Can I just say I'm happy to have gotten to this point? For those uninitiated, baseball was trapped in an unfortunate lockout this offseason. It was extremely grim, and for a lot of fans (myself included), there were worries that we would have a significantly shortened season. Thankfully, everything worked out nicely and we'll get to have a full 162-game season this year per usual. Phew. The release of "MLB The Show 22" signifies that thankfulness for me: while a new game comes out every year (and would've been released regardless of the season's length), its release coming two days before baseball's official Opening Day made it feel a lot sweeter for me. In my review, I noted that last year's game felt eerily similar to its cover star, Fernando Tatis. Jr; both are among the best in the game and ooze talent, but still feature room for improvement (by the way, get well soon, Nando). With the transcendent two-way player Shohei Ohtani taking the cover this year, I hoped we would get something really big this time around, especially being (presumably) the first game in the series built with next-gen hardware in mind. Which is why I'm disappointed to say this is not that, even if the gameplay loop is still fun.
That general gameplay loop is what keeps "MLB The Show 22" so solid: at its core, this is still a fun game of baseball crafted with strong attention to realism. The controls are smooth, the pitching provides a balanced challenge, and blasting a Perfect-Perfect home run is incredibly satisfying. There are also some nice incremental changes, like the new defensive path that shows you the best route to take when playing the field. It's also nice that March to October received some extra depth by being playable across multiple seasons now, which gives it a bit more replayability. Speaking of season-based modes, Diamond Dynasty's new Mini Seasons mode also adds a fun short-term option, giving players another nice chance to upgrade their team and players without feeling pressured to play online.
While this is all nice, the biggest issue comes from something I noted about "MLB The Show 21," and that's the fact that this game does feel all too similar to last year's game. I know this is commonplace for sports games, but I often reject the notion that these are mere "copy and pastes" in most cases, especially in a series like "MLB The Show" that continues to add smart changes and gameplay styles. This year, though, I was once again upset to see that San Diego Studios did little to remind players that this entry was on a new generation of hardware, and the game felt closer to being a "copy and paste" than a new game. Furthermore, while I did have a great time grinding in Diamond Dynasty last year, it does feel like more of a slog this year thanks to the lack of improvements (as well as the in-game increase in prices to player packs...it might not seem like much, but it's not great). Oh, and while I was excited to hear about the changes to the commentary, I feel like they amount to little. The commentary itself still feels a bit stilted and awkward, meaning that mute option is still gonna be my good friend this year.
Overall, "MLB The Show 22" almost feels emblematic of the time with which it's been released: much like the lockout we fans had to endure for several months, the game is messy. It doesn't take advantage of the new hardware enough to feel like more than an incremental change to the formula. It's still a fun game with an enjoyable loop, but it's the first game that's made me worried about the future of the series. I can only hope that San Diego Studios finds some way to make future installments a little more interesting than this.
Final rating: 7 out of 10 "Good"