Major League Baseball is nearly back, which means that the time has come to review Sony San Diego's latest iteration of its premiere baseball series: MLB The Show 20. Bad news first, the PlayStation exclusive MLB The Show 20 isn't a quantum leap forward for the series - it's not even a very big step. With that being said, there are plenty of incremental improvements that ensures that The Show remains the best full-featured baseball game on the market.
It's been more than a few years since Sony has had a worthy baseball game to compete against, and the lack of contention is really starting to make itself apparent. Although the Out of the Park Baseball series has found success on PC, those games are mostly targeted at simulator purists, so as to say that Sony is aiming for a more diverse audience of baseball fans with The Show.
After years and years of fans begging for it, I'm happy to say that teams are now customizable in franchise mode in MLB The Show 20. Don't get too excited though, the "creation suite" for teams in franchise mode is the exact same as it is in Diamond Dynasty. This is a bit disappointing, especially when considering the fact that the "jersey editor/logo creator" in The Show just doesn't stack up to the likes of other sports games' like NBA 2K. The art asset management for creating teams in The Show 20 is simply not intuitive, often frustrating and ultimately not worth the time. Additionally, you still can't create a ballpark in The Show 20. If MVP Baseball: 2005 was able to implement a stadium creator, then there's no excuse for The Show 20 not having one.
For the first time in MLB The Show history plays can make an online league with friends. As a player of The Show who always wanted to play franchise mode with friends online, this is a feature that really excited me. Unfortunately, "custom league" in The Show 20 is nothing close to an online franchise mode. It lacks CPU teams, minor league roster control, and plenty of other fledged out features.
There are modes, modes, and more modes in The Show 20. In addition to franchise mode, retro mode, all the modes in Diamond Dynasty, and play now mode, there's a new challenge of the week mode and showdown mode. Whew, that's a lot of modes. There's great variety here though. The Show 20 does a better job than ever at giving players different options on how they want to play The Show's signature great gameplay. The flip side of that point is that the gameplay doesn't change across these modes, just the goal of play. It's becoming increasingly hard to ignore just how long it's been since The Show has felt like something new and not just a yearly iteration. It would be great to see the team at Sony San Diego stretch their creative legs moving forward with the introduction of a markedly different mode, perhaps something akin to Slugfest or the oft forgotten baseball masterpiece The Bigs.
Some of the best improvements in The Show 20 come by way of gameplay tweaks. The defensive mechanics of players in The Show have long been criticized for lacking precision control and for failing to differentiate the defensive quality of MLB players. In The Show 19, defense was improved and I'm happy to say that in The Show 20, it's even better. Gone are the days of putting slow-running sluggers in the outfield because now The Show punishes you for having players out of position. Another minor, but important fix in The Show 20 is that you're now able to use pitcher/position player hybrids in both roles. In The Show 19, players like Shohei Ohtani and Brendan McKay were position locked to either pitcher or DH/OF. Now players can effectively use hybrid players in both pitching and position roles to maximize their utility.
The Show is the best in the business at delivering world class presentation. Every Major League ballpark is carefully reconstructed with intricate details and signature characteristics. It truly feels like you're able to use the Green Monster while playing at Fenway Park, and pull balls down the line for home runs at the famed Polo Grounds. Additionally, the commentary in The Show is second to none, as are the graphic overlays. I'd be remiss not to mention how great The Show 20 nails player personalities too. Make sure to play a game with Juan Soto for example to see how the team at Sony San Diego recreated his signature "Soto Shuffle."
MLB The Show's online card collector mode Diamond Dynasty is back in The Show 20, and the same problems that plagued it in last year's iteration persist here. Diamond Dynasty isn't quite as micro-transaction laden as some similar modes in other games are, but it's disappointing to see business put over the best interests of the customer. There is a new mode in Diamond Dynasty called "showdown," which has the player draft a set of players and complete challenges with the goal of making it to a final challenge against an all-time great pitcher.
Road to the Show is back and although there are new features, they do little to change the experience for players who've gone through the game mode in recent years. It was while playing Road to the Show that I noticed the most glaring issue I have with MLB The Show 20, which is that there are more than a few areas that lack polish. The story and "cutscenes" in Road to the Show remain lackluster, visually bland and inconsequential. MLB The Show 19 introduced sideline reporter Heidi Watney to the mix, but utterly failed to render her character model to match the quality of the players. With The Show 20, Sony San Diego hasn't done anything to fix her botched animations.
MLB The Show 20 is more of the same. That's not a bad thing for those who don't pick up the game every year, but for those who have stuck with The Show through the highs and lows, it's disappointing that this newest iteration does little to stand out or address the major wants of the series' fans. In the end, The Show 20 is the best full-fledged baseball game on the market, not because of the radical improvements the team at Sony San Diego has made from last year's game but simply because it lacks comparable competition.
MLB The Show 20 is available exclusively for PlayStation 4 on March 13, 2020. Screen Rant was provided a copy for review.