Captured on Nintendo Switch (Connected)
For the second year in a row, SIE San Diego’s MLB The Show franchise is coming to Nintendo Switch, and this time the story takes center stage with a new Storylines mode that gives players the chance to experience some of the greatest baseball baseball players. .all time black. Braces. It’s certainly the highlight of a release that disappoints in places and suffers from a few Switch-specific performance issues here and there. But, when all is said and done, MLB The Show 23 still manages to deliver a decent overall package.
Let’s start where it’s missing the most, and MLB The Show 23 once again fails to fix some issues that have been around in the game for some time at this point. Its Franchise and Road to the Show modes hardly stand out from previous entries, continuing to take a firm place in the back seat of Diamond Dynasty’s showpiece. That’s not to say getting involved with one is a complete disappointment, they’re still perfectly fine, they just feel a bit flat and uninteresting in terms of presentation and there’s little reason to stick around. with them compared to Diamond Dynasty and the new Storylines offering.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Connected)
It’s also starting to feel like MLB The Show, as good as it is and sounds in some places, needs a little overhaul. We’d like to see a bit more life and variety in commentary from Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton, and something akin to NBA 2K’s narrative MyPlayer when it comes to the lackluster Road to the Show mode. The last mode in particular should engage players a lot more than it currently does, but, with nothing in terms of story to get involved in, and the fact that you can sign up for your dream team right out of the box. of the box. , lack of strength. and that doesn’t give us the impetus to lock ourselves in and commit to the long term. Between games there is almost nothing to do here, so just walk through the games and then return to a disappointing dressing room.
Franchise mode also feels like you’re floating on water in many ways. Again, still a perfectly competent mode – MLB The Show 23 plays a great game after all there are plenty of difficulty options and settings to play through and yes a new fog of war mechanic has been added to make the writing a little more a little more exciting, but it still feels like playing second fiddle to the big-money mode that is Diamond Dynasty.
Like FIFA and NBA 2K, it’s the card-collecting and team-building aspect of the game that naturally gets the most attention here. Diamond Dynasty is absolutely where most people will spend most of their time, and it’s a fantastic mode that’s been made even better this year by the fact that you can earn a lot of better cards just by playing. The 2023 offering is actually quite generous in the way it offers high-powered players and cosmetics, meaning you’re less likely to have to spend real money to keep heels in contention at unless you really want to. We mentioned in our review of last year’s release that slipping further into pay-to-win territory would be bad news for this part of the game, and thankfully it looks like SIE San Diego Studios has been paying attention to the fans. .
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Offline)
Let’s move on to the new Storylines mode, which was the big surprise of MLB The Show 23 and the element of this year’s release that impressed us the most. It may be Diamond Dynasty that will keep us hooked for the long haul, but this deeply educational journey through Dark League history is fascinating. Narrated by Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Museum, this is just the first chapter in what we assume will be a long-term endeavour, and it’s packed full of fun and informative games. Knowing the list of baseball greats included here is excellent and is bolstered by a wealth of background detail, archival footage, press clippings and lively narration that sets you up perfectly when you’re asked to take controlling players like Leroy. “Satchel” Paige, Andrew “Rube” Foster and Buck O’Neil during some of their career highlights.
We love how certain aspects of those players are introduced to the game here, with Satchel Paige’s various nicknames for her throws, like her “bee ball”, so named because she’ll be where he wants her to be. she be when he says so. I’ll be there, appearing on screen for you to choose from, and plenty of custom animations included to bring these baseball greats to life. It’s brilliant, exactly the kind of informative and entertaining thing we love to see and absolutely the highlight and surprise of this year’s MLB The Show offering.
Away from all that and, well, it’s business as usual actually. MLB The Show 23 gives you tons of options for how you want to play, with everyone from absolute newbies to hardcore fans, thanks to its huge range of difficulty modes, control settings, and gameplay options. ‘accessibility.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Offline)
Of course, this being the Switch port, things get a bit complicated in terms of performance. We’ve switched between Series X and this version of the game and the expected visual degradation, while not as severe as one might expect, is certainly noticeable. There are a lot more blurry textures on players and fields and a lot of small details and finishing touches are missing. However, this is all normal with the Switch at this point, and overall MLB The Show still looks pretty good on Nintendo’s system.
In the end, it’s really the frame rate that causes the biggest problems. Coming off a silky smooth 60fps on Xbox Series X, the clutter here is easy to spot and, as with last year’s port, everything feels slower when it comes to actual gameplay. If you’re only playing on Switch you probably won’t notice it as much, but coming from the next-gen versions you can feel how pitching and hitting are affected, with different timings needed to get it right. This then powers online play with players like Diamond Dynasty. With crossplay enabled, you’ll definitely face this when playing against users on higher platforms, and disabling this option leaves you with only the Switch player pool to compete against, meaning it can be much harder to find a game.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Offline)
Honestly, if you’ve played MLB The Show 22, you know the score here. It’s much the same in terms of performance and look and feel, there’s noticeable stutter when the camera moves around large stadiums, and things look less fluid in-game. However, you still get a solid port, a full-fledged take on a great old baseball sim that doesn’t take shortcuts or leave Switch players with fewer modes to dig into. Plus, the new addition of Storylines feels like a more complete package than last year. We also have to mention that it’s very easy to link your account to your progress on another platform, and being able to take our franchise and Diamond Dynasty with you when needed is certainly an attractive prospect and something that will keep us immersed. on this laptop. version regardless of any impairment.
conclusion
MLB The Show 23 is a better overall package than last year, thanks in large part to the new Storylines mode which adds a well-presented educational history lesson that players can engage with. As for this Switch port, the presentation is perfectly acceptable, with the expected graphical downgrades, but the frame rate can still be problematic in places, making the game slow compared to other platforms. That issue aside, this is a solid port that brings back all the modes found in other versions of the game, making it a decent overall option for MLB fans.