Yearly sports titles are a tricky road to navigate because, on the one hand, there’s only so much you can improve year on year. On the other hand, the player base wants the subsequent titles to feel new and fresh, rather than the same old game that has some new graphics updates and an updated player base. As an avid baseball fan, I took on the task of seeing what’s new and updated in MLB The Show 24 and to see how much has changed in this year’s iteration of San Diego Studios’ fantastic baseball franchise.
The first thing I want to touch on is actually a continuation from something introduced in last year’s game, the Negro Leagues Storylines. Season 2 of the Negro Leagues Storylines features 4 players: Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Henry Aaron, and Toni Scott, with a reward player Captain Rube Foster at the end. In total, there are 34 different “episodes” to watch and take part in, each with different tasks to complete at the end of the video. Not to worry, the videos are still narrated and feature Negro League Museum President Bob Kendrick and tell amazing stories of these players and how the game was at the time.
One of my favourite storylines is about how Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson were almost the first two players to break baseball’s colour barrier, nearly five years before Jackie Robinson did it. I’m just enjoying learning as much as these episodes have to offer that they became the first thing I did when I first loaded up the game.
In addition to the Negro League storylines, there is also a Derek Jeter storyline which primarily focuses on the 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons. The format is the same as the Negro League storyline, where each year has a few episodes that are narrated by Jeter himself, chronicling his rise through the league to be one of the best players in baseball. At the conclusion of all the episodes, you are rewarded with a Subway Series Captain Derek Jeter player card to use in Diamond Dynasty.
“MLB The Show 24‘s The Road to the Show game mode got a couple of big upgrades, first and foremost being the ability to create a woman player to use on your journey to the big leagues.”
At the end of the Jeter storyline, there is a “Coming Soon” notification, indicating that there is more content to come as the year goes on, which is something to look forward to.
MLB The Show 24‘s The Road to the Show game mode got a couple of big upgrades, first and foremost being the ability to create a woman player to use on your journey to the big leagues. You’ll still create your player the same way as in previous years, but you have the ability to select a woman instead. This goes alongside Toni Scott, the woman featured in the Negro League storyline, as a small introduction to women in the game.
Before your created player even gets to begin their journey to MLB, you have to go through the MLB Draft Combine. This is a new addition to Road to the Show and has you showcasing your player’s skills in both fielding and hitting. This will show you all of the teams that are interested in you as a player and what round you are projected to be drafted in. This is a really cool way of beginning your journey and gives you a measurable indication of your progress before the draft.
MLB The Show 24’s Road to the Show mode also received an updated UI in regard to the player hub. The player hub now shows you everything to do with your created player, what their player attributes are, what perks and equipment they are using, and more. I love this update, as the interface from previous years was not all that intuitive and difficult to navigate. I am now much more involved with the management of my created player, and his progression is moving faster than ever.
Playing defence has never been more in-depth with the introduction of something called “Impact Plays”. Impact Plays are essentially QTEs that are relevant to whatever position you are playing in the field and can range from diving to catching the ball at third base or climbing the outfield wall to rob a home run. Personally, I really like these QTEs; I think they add a lot of interactivity to fielding the ball, and they aren’t just one button press and one; some of them have complex button patterns that need to be input quickly all while the baserunner is still actively moving.
“All in all, MLB The Show 24 is a fine addition to the series.”
As is the case with a lot of sports franchises that release annual titles, there is inevitably going to be some license issues with players and teams. That said, there are a host of new players added to the game, with names such as Andy Pettitte (New York Yankees pitcher). I am looking forward to seeing how these new legends players are added into Diamond Dynasty.
With all the new features, the menus themselves are still a bit stale to look at. Sports titles I have played a lot of recently, like EASports FC 24, F1 23, and NHL 24 all get new menu interfaces each year, while The Show remains the same year on year. A new UI would be fantastic but again I am disappointed by the same boring menus this year.
All in all, MLB The Show 24 is a fine addition to the series. It adds enough to keep things interesting and enticing to new and returning players, while not changing much of anything in regard to the menus. I’m still going to be playing it for many many months, because, like all live service games, I enjoy the content that comes out as the year goes on.
