MLB: The Show 24 Review

When I first moved to Australia, my Dad and I used to watch the Perth Heat at a local baseball park in Belmont. I have fond memories of those days, eating hot dogs and chatting tactics. And while the stadium doesn’t exist anymore, I’ll never forget it. Those early introductions to one of America’s most iconic sports left a long-lasting impression, and when I heard what San Diego Studio had been up to with its ever-evolving MLB: The Show series, it felt as good a time as any to take a trip down memory lane. But this isn’t just about playing a game of baseball– this is about discovering a history I never knew.

MLB: The Show 24 is the latest in a long line of officially licensed baseball experiences, published by Sony Interactive but appearing across multiple consoles (as was the request of MLB itself). Everything you would expect of such a game is here; from numerous players to massive stadiums and the hype and circumstance baseball provides. What surprised me, given I’ve spent many an hour playing NBA and FIFA (sorry, EA FC) was the opening tutorial game you can choose to partake in when first loading up. I obliged, given I had little experience with prior titles, and was pleased to see how many options I had to choose from.

Whether pitching, fielding, or batting, MLB: The Show 24 provides a host of approachable  alternatives, giving a player of any skill level a chance to test them out before making the call. If you’re fully confident in your ability to timely and accurately make the right play, there’s a mode across all three disciplines that will suit. But, for someone like me who just wanted to enjoy the game and get some runs on the board, I went with the modes that had the least amount of pressure relative to my skill level.

All the visual trimmings of the real thing

With the tutorial out of the way, the main menu opened-up with a level of familiarity. Play a quick game, go through an entire season, build your own team or stadium. What you would expect of a sports title has been covered here effectively, knitted together by a clean user interface that thankfully doesn’t put micro-transactions at the forefront. It’s refreshing, especially for someone new to the series, to pick up a title that puts a love for the sport first and foremost, ahead of trying to scab you for every dollar it can.

The true reason I wanted to finally play MLB, however, was its story modes. “Storylines” was introduced in MLB: The Show 23, featuring animated vignettes and playable segments that highlighted important figures across baseball’s grand history. That includes the Negro Leagues, an often forgotten yet extremely important part of baseball lore that I’d never previously heard about but am now fascinated by. Here, you get the chance to discover a handful of key players from the league narrated by Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick. His words imbue passion and respect for those he speaks of, and it’s fun to dig into these smaller pieces and uncover new heroes that had such an important impact on their community and the sport in general.

Similarly, long-time New York Yankees fans can take part in Storylines: Derek Jeter, detailing the history of the celebrated figure and some the biggest moments of his career. Many will find this just as fascinating, and I do enjoy tracing back through history. The NBA 2K franchise has a comparable mode involving Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in recent years, but in MLB: The Show 24  it feels less like a flashy replay of key moments and more a passionate exploration of both a man’s impact on the sport, and the Negro League’s inspiring and influential players.

She sure was, and still is

San Diego Studio has also included a first for the series in more ways than one, Toni Stone. The first female player to play within a professional men’s league, Stone’s story immediately caught my attention, having to prove to her family and those around her that she deserved to be there. All these years later she’s again changing the game by being the first female player within the MLB: The Show franchise. That meant major changes to the engine, including hair physics, and the inclusion of Road to the Show: Women Pave Their Way, a create your own player mode where you can build your own baseball career involving a personalised, female driven story arc. It’s a major plus for the series and sports games in general. We’re not seeing female characters included just to fill out rosters and tick a checkbox of inclusion, but unique and dedicated story modes celebrating those who deserve to be included.

I gravitated to Storylines quickly once I got my bearings, and I’m glad I did. Many returning players will find its inclusion fascinating, though they’ll likely jump off just as fast and put all their hours into creating their own leagues and playing online. That’s perfectly fine, you’ll find everything you need to carry out your dreams if you so desire, but it’s not often I’ll suggest playing a sports game if you’ve never tried it before or even have a general interest in it.. That’s the kind of impact Storylines has, and I hope those at EA and 2K are taking notes on MLB’s success. It’s one thing to deliver the same sports game every year with incremental updates and a different cover athlete, it’s another to really explore what makes the sport so unique and special and deliver on that feeling. MLB: The Show 24, if nothing else, succeeds on that front.

The one gripe I have, and admittedly this happens in just about every other sports game too, is the sound design. My pet peeve is crowd sounds and music not relating to the action, and there are moments here where that issue unfortunately rears its ugly head. Storylines does a fantastic job exploring the roots of the sport, but once you hit the ballpark and attempt to complete your objectives, you’re hit with modern commentators and music aplenty. Granted, there’s two songs on the in-game soundtrack that properly reflect the era, but given the music plays randomly unless you pre-select tracks yourself, it just pulls you out of the time machine experience. I’m also not suggesting old-timey radio commentators either (go back to that scene in Captain America: The First Avenger if you want an example, young kids), but at least have something that properly reflects the angle you’re trying to get at.

A field of dreams, some might say

Final Thoughts

As baseball games go, MLB: The Show 24 is the only team on the field to choose from but handles its license wonderfully well. No doubt long time players will have their gripes with some of the minor changes here or there, that’s a given when yearly titles constantly attempt to evolve, but if you’re like me and want to experience a baseball game for the first time, this is a no-brainer choice. It’s also reflective of what sports titles should be aiming for; a game that isn’t throwing the microtransactions at you in every menu and that treats the history of the sport with respect while sharing it to a larger audience. There’s still space to evolve further, and there will always be another yearly cycle, but the San Diego Studio team are putting in the work and that should be applauded.

Reviewed on PS5 // Review code supplied by publisher

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