RTTS menu makes it look like you can - but once you create this "new player" you see they have the same looks, items and stats as your existing RTTS player.
    Being forced to do the two way story part every game... 20 minutes pitching not optional - I'm losing the will to live.
    Stats capped at 50. You get the other 50 by "wearing different clothes and equipping different cards"
    WTF!!
    After 18 hours play I have... 2 cards. A poor pair of gloves and a compression sleeve.
    Then you see. They want to FORCE YOU online or into Diamond Dynasty. I suspect they want to force you to open your wallet and buy stubs to buy equipment
    Because without it expect to play a real life 40-50 hours in AA and AAA
    Sliders cannot be altered without losing all XP.
    Why?
    Because the RTTS mode is linked to the online modes and they don't want people "cheesing" a superb player in RTTS and taking them online.
    I NEVER WANT TO PLAY ONLINE.
    Just give us a option at the beginning "This character can earn offline XP and cannot be used in online play if you press this button"
    Then let us alter the sliders.
    I get it. Online play is the essential step when converting a single player game into a profitable "software as a service" model.
    Frankly is that's the way San Diego Studios are going with MLB the show. They can stuff their game where the sun doesn't shine.
    If you are an RTTS player (and it looks like over 50% of players are) the game as it stands is complete garbage.    … Expand
  6. Coreboards68
    May 2, 2021
    0
    Thanks for the glorified card game. Save yourself the money and just play the past 3 games its the same thing. Last sports game i buy from them. Im out!
  7. atmoaggie
    Apr 22, 2021
    0
    RTTS absolutely was ruined in this iteration. I was expecting to be able to be able to import my player from The Show 20. The only good thing about RTTS is that you can be a two-way player for the first time.

    I was turned off from DD after the forced tutorial that was painstakingly boring to get through. This is as bad - in terms of cash grabbing - as EA's games in recent years. Also the    RTTS absolutely was ruined in this iteration. I was expecting to be able to be able to import my player from The Show 20. The only good thing about RTTS is that you can be a two-way player for the first time.

    I was turned off from DD after the forced tutorial that was painstakingly boring to get through. This is as bad - in terms of cash grabbing - as EA's games in recent years. Also the fact that stadium creator is only on next-gen consoles is ridiculous. PS2 games had stadium creators. Why they couldn't implement this that feature on this version is, in a word, dumb. Don't waste your money on this cash cow.    … Expand
  8. DehammaDude
    Apr 23, 2021
    0
    RTTS is broken, sliders cant be used and equipment bonuses attached to your ball player are not applied when playing in games. Franchise is pointless because the base live rosters are so terribly inaccurate. You can't fix this roster issue by using the roster vault because it is also currently broken. Every roster you download and then try and upload either gives you an error message or itRTTS is broken, sliders cant be used and equipment bonuses attached to your ball player are not applied when playing in games. Franchise is pointless because the base live rosters are so terribly inaccurate. You can't fix this roster issue by using the roster vault because it is also currently broken. Every roster you download and then try and upload either gives you an error message or it loads up the crap base live roster. Diamond Dynasty is barely usable with servers being down non-stop and when they are working their are glitches everywhere causing consumers to lose thousands of their stubs. The cherry on top is that SDS has not responded once. Has not fixed anything. Unacceptable, terrible launch and zero accountability shown.… Expand
  9. Dillongun
    Apr 23, 2021
    2
    The RTTS is horrible and no response from anyone a patch update would help at least say hey we are working on it and eta is this but nothing and the game is a bad purchase at this point I hope they fix it but this is rough right now
  10. Cody23
    May 2, 2021
    0
    It’s two weeks into an already late release and it’s still literally unplayable. Cannot connect to servers. Don’t waste your money, I’m selling my copy on eBay. Never again.
  11. mikek2118
    May 6, 2021
    0
    Where to start? Hmmm........the fake stats? The fake levels? The broken servers? The fact the company that made this steaming pile, have ignored everything broken, and only given pointless updates that have zero to do with every posted problem and complaint from its customers? The fact that virtually everything there is to do, has no purpose at all? It's funny. Raise your guy to 80, stillWhere to start? Hmmm........the fake stats? The fake levels? The broken servers? The fact the company that made this steaming pile, have ignored everything broken, and only given pointless updates that have zero to do with every posted problem and complaint from its customers? The fact that virtually everything there is to do, has no purpose at all? It's funny. Raise your guy to 80, still says 65 on DD, and he plays like he's 65. But, the CPU on rookie level with poor stats on players. All play all star, all run high speed, even when they have literally no stats on the players. You have your players rated in the 90's that look like they move with walkers, errors, can't toss out a player going from 3rd to 1st, then watch CPU players with low stats turn doubles, pull amazing diving catches. My favorite is standing at the plate and seeing the second baseman on one side, then when I hit, he is magically standing on the other side in front of ball. Can't leave out that any hit with power and distance is foul, and you hit about 20 fouls in a row till you either get a weak hit infield or pop straight up out. Or when you are pitching and you have thrown EVERY pitch you have to every spot, and the CPU just fouls everything, because the mission is to not allow a hit, so it fouls everything till it gets one. LOL I could go on and on. From no point to steals on RTTS, because if you get on base, the next guy is going to have 2 strikes already, so he's either striking out 99% of the time, or going to get a scrub hit to double up on you. Wouldn't care about not being able to steal 99% of the time, if it wasn't required on some loadouts to complete progress. As I write this, the amount of negative votes went from 14 to 26. nough said. Save your money. I got lucky I got to uninstall this trash, I played it on Gamepass, so I didn't waste my money, for broken garbage that doesn't want to fix, just make sure you can buy more junk, which essentially does NOTHING !!!! LOL… Expand
  12. opertinicy
    May 28, 2021
    1
    The 'Road to the Show' (solo career) is the worst I've ever played. Literally spent 70 hrs playing every game, get to the post-season and have .750 AVG and come the league championship game, get a notice "You've been removed from the playoff roster". No injuries, just a ridiculous glitch. These games focus more and more on selling you in-game 'loot'..already paid $60 for the game and wantThe 'Road to the Show' (solo career) is the worst I've ever played. Literally spent 70 hrs playing every game, get to the post-season and have .750 AVG and come the league championship game, get a notice "You've been removed from the playoff roster". No injuries, just a ridiculous glitch. These games focus more and more on selling you in-game 'loot'..already paid $60 for the game and want to keep charging more to enjoy the game. Done with this series. Sports games are going to hell with greed in selling loot. IDK what they do with the money, but they certainly don't use it to improve the game.… Expand
  13. OMM
    May 5, 2021
    0
    Reading the reviews of my fellow RTTS primary players, its no wonder why they didn't bring this to the PC. I've been playing since '09, and I'm shocked. If you only played RTTS, this isn't for you. You have to play DD, to upgrade your RTTS guy. You can only have one, and you can't import the guy(s) from '20. Skip it.
  14. GameHawk36
    Jun 8, 2021
    1
    Another company needs to compete with this trash company and game. Copy and paste is all this is. Hitting is broken as is fielding. Never been so frustrated hitting the ball perfect to just have a pop up or line out, meanwhile my opponent scores runs of balls hit that should be pop ups. Broken game, company is just stealing people's money at this point.
  15. Thndrstrike
    Apr 21, 2021
    3
    Ballplayer integration absolutely ruined RTTS. Not only does it completely ruin the experience, but it's not even executed particularly well. Feels patched together. Everything else seems fine, if not particular exciting at this point, but the utter destruction of what at least used to be the franchise's flagship mode is something that simply cannot be overlooked. If you have any desire atBallplayer integration absolutely ruined RTTS. Not only does it completely ruin the experience, but it's not even executed particularly well. Feels patched together. Everything else seems fine, if not particular exciting at this point, but the utter destruction of what at least used to be the franchise's flagship mode is something that simply cannot be overlooked. If you have any desire at all to play RTTS, I would honestly (and sadly) recommend you stick with an older game, don't bother with this mess… Expand
  16. KnownAdversary
    Aug 22, 2021
    3
    Reviewing after the disastrous launch where you couldn’t even play… I’ve played the show for almost a decade now and this is by far the worst version of the game I’ve played. The focus on moments, showdowns, and online play makes it so frustrating. Moments and showdowns have an extra BS factor that nerfs your normal mechanics (do things the exact same way you do them normally/successfullyReviewing after the disastrous launch where you couldn’t even play… I’ve played the show for almost a decade now and this is by far the worst version of the game I’ve played. The focus on moments, showdowns, and online play makes it so frustrating. Moments and showdowns have an extra BS factor that nerfs your normal mechanics (do things the exact same way you do them normally/successfully and all of a sudden they don’t work, because it’s a moment. Have tried so many moments on “rookie” that take like 20 tries…). Plus, to progress the inning you have to play these mini-BS-modes and don’t even get to use the cards you worked so hard to get… Online is just a disaster… Cheating (“very late” release on all pitches, but they’re perfect on the black pitches), people gaming the system by bunting every time, pausing for the limit to see if you’ll quit… It’s not even worth it for the frustration level, yet they keep pushing it. Most of the time I regret even starting this game up, honestly. So frustrating to play… You can tell the people that made this game wanted to make it more like Dark Souls than RBI baseball. I’m trying to hit dingers, pitch, and actually play a simulated baseball game, not spend 30 minutes in a moment trying to hit a HR with nerfed mechanics (literally get greens or perfects that end up being ground balls or pop-outs… why? how would that be fun? Why would you make muscle memory / practice ineffective in certain situations?). This game is for inside kids who’ve never played baseball… Kids who want a video game challenge, not a baseball video game. It’s not about skill… It’s about doing it until you’ve hit the BS threshold, then all of a sudden the exact same thing you’ve done thousands of times magically works. If Sony SD makes it again next, I doubt I’ll be buying… Hopefully someone else enters the market with a game that’s more fun to play, because this game makes me want to throw my tv in the street…… Expand
  17. charlieRD
    Apr 23, 2021
    4
    SO BUGGY- FEELS LIKE SLOW NET.. LA JUGABILIDAD UNA PUPU !

    LA VELOCIDAD DE LOS PITCHEOS NO APARENTA LA REAL -- RECTAS DE 98 SERIA COMO UNA RECTA DE 92 EN LA EDICION ANTERIOR.
  18. Bvick88
    Apr 24, 2021
    1
    Decent game but tons of bugs and “unhandled server exception” network errors that prevent pretty much any and all online play. Really disappointed in this years game.
  19. Stratslinger315
    May 25, 2021
    1
    If it’s a baseball game, I’ve played it. This is hands down the worst experience anyone could have with a baseball video game. The Show 20 is actually better by a long shot. Time your swing perfect, aim your reticle perfect, ground out. Pitching is incredibly easy on the other hand. Leave it over the plate and you’ll get away with some against AI. If you’ve played an MLB title before andIf it’s a baseball game, I’ve played it. This is hands down the worst experience anyone could have with a baseball video game. The Show 20 is actually better by a long shot. Time your swing perfect, aim your reticle perfect, ground out. Pitching is incredibly easy on the other hand. Leave it over the plate and you’ll get away with some against AI. If you’ve played an MLB title before and enjoyed Road to the Show, it’s completely ruined now which is a shame. The 2-way player didn’t make anything better. It kind of broke the game by making you play Diamond Dynasty despite what anyone tells you. It’s strange to go from enjoying every game mode in the previous release to hating every minute of this one. I stopped playing outright actually. If you’re considering buying it, the only thing you’re getting is frustration and try-hards in the community with a whole lot of simulation. Eventually it all feels very scripted when you play enough and especially in certain modes. If you enjoy it, have fun, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy this baseball sim.… Expand
  20. Dtmoore2
    Aug 19, 2021
    3
    This game feels great until you really get into it and spend time playing it. Most scoring is home runs or nothing. Fielders get stuck in fielding animations and completely miss easy to play balls by feet (not an error). Fielder leave first base open on bunt plays little leaders can run. Baserunning controls are so unresponsive its impossible to baserun (players not responding to input,This game feels great until you really get into it and spend time playing it. Most scoring is home runs or nothing. Fielders get stuck in fielding animations and completely miss easy to play balls by feet (not an error). Fielder leave first base open on bunt plays little leaders can run. Baserunning controls are so unresponsive its impossible to baserun (players not responding to input, players continuing to run even though there was no input for them to do so. Pitching input seemingly has no effect on pitches throw (perfect pitches with full stamina pitchers that have great control could be on, miss by inches, feet, who knows)… Expand
  21. Haris_k
    Mar 2, 2022
    4
    Lovely gameplay but unfortunately it stops there. There isn't really much to do that's worth playing.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Checkpoint Gaming
    May 29, 2021
    80
    As is the case with many annual sequels, MLB The Show 21 is an iteration and improvement over its predecessor. Having said that, if you bought The Show 20, I personally can’t see enough of a change to justify getting 21 in my opinion. There are improvements to the game modes that deserve praise, though I don’t know if it will keep me on the hook for a very long time. Having said that, both titles share some fantastic elements, such as the impressive depth of mechanical customisation, which by itself carries the game into high regard.
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  2. IGN Portugal
    May 12, 2021
    80
    MLB The Show 21 is the king of the market when it comes to baseball. It has all the weapons to please newcomers as well as the most demanding players, with multiple accessibility and game mode options, although with very scarce updates in relation to its predecessor. Even though the version used for this analysis was the Playstation 4 one, visually it becomes identical to what we have seen in the past, maybe having the next generation “at fault”, but it is still a very enjoyable experience.
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  3. Merlin'in Kazanı (Turkey)
    May 5, 2021
    70
    As someone who has little interest in baseball, I have a certain score to the game, if you really like baseball you can add 10 more points.
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