MLB The Show 25 Review – A Web Gem of a Game

MLB The Show has seen some incredible success over the last few years. Since going multiplatform in 2021, the series has consistently been one of the best-selling games on the market. However, this does not mean the series has been free of errors. Fans have criticized the series over the last few years due to a lack of additions to modes like Franchise and Road to the Show and the Live Content structure within Diamond Dynasty. With all of these issues, SDS needed to deliver and ensure their players that they heard their frustrations. So, were they able to do this, or has the quality the series has been known for over the last two decades disappeared? Let’s find out as we take a look at MLB The Show 25.

Gameplay

Hitting

Ambush Hitting

The biggest addition to hitting in MLB The Show 25 is the new ambush-hitting system. This system allows players to mimic real-life hitting strategy by sitting on pitches either on the inside or outside part of the plate. Players can move the right analog stick toward the part of the plate they want to ambush before the pitch. In the zone you choose, your PCI and timing windows will act as they would on one difficulty setting easier than what you are playing on. However, on the other side, these will act as if you are playing on two difficulty settings higher.

This feature felt a lot like Guess Pitch or power swinging in the game. These are features that, while available to the player, I hardly ever use. I understand I can gain a bonus from these features, but the tradeoff is too great to warrant its use. While I did still sometimes get hits in the zone I did not ambush, the frustration of having a perfect pitch in that zone end up as a groundout instead of a home run was the death knell for this feature for me.

I would likely use the feature more if I had the option to ambush either the top or bottom parts of the strike zone instead of the inside or outside portion. Early in an at-bat, I usually do look for pitches up in the zone, and let lower pitches go even if they are strikes. Adding the ability to ambush the entire upper part of the zone would better reflect the strategy many players use at the plate.

Exit Velocity

Hitting in general feels somewhat weaker in MLB The Show 25. It’s not a huge difference that makes the game unplayable by any means, but it is noticeable. I’m seeing far fewer exit velocities over 100mph on well-timed swings with good PCI placement. It reminds me of MLB The Show 22, which had the same issue.

This is especially true on the competitive gameplay style in Diamond Dynasty. This may be due to the lower-rated players in the mode at launch, and the issue could be resolved as the ratings increase throughout the year. But for right now, hitting does feel somewhat less rewarding compared to MLB The Show 24.

Fielding

In the field, players’ defensive abilities have become more important than ever. New animations have been added for how a player will react once the ball is hit. Which animation your player gets will be based on their reaction rating. The better the rating, the faster your animation is. This split second can be the difference between a ground ball out and a base hit. There is a new colored arrow that shows which reaction your player had. Seeing a perfect jump from my shortstop makes me feel good about prioritizing defense when building my team.

The number of secondary positions players have is also noticeably lower this year. This makes utility players who can play several positions much more valuable in modes like Franchise and Diamond Dynasty. Combine this with the new emphasis on defensive attributes, and players will be forced to consider defense when building a lineup, instead of just throwing in as many good bats as they can.

Game Modes

Road to the Show

The Amateur Years

After not receiving any major structural changes for several years, Road to the Show finally got some significant improvements. First is the new Amateur Years experience. Now, your Road to the Show starts during your senior year of high school. You get to play two or three high school games as you try to lead your team to a state championship. Along the way, you’ll receive interest from different universities as well as MLB teams.

Once your senior season is over, you can commit to one of eight licensed universities in the game. You’ll then go through the MLB Draft Combine, as well as the MLB Draft. Once you see where you got drafted, you will have to decide if you want to sign with your new team or go to college and enter the draft again to try and go higher.

If you choose to go to college, you’ll get to play three or four college games as you try to win a national championship. The high school and college games are accurate to those levels of play. For example, both levels have metal bats. These new bats have crazy high exit velocities, and the new ping sound you hear when you barrel a ball with one is incredibly addicting. Also, the high school games are only seven innings long, which is accurate to many high school leagues around the country.

Progression System

Alongside this new introductory experience comes a new progression system. First, players can now use tokens to manually upgrade their attributes. This is something the mode had been needing desperately for several years. Now I can actually control how my player progresses, instead of just watching the numbers automatically adjust themselves on the screen.

Perks and equipment have also been reworked. Now, perks grant certain bonuses when a list of criteria is met. Players can use tokens to upgrade these perks to either trigger more often or have additional bonuses. The equipment serves as a slight percentage boost to the bonuses that perks provide.

These two additions being added in the same year have made Road to the Show the true baseball RPG it was always meant to be. The choices you make now have a significant effect on how your player progresses and how your journey plays out. This makes the mode incredibly replayable, with so many options to explore. I haven’t had this much fun with Road to the Show since the days of MLB The Show 17, and I can’t wait to see how SDS expands on this new direction they have taken the mode in years to come.

Franchise

Last year, I said that while the changes to Franchise mode might not seem like a lot on the surface, they did significantly increase my enjoyment of the mode. I feel the same way about the changes in MLB The Show 25. Once again SDS has added a new feature that no other sports game has in their franchise mode. And I’m not talking about the new free agency system, which is great, and we’ll get to it in a minute.

Storylines, League News, Farm Report

The additions I have enjoyed the most in Franchise mode this year are the new storylines, league news, and farm report menu that show up when loading into a game. The league news shows you news from around your league. This includes major milestones, league leaders, big performances, and more.

The farm report gives you a snapshot of how your two minor league teams are doing. You get to see the score and some stats from their most recent games. Your top 30 prospects are listed below, with some brief stats on how they are doing. If you click on a prospect, you get to see a little more information about them, like where and when they were drafted, where they rank, and what their MLB ETA is. I have been begging for some kind of system like this, and I am incredibly thrilled with how it turned out.

The storyline menu is probably my favorite of the three though. This shows you a list of storylines for both your team and your opponent. This could be things like a winning or losing streak, a division battle, or a player on a hot or cold streak. You can then select one of these storylines, and the commentators will talk about that storyline before the game. You will also get a graphic to go along with that storyline.

This ability to choose storylines to hear about from your league is one of the greatest additions any franchise mode in any sports game has made in the last few years. I’ve really enjoyed finding new ones I haven’t seen yet, as well as getting to see all of the new graphics that go along with them. It makes your league come alive and feels like you are watching an actual MLB broadcast.

Free Agency

Now on to the new Free Agency system, which is also a great addition to the mode. This prioritization system should be familiar to those who have played Franchise or March to October in the last couple of years. Players will be able to pursue up to three free agents at a time. Once a week, you will get the chance to offer contracts to players who are motivated enough to sign with you. Tons of logic and different factors go into determining how motivated players are to sign with your team.

This new system fixes two of the problems free agency previously had. First, it fixes the issue of having to check on free agency every day throughout the offseason to avoid losing out on the player you want. Now you only have to check it once per week, which helps you get through the offseason faster.

This system also forces players to focus their efforts on the free agents that matter the most to their team. You can’t just go out and sign any free agent you want as you could previously. You have to think about who is a realistic option for your team and manage your efforts appropriately to give yourself the best chance to make a deal.

Trade Logic

These two additions have added a lot of enjoyment to Franchise mode. With that being said, there are still some issues that need to be ironed out. This was the fourth year in a row that SDS claimed to have improved trade logic. And for the fourth year in a row, that does not appear to be the case.

Not only has trade logic not improved compared to the last few years, it actually appears to have regressed somehow. We are still seeing young stars on cheap deals with years of team control being traded away. We are also still seeing plenty of in-division trades continuing to happen. In addition to this, now we are seeing some of the craziest trade offers I have ever seen pop up in the trade finder. These are the sorts of trades that make the Mavericks trading Luka Doncic away look like a genius move.

I’ve been offered multiple 90+ overall players for three players on awful contracts all below 80 overall. I mean, look at this offer I got from the Yankees, where they are willing to give me Aaron Judge for Jack Flaherty, Colt Keith, and Jake Rogers. Maybe the game is just accurately simulating the fact that Brian Cashman isn’t good at his job. And yes, I am using the same joke I used in one of my old MLB The Show 22 videos. That’s how long trade logic has been an issue in this mode.

Thankfully, this is something that can most likely be fixed with a patch. Also, there are options to turn off CPU trades, as well as a slider to turn down the frequency of trades. I recommend using these for now until these issues are resolved.

Despite this, I really hope you don’t let this trade logic issue keep you from playing Franchise mode this year. The additions to free agency and storytelling have improved the mode, and make it feel incredibly realistic.

Diamond Dynasty

Power Creep

The biggest change to Diamond Dynasty this year is the removal of Sets and Seasons, and the return of the yearlong power creep. This means that we are starting with lower overall cards, and new higher overall cards will be added throughout the year. The return to this model has been highly praised by players, but how it ends up being viewed will be determined by the content added to the mode throughout the year.

Diamond Quest

Two new game modes have been added to Diamond Dynasty as well. Diamond Quest is a new single-player mode where you have a randomly generated game board that the player must traverse. As you move across the board you will come across moments and boss challenges. If you pass these challenges, you’ll be given a perk, but if you fail, you will be given a penalty.

You’ll also earn hidden rewards throughout the game board. The main goal of Diamond Quest is to gather as many rewards as possible and defeat the stadium challenges. The stadium challenges are three-inning games you have to win to complete a Diamond Quest playthrough. If you win a stadium quest, you will get to keep the rewards you have gathered and will have a chance at earning the overall reward for that board. If you lose, however, you will lose all the loot you have gathered and will have to start your run over from the beginning.

As someone who grinds Diamond Dynasty almost exclusively offline, this new mode is a welcome addition. It is a lot of fun and can be quite challenging at times. I found my hands sweating during one of the challenges that I was at risk of losing. Then, when I hit a home run to win it, I stood up and yelled out loud in a way I hadn’t at MLB The Show in a long time.

Weekend Challenge

The other new game mode we actually won’t be able to play until next month. Weekend Challenge is a new competitive multiplayer mode within Diamond Dynasty. This mode will take place at the end of each Ranked Season. You will get to play six games, with each win earning you a new reward on your Weekend Challenge reward path. Your rating at the end of Ranked Seasons will determine which reward path you will get to progress. The better your rating, the better your rewards will be.

Diamond Dynasty has incredible potential this year with its new modes and the return of the power creep. Live content will end up being the determining factor for how good the mode is throughout the year. However, there is quite a bit of content to grind already at launch for both online and offline players. There are also plenty of free rewards for players to earn, which has always been the backbone of Diamond Dynasty. Hopefully, the live content will continue to be consumer-friendly and fun to play whether with friends or against the CPU.

Presentation

The presentation in MLB The Show 25 continues to be very well done. The in-game graphics and scorebugs look incredible this year. Jon “Boog” Sciambi and Chris Singleton return to the booth as the commentary team. This pair continues to do a great job at commentating on your games and giving insight into what is going on around your league. Also, there are two new PA announcers in the game, and you can pick which of the three in the game you want when you load into a game.

The biggest improvement to presentation in MLB The Show 25 is the UI design. Last year, I criticized the UI, so I feel I need to give some praise to the improvements to it this year. Several of the menus throughout the game have been redesigned for the first time in years, making them look fresh and stylish. This includes the marketplace screen in Diamond Dynasty, as well as the Quick Manage layout in Franchise mode. All of the menus are easy on the eyes, and all of the fonts are easy to read. Whoever works on the UI for this game deserves a raise, because they really did outdo themselves this year.

Performance-wise the game ran well on my Xbox Series S. I did experience quite a few freezes though. This was usually in Diamond Dynasty when entering into or exiting out of some menu. They didn’t happen frequently enough to ruin my experience though, and SDS has already deployed an update addressing many of these freezing issues.

Verdict

There is a lot to love about MLB The Show 25. This is the first time in a while that every game mode has gotten major updates in a single year. The updates to fielding have added a new layer of strategy to team building. The improved UI and great presentation make the game even better to look at as well.

There are a few gripes with the game I will admit. Hitting feels just a bit off the mark at the moment, especially on the competitive playstyle. Also, trade logic in Franchise mode continues to be a major issue.

Despite these problems, I still feel like MLB The Show 25 is an easy game to recommend to just about any baseball fan. For fans of Diamond Dynasty and Road to the Show, it is an easy day 1 purchase. For Franchise fans, I recommend still getting the game, just make sure you either turn down CPU trades or completely disable them until we get a patch. With how much has been added to the game this year, I truly believe MLB The Show 25 has the chance to go down as one of the best in the history of the series.