MLB The Show 22 (Series X/PS5 Edition) - Early Access Review

By Oliver Giles

ATTENTION: This review pertains explicitly to the version of the game for current generation consoles (Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5). Some features mentioned here are not available on the version made for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

It's that time of year again; baseball season is only a few days away, and with it comes another installment of Sony's MLB The Show game series. While the vast majority of yearly sports games don't change all that much from year to year, there were quite a lot of promises made by San Diego Studios leading up to the early-access launch of the game on March 31st. Did SDS come through on those promises, and how does this year's title differ from last year? That's what we're looking at today.

In order to keep this review somewhat simple, I'll break it down into sections and discuss the pros and cons of each.

Road to the Show

Before Diamond Dynasty mode came along in MLB 14: The Show 14, the series was most known for its brilliant Road to the Show mode, which lets players create their own character and begin their journey to and through the major leagues. And while Diamond Dynasty has arguably become the main focus of game development in the series in recent years, RTTS has still been a great experience. However, last year's entry in the franchise saw a lot of annoying changes to the iconic game mode as your created player could now be used in online play. This sounds great until you realize that not only did it slow down leveling and progression, but also meant that players who wanted to create pitchers for RTTS had their pitch selection restricted.

However, I am happy to say that this year's Road to the Show is a proper return to form for the fan-favorite mode. The knuckleball, previously removed due to the aforementioned pitch restrictions, has made a return alongside MLB The Show 20's "player archetype" system, providing a much more streamlined experience. On top of that, the two-way player type, first introduced last year, has been upgraded and refined, turning what used to be a chore to manage into the fun experience it was always meant to be.

The player creation itself hasn't changed all that much, with the same body features and hairstyles available, although several new pitching styles have been added, alongside a more in-depth batting stance creator, giving you near-perfect control over how your character moves and acts.

To go along with this, we have new video-recorded interviews with former MLB players and broadcasters that will play from time to time, showing these icons of the sport discussing your player's progress. While this feature was first implemented in the enhanced version of MLB The Show 21, it has been significantly expanded upon here, with new video clips and interviews being added.

If this year's RTTS mode has any downside, it would be the fact that you can't bring your Road to the Show character or save files from The Show 21 into 22.

New Announcers & Audio

For the first time in a few years, we have a new set of broadcasters calling the game, and for the first time in over a decade, MLB Network icon Matt Vasgersian isn't one of them. Instead, we have Cubs play-by-play announcer Jon Sciambi and former player turned sportscaster Chris Singleton. And while these two do a fine-enough job here, the switch brings forth a few problems that can detract from the experience quite a bit.

The most glaring of these problems is the decreased amount of action dialogue in MLB The Show 22 compared to 21. While MLB The Show 21 had newly recorded broadcaster dialogue, it also included a lot of dialogue from the series' back-catalog, leading to plenty of dialogue that could occur during gameplay. The addition of new announcers means they had to record all-new dialogue this time around; however, the amount of recorded lines has seemingly decreased by about 75%. This leads to a lot of reused commentary during games, which isn't helped by the fact that the audio stitching needs some work, as during my 30 hours in the game, I have heard plenty of times where the audio doesn't match what is happening on the field.

This problem has sadly found its way into player creation and Road to the Show, as many first and last audio names are missing, including the names of currently active MLB players. I typically use one of a few different names each year in Road to the Show each year but have had to scrap all of them as the audio last names simply don't exist this time around.

Diamond Dynasty

Over the past few years, MLB The Show's Diamond Dynasty mode, which sees players building their own team by collecting cards and competing in a variety of different game types, has remained incredibly popular while staying largely the same. This year, however, the online aspect of MLB The Show has gotten a massive overhaul.

Mini-Season mode has been added to take the place of Extra Innings. In this new mode, you'll be able to play through a shortened season of quick three-inning games against computer-controlled versions of other players' teams from around the world in hopes of getting a spot in the playoffs. Along the way, you'll collect a ton of XP and hidden rewards, with even more available for those who play on higher difficulties.

Probably the mode I've played the most so far; I have found it incredibly enjoyable, particularly with the massive XP and reward payout you get from winning in the playoffs. 

The monthly programs system has been upgraded as well, featuring better and more prominent awards. However, with this comes the implementation of a daily XP cap, limiting how much you can progress in the monthly program each day, something that will hopefully be removed in a future update.

On the bright side, the connection issues that plagued the early launch of MLB The Show 21, specifically for those on PlayStation Network, have been significantly decreased this time around. I personally have experienced only one issue of connection loss since the game launched for early-access players, a significant improvement over last year.

Stadium Creator

Introduced with the enhanced edition of MLB The Show 21, the stadium creator feature was one that MLB The Show fans were incredibly excited for, and although it was undoubtedly a good addition to the series, there was still a lot left to be desired. MLB The Show 22 has taken that feature and improved it 110%.

Not only are there more props available to use, but the general quality and resolution of the props themselves is much better. The new stadium creator also allows players to create far more complex structures, with multi-layer stadiums and detailed surroundings being incredibly fun to build. 

The controls have been improved upon as well, significantly improving the functionality of the creator itself.

Is it worth it?

If you're the type who buys the new MLB The Show game each year, then chances are you've already pre-ordered this year's title. But if you're the type who only buys a new sports game when there's a significant improvement, is MLB The Show 22 worth the price? Absolutely. 

The game is far superior to MLB The Show 21 in both functionality and gameplay, with new modes like Mini-Season and the improvements to Road to the Show making it even better. While the new broadcasters and poorly-stitched audio are a bit underwhelming, there are signs that San Diego Studio plans on fixing this in future updates.

As a whole, the game is one of the best the franchise has seen in years, with great attention paid to what the fans wanted and near-perfect implementation. So whether you're an MLB The Show veteran or a baseball fan that just wants a great game to play, The Show 22 will certainly not disappoint.