REVIEW: ‘MLB The Show 25’ Hits A Home Run

Releasing a yearly sports video game can be daunting. Change too much, and you risk alienating longtime fans, but change too little, and the franchise can get stale. Sony San Diego Studio knows a thing or two about that, with MLB The Show 25 being its 20th game in the long-running franchise. While not everything is perfect, they have managed to thread the needle and create another excellent baseball experience for fans, new and old.

MLB The Show 25 has made a few significant upgrades that keep the series fresh and exciting. The most noticeable improvements are in the ShowTech animation. Player animations are even more accurate than ever, bringing a true-to-life feel behind the plate and on the mound. ShowTech features an impressive amount of unique vials that make every at-bat different. It also helps make players like Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani play like their real-life counterparts instead of looking like more generically animated players.

There are also some interesting changes in the in-game action. The new GOAT difficulty setting is as close to real life as it gets, presenting a genuine challenge for even the most experienced players. Nothing is more humbling than turning it on and watching pitches go blazing past with no hope of making contact. If that isn’t enough of a challenge, the new Ambush Hitting is a high-risk, high-reward mechanic that lets players guess where the pitch is going for an improved hitting bonus. Guess wrong, however, and you’ll be severely penalized.

It’s great to have options that make the game more difficult, but MLB The Show 25 is also the most accessible in the historic franchise. Everything from batting, pitching, fielding, and baserunning has multiple different styles of input from which to choose. There are options to have the game automatically field balls for players who struggle with the fast-paced timing, as well as more straightforward options like button inputs to make hitting and pitching easier. There are so many options to customize, allowing players to make the game as easy or as difficult as they would like.

Road to the Show remains the pinnacle game mode in MLB The Show 25. 

Road to the Show takes players from a high school recruit to the peak of Major League Baseball, with all of the trials and tribulations along the way. Players start as high school recruits and then choose between going pro or playing for one of eight officially licensed college baseball teams. The enhanced visual presentation makes Road to the Show even more lifelike and immersive. Getting stuck in the minor leagues for a few seasons isn’t as bad when the gameplay and visuals are top-notch.

One minor gripe with Road to the Show is that players still can’t choose to play as a two-way player who pitches and is the designated hitter. They have to decide to be a field player instead, which is odd considering Ohtani, the most famous player in baseball, is a pitcher and designated hitter. It makes sense that MLB The Show 25 wants players to try out the fielding mechanics, but it would be nice to get the chance to mimic the career of an all-time great. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, and playing as a two-way player is still great, but this minor tweak would go a long way.

Diamond Dynasty, MLB The Show 25’s version of Ultimate Team, also has a few tweaks. The most significant change is that sets and seasons are a thing of the past. This removes the more predatory FOMO feeling, allowing players to play with the players they want and earn at their own pace. The idea of Diamond Dynasty is excellent, letting players build their ultimate combination of greats, both past and present. Still, it has often had a mildly predatory feel in the way that it encourages spending and unhealthy grinding. Making small changes like this helps it feel like less of a money grab and more of a genuine game mode that can be fun to enjoy.

There is also a new Diamond Quest mode in Diamond Dynasty that is an absolute blast. This roguelike game mode rewards players as they complete quests but also presents a risk of losing it all if you push too far. It combines several elements of the Diamond Dynasty game modes to create a fun and innovative approach that was a blast to play.

Franchise mode gets a little bit of a facelift in MLB The Show 25, but not enough to make it a must-play. The new Battle of the Big Boards makes free agency more chaotic and fun, and contracts are more realistic across the board. It’s not the most in-depth management simulator but isn’t trying to be. It can still be fun to go in and try to build the ultimate dynasty, even if the other modes have significantly more to offer.

But the absolute best part of MLB The Show 25 is the return of the Negro League Storylines for a third season.

This mode lets players re-live some of the greatest moments of players like James “Cool Papa” Bell, Wilber “Bullet Joe” Rogan, and Norman “Turkey” Stearnes. Baseball has a rich history, but for the longest time, some of its best players were kept out of MLB because of the color of their skin. Paying homage to some of the greatest to play the game is a perfect way to honor baseball’s history and acknowledge how a racist past kept truly incredible players from reaching the pinnacle of the sport.

MLB The Show 25 does suffer from the occasional glitch, but nothing game-breaking. There are noticeable visual artifacts on the PS5 Pro, an issue not unique to MLB The Show 25. Visual clipping, with players or balls going through other on-field obstacles and players, is still present, but it is significantly less noticeable than in recent years.

MLB The Show 25 hits a home run by building on its past and making minor improvements that make a world of difference. There are still a small handful of ways the franchise could improve, but baseball fans can rejoice and enjoy yet another excellent addition to the series.

MLB The Show 25 is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.