WWE 2K Battlegrounds

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is striking for its simplicity. It is the game equivalent of a popcorn flick. This is something goofy, simple, affordable, and likely intended to be enjoyed in brief bursts. The Campaign and Battleground Challenge are each presented in bite-sized chunks. The various matches never tend to go over five minutes. Everything is quick and breezy, with systems that put everyone on equal footing. It’s not incredibly deep, the characters don’t always look great, and all the stuff with price-tags on it can be daunting, but it’s surprisingly entertaining. Especially if you’re jumping in for quick bursts and want a goofy wrestling game anyone can enjoy.

It’s a substantial step-up from the absolute mess that was WWE 2K18 for Switch, and there’s plenty of chaotic enjoyment that can be had here, especially if you’ve got a few friends that enjoy the acquired taste that is professional wrestling. It’s silly, it’s over the top, and it’s just a bit of mindless fun, much in the way that real wrestling is. The repetitive nature of the single-player modes means I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for solo players, and the aggressive monetisation limits the options available for party play, but there’s still a decent game of wrestling under the hood.

Honestly, to me WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a good start for a new engine and possibly a new franchise from 2K. Many of my issues can be corrected with patches or game updates. The gameplay is fast, fun, and easy to pick up. I really wish the game wasn’t so microtransaction heavy as this could have been a stronger recommendation, but that could change over time depending on fan and critic feedback.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a decent fighting game marred by multiple bad campaign and transactional decisions. Like the real WWE, it’s best enjoyed when you focus on what’s happening in the ring and ignore everything that surrounds it.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a budget brawler with a high price tag. Despite the core gameplay being quite solid, a lot of the content is locked behind microtransactions and grinding away at matches. These things stop it from rising to Superstar status.

With WWE 2K Battlegrounds, 2K has made it impossible to recommend for price and value. All aspects of the game revolve around microtransactions and by offering so little to begin with, the motivation to continue playing isn't present. Even the little things that make WWE games worth playing, such as seeing your favourite star enter the arena, are ruined with short audio clips and the same punch out of casket or box entrance. With baffling modes and gameplay that doesn't ever need to extend past single button bashing, it really highlights how 2K have gone for the cash grab and decided a mobile game may reach a wider audience on consoles. This is one title that needs to Rest….In……Peace.

I don’t hate WWE Battlegrounds. It’s a much more arcadey style of game that I think is a better representation of what a pro wrestling game should be. But it does have its own set of problems in its lack of depth and aggressive microtransactions. I wouldn’t mind seeing more from this series, but it needs some big changes to truly be a fun experience.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds on Switch is pretty much the same game, but it suffers from a significant drop in quality when in handheld. It's a shame when there's already a paywall in place to unlock Superstars, and having these technical issues hinder the enjoyment of the opportunity to play it on the go.

There’s a bit of a budget feel to WWE 2K Battlegrounds, thanks to its shared movesets and story presentation. Despite that though, it’s actually quite endearing to play, and it’s easy to have fun with it. Get a friend or two to play it in local multiplayer with you, and it really is a blast. It’s just a shame that so much of its content is locked away, forcing you to either grind for it, or fork out yet more cash to unlock it quickly. It really puts a downer on things, especially on Switch where if you’re playing outside of your home in handheld mode chances are you’ll be blocked from earning in-game currency.