At the Angel Stadium in Anaheim the “MVP!” is often heard: not only for Mike Trout, the iconic winger of the second Los Angeles baseball team and one of the strongest players in MLB, ma per Shohei Othani, the Japanese phenomenon capable of crushing record after record in many categories in 2021. A complete champion like no one has seen since Babe Ruth (the “Child” had started his career as a pitcher), an athlete with superhero strength in hitting the ball and robot-like precision in throwing. And if the Angels fans have dedicated a series of special choirs to him such as “It’s Shoe-hei time!“, the guys from Sony’s San Diego Studio (formerly 989 Studios) have chosen him as the textomial of the highly anticipated MLB The Show 22, the new chapter of the most beautiful and beloved baseball simulation on the planet.
After being exclusive to the PlayStation world for almost twenty years, the SDS series debuted last year on Microsoft consoles directly on the Game Pass service: MLB The Show 22 has finally landed on the Nintendo Switch as well. And like Shohei Othani, too MLB The Show 22 aims to regain the title of MVP of sports simulations.
A season to the last breath
The Major League season was saved at the last inning and the new collective agreement signed by the owners and the players association brought with it a series of novelties at a sporting level, such as the introduction of the designated hitter also in the National League, the playoffs. to 12 teams, the runner to second base in extra innings and PitchCom, a device to prevent stealing signals on the mound. There were also differentiations on an economic level, from the increase in minimum wages to the luxury tax for deductibles, the new tradeline and more. There was a real risk of the baseball season being canceled like that of 1994 and played “only” in virtual with MLB The Show 22 or with Out of the Park Baseball 23, out on April 22nd.
The San Diego Studio team has been fighting for years with that of Visual Concepts for the supremacy in the field of sports simulation: a title sanctioned not only by sales but also by the numerous awards assigned by critics. MLB The Show 22 showed up at the opening day with a well-prepared team after a year of running-in on the new generation of consoles: the development team has chosen the path of continuity for a somewhat particular year, and some new features, such as the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams or the updates in rotations and roster of teams, will come with the next updates.
Club spin
What we have always enjoyed in a simulation like MLB The Show it’s the gameplay: Hitting the ball for a double or home run gives the player immense joy, as does a relief in the last inning with three strikeouts. The alchemists of SDS have managed to improve their magic formula both in the batting phase and in the mound: the club / ball contact offers greater variety in the strokes and finding the right timing gives even more satisfaction.
The “Pinpoint Pitching” implemented last year was inspired by the launch system of the defunct MLB 2K series, and has been better calibrated, at least in the PlayStation 4/5 version; for Xbox One, on the other hand, some input / lag problems have been reported in managing the right analog stick, especially for downward launches. Pinpoint Pitching in MLB The Show 21 was a little too easy and allowed for all performances a la Randy Johnson (debuting this year in the Legends park) or Roger Clemens of the heyday: in the new interaction it offers greater realism and, above all, it causes a higher number of wrong throws and of bases given away. However, pitching with a pitcher of the caliber of Scherzer, Burnes or Alcantara is thrilling in MLB The Show 22.
The outsiders play better
The new animations added and the greater attention dedicated to reproducing the behavior of internal and external in the defensive phase take the series a further step forward: having phenomena such as Cody Bellinger, Kevin Kiermaier, Nolan Arenado or Mookie Betts in the team really makes the difference , especially when you are faced with the dreaded “fly ball”. Throws between shortstop and outside appear more natural and fluid, as do flight trajectories after a serve or a bounce on the grass.
What makes the outside shots more credible is in particular the reading of the trajectories: the defenders, in fact, no longer go from one point to another automatically, hoping to intercept the ball, but move and position themselves with more angles. realistic. In short, defensive plays more similar to reality, small improvements and details that the veterans of the series will grasp and that make MLB The Show the benchmark in baseball.
Changes also for the so-called “check swings”, ie when the hitter starts spinning the bat but freezes to allow the ball to pass – without hitting it – and thus avoid a possible strike. We got the feeling that are judged better by the referees managed by the CPU. The sound effects also give the player that something extra: it is impressive to hear how much the sound of a ball received in the glove changes according to its speed.
As for the racing game, stealing a few bases seems to have gotten a little more complicated than the previous chapter, even with phenomenal runners like Starling Marte or Whit Merrifield and without bothering His Majesty Rickey Henderson: therefore a nice patch is urgently needed. The sacrifice bunts, on the other hand, work better while the CPU, even at the highest levels, has the annoying tendency to spin the club on whatever arrives on the plate: by working with the sliders in the options it is possible to limit this trend and find the square.
Modes and customization
One of the most popular modalities in recent years is the one called by “March to October” capable of offering a more simplistic experience than the Franchise and letting you experience the entire magic of a season in MLB in a short time (fragments of matches are played) .
An option highly appreciated by those who do not have much time to devote to the experience, which in the new interaction brings a series of new features: the possibility of playing several seasons (instead of just one) and having an off season with lots of exchanges, free agency and even Minor League. In short, a small step forward for what many considered to be a “light” version of the usual Franchise. However, the possibilities for customization are lacking, not only of the championships or divisions but also of the spring training or draft itself. The trades must absolutely be improved, because it is still too easy to fool the CPU by exchanging samples for junkies.
Career and other options
Road to the Show has been the career mode of MLB The Show 22 for several years now. For the new season SDS has added a series of live events for make the gaming experience more engaging: Seeing two legends of the caliber of Ken Griffey Jr. or Joe Mauer provide stats on a rookie is something the enthusiast will love, even if sometimes their comments seem to have little to do with what is happening on the screen. Compared to last year, the progression has been speeded up and it is possible to customize your sample in an even more detailed way. These are small improvements, nothing more: the mode still seems to lack bite.
Diamond Dynasty, for its part, is the FUT version of baseball: compared to the work of EA, the production of SDS is less hungry for money and gives the player the opportunity to create fabulous line-ups without having to spend a fortune. , especially playing offline: for the 2022 vintage New legends have been added in addition to the aforementioned Randy Johnson and Joe Mauer such as Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau, Chase Utley, Kirk Gibson, Dontrelle Willis, JR Richard, Kevin Youkilis, Jered Weaver, Mike Mussina, Brian Wilson, Ray Durham and Mike Napoli. Too bad you keep missing Derek Jeter.
In particular, the new “Mini Seasons” mode has been added which allows you to play matches of only three innings against teams created by other players but managed by the CPU, a bit like Squad Battles in FUT. Ultimately, this is a really fun mini league to play. The news in Diamond Dynasty does not end here: we can also play cooperatively with friends and challenge other human opponents in “2vs2” or “3vs3” modes. Unfortunately, only exhibition matches can be played and it is not possible to play simultaneously with your teammates: one throws, one beats and one runs in turn. Such a pity.
The editor for creating ballparks
MLB The Show 21 had finally pleased fans with the much desired editor to create your own ballpark: in the 2022 edition the possibility of playing at night and even managing the lighting system of the stadium was finally introduced. More attention has been paid to the development of the neighborhoods, while the available props are more or less those present in the previous version. Apart from a few bugs in uploading your creations, there isn’t much else to report.
Must See MLB The Show 22 remains splendid. The presentation is impressive, while the quality of the animations on the mound is astonishing. The polygonal models of the pitchers and batters are of a very good standard, despite having been developed on an engine of a few generations ago. There is no shortage of problems in the representation of thick hair, and some faces not very similar to the real counterpart, but seeing athletes react to a strikeout by tapping themselves with the bat on the helmet or getting nervous is just fantastic. MLB The Show 22 is full of touches of class and details to be discovered (including the clubs engraved with the names of the players) and the reproduction of the fields is truly classy, exactly like the lighting that generates realistic shadows, especially at sunset. In terms of fluidity, the PS5 version we tested proved to be solid overall in terms of frame rate, apart from a few sporadic drops.
Let’s now turn to the technical comment: in the States the exit of the commentary Matt Vasgersian, voice of MLB The Show since 2006, caused a sensation. The presenter of the MLB Network has been replaced by two commentators from ESPN: Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton.
New commentary, new dialogue and better play-to-play commentary. The information provided by the new duo tends to be precise and detailed, and it’s nice to hear the commentators get excited about a good play or telling some anecdote. However, there is a series of bugs (the number of eliminated in the innings are often wrong) and after a dozen games you will notice a bit of repetition in the comments. However, this is a good start.
