MLB The Show 21 might not excel in vastly improving its overall package, but the smaller upgrades you do get make this game just as entertaining as it was last year. Next year will have higher expectations to meet.
Welcoming back baseball has never felt so sincere. In a world that is desperate for normalcy, having baseball start on time and then getting a game that represents a year-to-year norm is a welcomed sight. Fluttery feelings of a normal year budding up against a pandemic aside, San Diego Studio has brought the newest addition to the MLB The Show family to life on the PlayStation 5. Is it something special? Have things improved? Only this review will tell. Let’s get it going.
Next Generation…mostly
The white elephant in the room is where we’re going to start. Does the game look and play visually better than last year? Yes…and some no. The graphics have improved for the most part with character models, where you can see really nice touches here and there with the uniforms and how they move with the player. For example, seeing a pitcher in motion and seeing their uniform crease at the leg while they’re following through with a pitch is a nice touch to make the details stand out. The lighting is also perfectly done for the game, especially when the days shift into nights, or when you have a sunny day where the light casts a shadow from the player onto the field. These details help to move the game up a notch visually.
One of the nicest upgrades this year is how the players move on the field. They’re not janky this year as if they’re ice skating on the grass, rather they move with ease and actually look like baseball players in motion. San Diego did a helluva job on this portion of the game and it visually paid off. It really does put you in the mood to play/watch baseball when you see how the players move. Honestly, 2K Games should take note of this and try/attempt just a little with getting their players to move in a fluid motion. Watching NBA 2K sometimes reminds me how far it hasn’t come from the Dreamcast debut. Anyway. Back to baseball. The motion in MLB The Show is gorgeous.
Then we get to the faces.
Apparently, we’re back to the previous generation faces on the player, where the players, as well as our sideline reporters, absolutely look a bit odd with little to no details added. Their faces seem smooth, flat, and seriously last generation. The only outlier is the beards. Somehow the beards were beyond perfect and fuzzy. Anyway, it’s weird to see perfectly build models, motion, and then get faces that seriously look too smooth. As petty as it sounds, those faces remind you that you’re playing a video game. As realistic as everything else looks and sounds, it’s disappointing seeing those faces on the player’s body. This aspect of the visuals needs a few more details to make it feel real.
Shifting back to positives, the environments are equally as gorgeous as the rest of the game. The models of the stadiums and the environments around them actually look great. Hell, even the sound effects, which Mrs. Stevens (my wife) noted, “Those sound effects make me want to watch baseball”, are captured and executed well.
Seriously, it’s just the face of the players that throw the whole thing off. Otherwise, this is a PlayStation 5 game through and through, and a good start to the next generation sports games for 2021.
What’s new and does it work well?
There is going to be a point where sports games hit a wall with new ways to play. Developing a new sports game year-in and year-out is bound to run into a dry idea year. San Diego Studios has been blessed over the last few years with avoiding new/huge ideas and just focusing on perfecting gameplay and making the experience outshine the gimmick. Somehow other sports titles caught onto this method of developing after their own ideas ran out of steam. Regardless, perfection will be closely achieved and new ideas will have to be met at some point. This is one of those years where the game is nearing perfection in its gameplay, which doesn’t leave a lot when it comes to ‘big huge ideas’. Instead of moving in leaps in bounds, this year’s game is a brisk walk of upgrades.
Preferred Gameplay Style
While the inclusion of this makes me think that some Xbox folks haven’t played this game before (duh), adding the ability to start the game either in Casual, Simulation, or Competitive was a smart choice in design. Those three choices are strictly there to gauge what type of gamer you are in the MLB The Show series. If you haven’t played before, it’s best to be a casual. If you have experience in the series but aren’t a pro, then you hit simulation. If you’re ready to roll and tear up all the competition because you’re aces at this title, then you start Competitive. It’s really that easy and it makes sense, though I can’t imagine a lot of egos will fall into the causal mode. A word of caution with that type of thinking. I’ve been reviewing MLB The Show since its PSP days and can confirm that the game can get downright complicated at times. Bringing the game to beginners, while also challenging those who want some competition is a good way to bring an entirely new fanbase into the mix. When’s the last time an Xbox gamer had a baseball game? Probably wasn’t this generation. Or the previous generation. Oh, boy. Anyway, this is a good feature that works well for new players, and one that they should take advantage of when they start.
In addition to those three options, you also get a variety of play options that don’t significantly transform the game, rather they offer up a variety of ways to use the game the way you deem more comfortable. For example, the pitching style of play allows you to do the old traditional method of tossing the ball (pick pitch, aim for glove) or go a more entertaining route with using the right analog stick to dictate how the pitch is going to be thrown and where it flies across the plate. All across MLB The Show are these micro-upgrades that seemingly try to fit every type of playstyle for every type of player. Much like the preferred gameplay style options, these feel like the game is making room for newcomers and veterans to pick what makes them happy. Again, no major upgrades, rather just smaller upgrades that add more diverse flavor to the gameplay design.
Road to the Show improvements and bumps
The reason I come back to MLB The Show is for Road to the Show. I enjoy creating new, sometimes wacky athletes that allow me to dip my personality into the game. The minor amount of customization always seems like a fun time. This year, it takes it just a bit further. In this year’s game, you can customize pretty much every part of the player to your liking. Sunglasses? Yep. Ritual Item? Not a sacrifice, but yes. Even down to the catcher mask and chest protector. It’s not Skyrim-level customization, but nonetheless impressive for a baseball game.
On the attributes side, you can assign certain attributes to your player that you earn on the field, such as Power or Pitching, both of which improve your player gradually. Again, most of what we’ve discussed so far has been micro upgrades here and there to improve what has already been established. Not a bad way to go when you’re trying to be precise with the game, but not items of interest you would put on the outside of the box of a game.
One knock I have to make against Road to the Show is the inclusion of press bites between games. I admire the attempt here, I truly do, but the press bites feel like they’re mostly skippable. Generalizations of players without names aren’t something I’m too impressed with, especially when some of the folks look just a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I’m reading the room wrong or something, but they do just look slightly uncomfortable. But, hey! They’re in a baseball game and for the most part, it’s acting.
Overall, the major additions to the gameplay are just micro upgrades from the previous iteration. There is an easy-to-use stadium creation option, which is truly geared towards the most dedicated fans.
The game as a whole
As there are a scattering of micro upgrades in the game that improve it, and 90% of the visuals are what you want on a current-generation system, the game as a whole is still fun — regardless of new features. San Diego Studio makes a good product. They have always made a good product with their MLB The Show franchise. They’re a studio that prides itself on finding better ways to deliver a baseball experience, and maybe they didn’t go leaps and bounds beyond last year, but their game is still fun. Moments still delivers for short bursts of fun/challenge, as does the Diamond Dynasty option, which a lot of people play this game for (and I can’t blame them). If you’re into getting beat like a drum online, there is still that route. The game offers up significant worthwhile experiences and honestly doesn’t disappoint in the overall package.
Should we expect better next year? Oh, the stakes will definitely be higher next year, but as it stands the small upgrades, the expansion to the Xbox, and the reminder that this is still the best MLB experience on the market make this worth a go for 2021.
Conclusion
MLB The Show 21 might not excel in vastly improving its overall package, but the smaller upgrades you do get make this game just as entertaining as it was last year. Next year will have higher expectations to meet.
