WWE 2K24 delivers another solid bout of ringside bliss

“Evolution is a mystery, full of change that no one sees”. So go the lyrics to the theme music for Evolution, one of the WWE’s greatest ever factions.

They’re lyrics that don’t really work in the context of WWE 2K24, however. While this year’s instalment is – as ever – an evolution of last year’s, there’s no mystery involved in pinpointing where the changes have been made.

The most obvious new additions are the three main new match types. Ambulance matches and casket matches don’t differ massively from one another, other than the obvious difference that one traditionally handles the injured while the other holds the dead.

The aim is still the same: players have to weaken their opponents to the point that they can be guided into the ambulance or casket, followed by a button-bashing mini-game (not unlike performing a submission) in which the door is slowly and dramatically closed while the opponent struggles to prevent it.

Both are a perfectly fine addition to the game, even if they’re little more than elaborate submission matches with extra steps. Also welcome is the return of the guest referee match, where the player can choose to control the officials and decide whether to play things by the books or do an Earl Hebner and fix the match, Montreal style.

If you find yourself refereeing a match with CPU competitors, the AI can be pretty shonky. You can turn around out of the blue and deliver a powerbomb to one of them, and as soon as they get up they’ll just continue fighting as if nothing had happened, rather than declare shenanigans.

A meter gauges your corruption level and you’re replaced with a normal ref if you push it too far, but this is easily reset with a couple of accurate pin or count-out counts, allowing you to continue your sinister rule-bending while the goldfish-minded fans and fighters play along. It’s very silly, but fun nevertheless.

The other main change in 2K24 is this year’s Showcase mode. After last year’s John Cena-heavy Showcase which covered the fan