Everything Wrong With WWE 2K20

For wrestling fans, the WWE 2K series is one of the highlights of the gaming year. As the only major game of its type on the market, it gives them a chance to experience the sport. WWE 2K20 is the only way they can play as their favorite characters and compete in matches featured in wrestling. Unfortunately, this year’s installment was severely lacking when it released on October 22.

The problems with WWE 2K20 were so bad that the publisher and developer have had to issue an apology. Some digital retailers have even issued refunds to anyone who bought a download and complained. With fans taking their concerns online, a whole list of issues have been found with the game. The end result is that WWE 2K20 has caused a lot of controversy and was unplayable in its first two weeks of release.

Lots of Features Have Been Removed

Compared to previous iterations of the WWE 2K series, this new entry is missing lots of features. Some of the most noticeable are MyCareer Arenas and User Created Arenas. This effectively stops players from being able to customize their own arenas and use them in different game modes.

Some games modes also appear to have been removed from the game, leaving fewer options available to users. On top of this, even basic functions are missing. The ability to create custom matches and edit rules is not present in the menu or options.

The Wrestlers Don’t Look like Their Real-Life Counterparts

According to multiple users, many of the professional wrestlers within the game do not look authentic. Considering that many other sports titles have almost photorealistic character models, this is a severe limitation. Especially when previous installments in the series have not had the problem. The issue is so bad that it is almost impossible to recognize who some of the figures are. Even household names like The Rock do not look right.

The Music Is Messed Up

Players also noticed that there are a myriad of problems with the music. Most of the tracks are not labeled correctly. This means that it can be impossible to find out which song is playing unless you are familiar with it. It also stops players from choosing the tracks they want to play because the information does not match up.

Entrance music can also glitch so that it continues to play throughout a fight. Another issue with the sound in the game is that the right effects don’t always play. Weapons might sound different to the way they are supposed to.

Important Game Elements Are Missing

Several elements that are vital for gameplay are missing. Certain moves require the user to press a series of button combinations on the controller. However, the necessary prompts do not always show up on screen. This makes it impossible to complete the mini-game and perform the move correctly.

Another issue is that during single-player tag matches, the player cannot tag in their allies. The option only appears if they are playing with another human player, making tag matches worthless outside of multiplayer.

Online Matches Are Broken

Online multiplayer also suffers from a collection of problems. Entrances are missed entirely. Rather than show each wrestler’s entrance as is normal, the event will simply start as soon as a match loads. The loading itself can also be a prolonged experience, with online games sometimes taking up to a minute to start.

Lag simply stops any gameplay from happening as it is supposed to. A countdown clock in the lobby provides a few seconds to pick a wrestler, giving players no chance to decide. Meanwhile, matches will often swap teammates with the opponent. In these cases, you effectively end up fighting against the person you were supposed to be working with.

Graphics Problems Persist Throughout All Modes

The issues that most players will be aware of are the graphical hiccups. WWE 2K20 has a variety of problems with animations and character models. Wrestlers will often contort in strange positions, with limbs flailing around. Textures often don’t load, while hair and costumes can end up loading in the wrong place on the models. Items defy physics, such as when this ladder goes through a player and then disappears:

#WWE2K20 #XboxShare pic.twitter.com/DyhU2QIgXH
— Marc Bravo (@MrMacho419) October 22, 2019

Worst of all, eyeballs and other facial features can appear to be torn off the face for no reason. This happens regularly when using the in-game face mapping feature.

Uploads and Imports Don’t Work Properly

Most WWE 2K games allow the player to customize many elements of the experience. This can range from the wrestlers themselves to the logos and even costumes. Yet, in WWE 2K20, many of these features are broken. Attempting to import characters that others have created frequently causes the game to crash.

The title offers the ability to upload images from the web to use the design in-game. However, the function is broken so that once an image is uploaded nothing happens. Customizing preexisting wrestlers to give them new accessories or clothing is possible but none of the changes save.

There Are Numerous Glitches and Technical Problems

Perhaps most worrying of all are the technical problems WWE 2K20 has. One common issue that players have reported is that the frame rate will drop significantly. This is especially prevalent during online multiplayer matches.

Cloned versions of the same wrestler can appear in the ring. It is also possible for players to get stuck in a match indefinitely as a bug prevents it from finishing when it should. Other glitches include referees freezing completely and games ending for no reason.

Update: Patch Notes

A patch was released on November 1 to fix the following issues, called Update 1.02.

Gameplay and Controls

Graphics and Clipping

Hair Physics

Hit detection and aiming

Interactions with tables, ladders, steel steps, and other objects

Referee actions

Onscreen button prompts

Characters “warping” or moving unnaturally around the arena

Crashes and Freezing

Image downloads

Entrances and attires

Universe mode editing and saving

Custom and Created Superstars and creation modes

Commentary and sound effects

Online Stability, matchmaking, desyncs, and lag

Publisher Take-Two Interactive’s president Karl Slatoff addressed the concerns during the company’s second quarter earnings call on November 6. “While we are disappointed with the reviews and consumer feedback for WWE 2K20, last week Visual Concepts released a patch that should address many of the concerns and they will continue to make further enhancements to the gameplay experience,” Slatoff said.

Additional updates will be coming in the future.

Have you played WWE 2K20? What is the most frustrating glitch you encountered? Let us know in the comments below!