WWE 2K20's graphics are getting chewed out by fans on social media, but there's a good reason for that - they're laughably bad, with character models that look almost nothing like their real-world counterparts. The WWE 2K series has been a long-running franchise and partnership between 2K and WWE, but the games have thus far failed to live up to the true classics of the genre - think Here Comes The Pain or even further back to the N64 games that have been a gold standard for decades.
That doesn't mean they've been bad, though, and WWE 2K19 showed some much-needed improvements and refinements to the formula that had fans eagerly awaiting the next instalment to see if the momentum could carry into a genuinely good WWE game, something that a healthy portion of the fanbase suggests hasn't happened in many years. The removal of long-time developer Yuke was something that had people even more excited, since the games had felt stagnant for some time, and the addition of Visual Concepts to the already experienced 2K franchise felt like it could be a major boon for the series.
Unfortunately, a lot of footage that's surfaced online has suggested that WWE 2K20 will be a major step backwards, with graphics that are questionable at best - not to mention glitchy gameplay. Comparison shots between the 2K19 graphics and 2K20 show just how far the series has regressed, too. Redditor Strike_Gently put a side-by-side comparison of Bianca Belair's entrance animations to show the stark difference between the physics engine, and the results weren't particularly great. It's not just that the graphics seem like a huge step back, though. There's also some seriously weird writing going on:
And, to top things off, the glitches don't just seem to be amusing ones, as the same redditor who compared Belair's hair animations also captured footage of a referee outright refusing to count a pinfall during gameplay. It's the type of stuff that does historically crop up occasionally in a WWE game, but it seems much more prevalent based on early response to the title.
If the rest of the game is like what people have seen so far, then WWE 2K20 will go down as one of the most disappointing games in the franchise. While that would be a tough pill to swallow for fans in any context, it's especially bittersweet knowing that a change in developer had many believing this year's release could be the beginning of a bright future for WWE 2K. Instead, it looks like the game is mirroring the television product, which is similarly regressing in a way that has fans concerned over what comes next.
Source: Reddit (/u/Strike_Gently)