As someone who has played these games yearly on release, this is the first once since about WWE 12 where I'm actually having fun with the in ring gameplay instead of finding my fun through simming Universe and acting like a story teller/booker. What 2K19 does well are the little things that seem incremental but actually make the core gameplay fun (assuming you're into this style of wrestling game). The Payback mechanic is a good way to, well, turn the tides in a major way, the A.I. is smarter about pins, the reversals often feel contextual, cage matches are a lot of fun, Universe mode makes a lot of smart changes regarding managers and show booking and titles (you can have a show be six tag titles if you want, or you can have one show just have all ladder or table matches or whatever), the game plays smooth even with 8 man matches, the framerate is stable even on older machines and the load times (which were a goddamn CHORE last year) are good and swift.
It's not all pretty. MyCareer, while goofy and fun, still suffers from dumping you on the main roster FAR before you're ready and there are loot packs that you can't buy with real money but it makes it so if you want to unlock attire, moves, taunts, entrance animations/music, or boosts for the online then you have to use your fake currency which is doled out like a drip across all modes. 2K Towers is fun if you like that sort of thing but unless they constantly add more then it' basically a fun distraction that, with any hope, will resemble something like a Mortal Kombat tower in 2K20. The commentary is better, especially during entrances, but it's still not great. Big Head Mode is dumb but fun for a match or two, and the Wyatt Compound is a fucking disaster that has no point.
WWE 2K19 wont convince someone who is staunchly against the series, but it is a good WWE 2K game. Take that as you will. It feels like a good mix between sim and arcade while leaning more in the sim direction still.
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