WWE 2K24 review - arcade fighter celebrates 40 years of Wrestlemania with slapstick spectacle

PlayStation 5 (version played), Xbox, PC; Visual Concepts/2K
Visual Concepts pulls off an incredible reversal on this formerly beleaguered series, just in time for Wrestlemania's big 4-0

It's a storyline worthy of a WWE superstar: washed up, widely ridiculed, apparently on its way to obscurity, WWE 2K20 was video game wrestling's lowest ebb. Not five years later, presumably having performed all manner of off-screen training montages in meat lockers, the game returns revitalised, with a twinkle in its eye and, much more pertinently, controls that not only function but actually put a smile on your face.

Conceptually, wrestling has always been hard to translate to a game. Why not just keep leathering your opponent in the face until they're too stunned to resist a pin? Because that makes bad television, and if you hadn't already guessed by the smell of body oil and hairspray, you're in the world of sports entertainment here. No, being good" at WWE 2K24 or its predecessors is about putting on a show. And boy, does it know how to let you do that.

WWE 2K24 is out 8 March; 59.99