It’s easy to forget sometimes that there are many different paths to becoming a WWE superstar. The one that comes to mind as most appropriate for a video game’s single-player story mode is that of the scrappy underdog who fights and claws their way up through NXT and eventually makes it big.
But that’s also pretty well-traveled territory by now, so MyRISE in WWE 2K23 flips that narrative on its head: What about wrestlers who appear to have the world at their feet from the get go but find things are harder at the top of pro wrestling that they might think?
MyRISE examines that question in two different paths this year. “The Lock” is for male characters and “The Legacy” tackles the women’s division, but both are thematically unified in some ways and entertaining additions to the mode.
(Editor’s note: There are some very mild spoilers below, though only for the first two chapters of each storyline and nothing that reveals the details of any major decision.)
Are you a Lock to succeed in WWE?
Fans have seen a scenario like the one in “The Lock” play out in the real world more than once. A wrestler makes a name for himself winning titles around the world. He signs with WWE, anxious to take his success even higher … but then is forced to give up his name, his ring gear and everything he’s already built up on his own.
“The Lock” plays on this idea both figuratively and literally. Your character gets the splashiest possible debut, competing for (and yes, winning) the Intercontinental Championship during your debut match. Alas, it comes after you come bursting out of a life-size safe and are actually called The Lock, as in a lock to achieve superstardom.
It’s on the nose on purpose to drive home the point. The writers also don’t ignore the derivative nature of your persona. John Cena takes to in-game social media to ponder whether you are wearing one of his old chains from his Doctor of Thuganomics days. The Rock can’t help but call out how close your name is to his.
Your choices have to do with whether you believe that it’s better to let things play out or force the issue. Shawn Michaels tells you to “trust the process” a la the Philadelphia 76ers from a few years ago, but figuring out when to go with the flow and when to act on your own instincts is a constant battle. There’s also a big decision early on when two factions from WWE’s past come calling for you with plans to rebuild.
Legacy can be a blessing or a curse
Any number of WWE superstars have been second or even third-generation wrestlers over the years. “The Legacy” puts you in those boots, as the nice of a six-time former women’s champion named Justine. Because WWE is excited about playing up that connection, you get a huge debut match at a premium live event (and can even wear ring gear honoring your aunt, if you’re feeling it).
Just don’t expect everything to go smoothly.
In contrast to “The Lock,” which is more about navigating life near or at the top of WWE, “The Legacy” challenges you to build yourself back up after a fall. Winning over the locker room is a big part of it, as other wrestlers wonder if you were only pushed due to nepotism. Complicating matters is the fact that Justine, not exactly a shrinking violet type, doesn’t exactly stay in the background as your trainer.
This path features Molly Holly as your sounding board/guide, and in a welcome touch, she’s given a personal history with Justine. How that plays out as the story unfolds is among the best parts of “The Legacy.”
More voice acting makes MyRISE feel more alive
One of the most common gripes about MyRISE last year was that many of the interactions felt less immersive because they took place simply via text boxes on the screen. That’s not an issue in WWE 2K23, as we played hours of both “The Lock” and “The Legacy” and had nothing but verbal conversations (often backed up by text if you want to read some things and skip forward) with both real WWE wrestlers and characters created specifically for the game.
Does the commitment and feeling to some of the voice acting vary? Absolutely. But there are some fun performances from stars you might not expect to put their all into voiceovers, like Randy Orton. The only thing that sometimes takes you out of the moment is the strange disconnect between how the voice lines synch up with the mouths saying them: Your character is almost perfect, but NPCs … not so much.
In terms of progressing through MyRISE, not a ton has changed. There are story hubs at regular intervals, where you are free to talk to other characters or go through your social media DMs to have conversations. These will often lead to matches, and winning them gives you more points to put into your character’s attributes. If building up your character or simply exploring everything there is to offer are priorities, you can do that, but it’s often possible to just make a beeline through the main story as well.
The most important forks in the road are clearly labeled as such, allowing for some decent replayability as well.
(As a side note, the WWE Deluxe Edition comes with a MyRISE mega-boost of attribute points that makes the actual wrestling matches much, much easier right off the bat.)
Like most of WWE 2K23, MyRISE offers iterative improvements instead of transformative experiences, but that’s just fine given the attention to details that make it rewarding. If you’re of the mind that the journey is as important as the destination, you should find this mode worth some of your gaming time.
Check out our full review for more of what WWE 2K23 has to offer.
Disclosure: Wrestling Junkie was provided with a complimentary copy of the WWE 2K23 Icon Edition for PS4 and PS5 for the purposes of this review.