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2K Games has finally shown off the first full gameplay of the studio’s upcoming wrestling return in WWE 2K22.
Today saw the launch of the first Ringside Report, featuring members of the Visual Concepts development team. They spoke while showcasing nine minutes of gameplay, in a match between Rey Mysterio and Damien Priest. The team wanted to be sure that even those unfamiliar with WWE would be able to pick up and play the game.
To this end, controls are now based around light attacks, heavy attacks and grapples. You’ll use the grapple button, followed by the light or heavy attack button to choose the move. Light attacks can branch into combos, for example, and they’ll be dynamic so you don’t necessarily have to learn every superstar’s individual moveset to pull off their moves. You’ll also be able to customise your combos too, if you want to get more in-depth.
Defensively, it looks as though the kick-out mechanic will return to a button mashing formula, at least from the gameplay we see. But alongside reversals, a new counter system called Breakers. If a player presses the same move button as their opponent in a grapple – for example, light vs light, heavy vs heavy – you’ll counter your opponent.
Another new WWE 2K22 gameplay feature includes the ability to block by holding the reversal button. Speaking of reversals, the team has ditched the idea of limited Reversals. Now, you’ll be able to reverse as much as you want, but instead you’ve now got a stun meter. If you let it fill up, you won’t be able to reverse your opponent’s finisher.
You can check out the full gameplay video for yourself below. WWE 2K22 is set to land on March 11 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
