First year in a long time I didn’t buy the digital deluxe pre order to play 3 days early. I originally got my PS4 just so I could play this series. It’s sad what the game had become the past couple years, but I do believe it had a lot to do with Covid and moving to multiple platforms, and I do believe they may have turned a corner.
After watching a few streams the past few days, I decided to go ahead and pick up 23 at it’s regular price. Honestly my main reason for getting it was for the negro league story lines, as well as the WBC moments. I can safely say I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far, especially after playing mostly MLB 20 for the last couple years.
Seems like they really did a deep dive this year and cleaned up the entire package. There aren’t any massive improvements but it really feels like they looked at most parts of the game and really polished them up.
The first thing you notice on the PS5 is the fidelity. It’s much better than last year, from the players to the ballparks, everything just looks way better. It finally feels more like a PS5 game.
Second I noticed was the bat sounds, I think they absolutely nailed them. You really hear that difference between every type of hit from a blooper to a no doubt home run.
Another small thing that some people may not notice, who don’t play every year, is the players and fans emotion. They’re much more realistic this year and it makes the game a lot more immersive.
It also seems like the really polished the fielding animations and there’s an appropriate amount of time taken in order for fielders to position themselves and throw the ball, something that had always bothered me.
The last thing I noticed immediately was the new UI and score bug. The UI breathes fresh life into the game and the score bug has a lot more information.
You put all that together with a new scouting and draft system and I think this could be the first year since 2020 this game will feel like the MLBTS used to feel for me, only time will tell.
I’ve played a few games on default HOF and most things feel great, the CPU is even managing their bullpen well.
Anyone interested in clean screen, classic pitching, directional hitting. I’ll be streaming on twitch.
twitch.tv/tc020791