Sports enthusiasts are also at Sony

These days thanks to Sony Interactive we had the PS5 version of the new chapter of the series from MLB The Showa baseball sports video game that rose to the limelight last year to be the first game (in its 2021 version) released by Sony Interactive Entertainment presente su Xbox Gamepass

The MLB The Show series enjoys extreme success overseas, in the lands of the stars and stripes above all, for obvious reasons, and with this review of ours we will find out if it is a title also dedicated to those who do not follow the Major League championship or if for the European public it will be a “3 strike and out”.

We play baseball sitting comfortably on the sofa

So, let’s start by saying that like all video games on an annual basis there is always a limit to the differences that can be had between two titles of the same series in a single year, and MLB The Show 22 is the perfect example of how tight time is the worst enemy of innovation. Unfortunately, this year’s iteration of Sony San Diego is still limited as the most notable differences compared to the 2021 version are the new cooperative mode and a more precise management of the beats, which go to amalgamate with an already solid stadium editor that has also been improved, but if we put the magnifying glass on the technical side we can still notice some problems related to the engine that is starting to be stale.

We now notice the need for transform the titles annually into Live Services (obviously with the due quality, not to eFootball). Games like MLB The Show, Madden NFL or FIFA by now in our opinion they can no longer (due to the amount of work required to develop very different qualifications from the previous year) provide sufficient value to guarantee a full-price expense for each annual update. It would be much better to develop an online title that is constantly updated or distributed in the form of a subscription, with the addition of microtransactions which among other things they are also present in an important form in this title.

Cooperation and competition in MLB The Show

This year, among the differences, there is the arrival of a different commentary with the participation of the new official ESPN television crew that brings the voice of Jon “Boog” Sciambi and Chris Singleton they replaced the previous team as in-game announcers. The new voices are a breath of fresh air after many years of monotony, but it should be noted that inevitably the number of dialogue lines is considerably less than before, and the lines repeat more frequently than before. It will happen very often to hear the same lines repeatedly but even some players will be called only by their number and never by their name. Small side note for those who cannot bear repetition, commentary can be disabled from the settings.

The real strength of MLB The Show is its versatility, in fact the controls can be scaled according to your taste and experience, with even automatic baserunning, and single-key typing, but they can also be more complex, with strokes and throws chosen with precision and difficulty of the AI worthy of a diamond champion.

The new cooperative mode online is one of the key features of MLB The Show 22, which allows you to form 2v2 or 3v3 teams on even cross platform and cross progressing with all players of PS4, PS4, Xbox (One and S | X) and Nintendo Switch. The players of each team will be able to choose whether to command the batters or receivers for both pitching and fielding at each inning. ing mamma mia) to be able to focus on one goal. This cooperative / competitive mode makes the gameplay fun as you will finally play like a real baseball team.

However, there are some limitations when it comes to co-op as well, as it can be played in random matches or in a limited Diamond Dynasty playlist. but there are no persistent cooperative teams or leagues and you can’t even choose your opponents, then the only way to play against friends is luck in matchmaking. Role rotation is also mandatory, forcing you to change even if one player just wants to throw while the other just wants to defend. We hope that these two defects can be corrected in “Post production“It should also be noted that playing on PS5 it will be possible to take advantage of the features of DualSense, therefore haptic vibration and adaptive triggers.

In the end, does it make sense?

As we anticipated at the beginning of the review, MLB The Show is an important franchise in the USA, and this can be seen from the first second in which we access the game, since the Italian language is completely missing, both in the items and in the menus. The game is solid, without many bugs but it is a small upgrade from the previous onedespite the full price of 70 €.

Here in Italy (but also in the rest of the world except the United States) baseball is not very popular, and it seems difficult to see a placement for MLB The Show 22 when compared to a WWE 2K or a FIFA, but if you are sports lovers this is the most you could wish for, and no matter whether you are a top expert or a novice who approaches, the difficulty of the opponents and the complexity of the controls is completely customizable according to your needs to offer you the perfect experience for your skills.

MLB The Show 22 is a baseball video game developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it was released on April 5, 2022 for PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S, and Nintendo Switch.