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. danilson
    Apr 21, 2021
    6
    Damn were do I start with this below meh game. Menus look like they were designed in the early 2000s, they are a mess to navigate and not set up well. Graphics are what I would expect, not blown out of my mind but it is not ugly by any means. (all diamond or what ever they call this bootleg nba2k game) Gameplay is inconstant, it is obvious the AI cheats by say letting your catcher drop theDamn were do I start with this below meh game. Menus look like they were designed in the early 2000s, they are a mess to navigate and not set up well. Graphics are what I would expect, not blown out of my mind but it is not ugly by any means. (all diamond or what ever they call this bootleg nba2k game) Gameplay is inconstant, it is obvious the AI cheats by say letting your catcher drop the ball 15 times a game to allow the AI to sneak bases, while the AI does not. Had an issue were my controlled fielder just kept running in a straight line away from the ball to allow the batter to walk home, Had issues were after I won a game the games servers crashed not giving me the W, countless connection issues. This game needs to take a look at other live service games to learn how to make content, game could be fun but not yet, its not there. Thank god for game pass, because i feel sorry for Sony users paying 60 plus USD for this 20 dollar game. Its more then obvious this game is made to purely sell packs. Might come back to this when there it is more fleshed out and hopefully has some content. People rating this 10s are completely delusional and have a feeling they are using their tiny tribalist minds, because fanboying will get crap like MLB the show 21. 60% is what i will give it and even that is a stretch and generous, because I can see potential... You can have this one Sony… Expand
  2. Cotroneo
    Apr 26, 2021
    6
    I love SDS, since they're pretty generous in an otherwise malicious, greedy sector of the video game industry.

    However, with this year's addition of what literally amounted to a console seller for me, they took bold new steps in the wrong direction: They completely destroyed create a player for Diamond Dynasty while also completely destroying Road To The Show for players that choose to    I love SDS, since they're pretty generous in an otherwise malicious, greedy sector of the video game industry.

    However, with this year's addition of what literally amounted to a console seller for me, they took bold new steps in the wrong direction: They completely destroyed create a player for Diamond Dynasty while also completely destroying Road To The Show for players that choose to play singleplayer: Their 'new direction' was literally a loss for everybody involved.

    Aside from these horrendous new decisions, completely hampering players, there are also these issues to consider:

    • God awful, convoluted, unintuitive new UI, despite the old one being perfectly fine. It seriously looks like it's in developer mode, and they even changed the way player stats are viewed, which is also way harder to quickly get a quick glance at and know what you're seeing.

    •Unplayability due to server issues (despite me buying the deluxe edition to get 'early access', I've been barely able to play). SDS for some reason thought that with forced online integration of singleplayer modes, and two generations of two consoles all connecting to their servers at once, they'd be fine.

    •Checked swing nerf makes checked swings more realistic, but instead of it only really penalizing power swings like it did in prior games, it makes checked swings worthless: You no longer get rewarded for being able to just BARELY stay alive in a pitch count.

    •Swing power seems like it's been nerfed heavily across the board. In 13 DD games (I'd play more but the servers aren't working ever) I've only gotten maybe 3 home runs. My team has low to mid power, but the problem is that with the hitting nerfed so much, 90% of my perfect-perfect hits are fly outs. Hitting has never felt so weak in these games, which is ironic given that they made fielding exponentially better.

    •RTTS completely gutted; it's now pay to win if you want a player at a specific position, and you can only have one position as opposed to any position at any time before. Progress is slowed and directly tied to DD, and the player is overall much worse. What used to cost up to 200K stubs for a maxed out create-a-player, has now resulted in clickbait titles on YouTube talking about how they spent 1M stubs on the created player.
    My friend got this game for the first time, while I've been playing for 7 years now, and after me telling him all the great things about this game and how amazing it is, he's greeted with all of the problems I'm having.    … Expand
  3. jitterry
    Apr 26, 2021
    5
    If the primary reason for playing is Road to the Show, give this a miss unless they fix it as promised.totally ruined and not sure other improvements compensate for how bad they've made that mode
  4. remolian
    May 5, 2021
    7
    Pretty good since all the bug fixes and updates. The only reason I'm only scoring it a 7 is because they charged PS4 customers full price for this game but punished them for not buying a PS5 by locking them out of using stadium creator and seeing the videos for the story progression in road to the show. WHAT? What's worse is because of the semiconductor shortage, Most people don't evenPretty good since all the bug fixes and updates. The only reason I'm only scoring it a 7 is because they charged PS4 customers full price for this game but punished them for not buying a PS5 by locking them out of using stadium creator and seeing the videos for the story progression in road to the show. WHAT? What's worse is because of the semiconductor shortage, Most people don't even have the option to buy a console right now unless you want to pay three times what the things worth. It's just so scum-baggy.… Expand
  5. Hugeonpluto
    Oct 25, 2021
    7
    Not sure why this game is rated so low. It's still a great game that improves on the previous entry. The only issue I have with it is that you can only have one character in Road to the Show, but that's overall a very minor complaint, considering most people would probably only have one character anyway.
  6. Khaine78
    May 14, 2021
    6
    I made an account to review this game. Not to dog it, but because I love this franchise. Been playing it for nearly a decade now and the game as of right now doesnt stand up to the standards SDS has set previously. The game has been out nearly a month and still has major issues. At launch server connection was terrible, tho that has been better as of late. I've lost packs because ofI made an account to review this game. Not to dog it, but because I love this franchise. Been playing it for nearly a decade now and the game as of right now doesnt stand up to the standards SDS has set previously. The game has been out nearly a month and still has major issues. At launch server connection was terrible, tho that has been better as of late. I've lost packs because of connectivity problems and not heard anything back, some people have however I know. Archetype programs still randomly do not progress so it is time wasted for some. Equipment still at time doesnt work properly. RTTS has been gutted this year, it feels like you are just being shoved through games fast as possible with no flavor and really no upgrades to the mode at all. Diamond Dynasty which I have never played, however is loaded with tons and tons of things to do. I've been really pleased with that mode. And the rewards are very generous so you can build a team and level quite easily. Sadly the only reason I started DD was to level my Road to the Show character. They said you arent forced into it, but really you kind of are. As a whole the game is good, it is by far my favorite sports game and visually it looks fantastic. But it is just not up[ to par with previous releases and as is becoming the new norm it was released buggy and feeling unfinished. To me at least.… Expand

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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