Ranking MLB The Show

[Decent at Best]

Curious how everyone would rank the last four show games based SOLELY on gameplay, and "the franchise experience" (not a big DD guy)?

MLB the show 20, 21, 22, 23?

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[DarthRambo]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

Of course this is all opinionated answers here, but for me MLB 22 from the last four. MLB 23 if they fix the ease of getting strikeouts vs the cpu. That alone caused me to about lose complete interest in playing 2023 anymore.

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[countryboy]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

MLB ‘23 is the best all around game of the 4 as it’s easily the best playing on the field. The presentation took another step forward as did the commentary. Franchise gets the somewhat “unfair” leg on the others due to baseball adding the balanced schedule where you play everyone.

MLB ‘21 will be second and still May be my all time favorite despite the fact it was the first year without Y2Y saves. The commentary was great, gameplay was solid, and I have a special place for it due to being the last game with the MLB network theme. Franchise was another small step in improvement and kept me intrigued. Also the last game where the field art for opening day, all star game and postseason would update properly with the year. Plus last year got a ton of mid game stat pop ups. I could stop playing’23 and jump into ‘21 and pickup where I left off and not miss a beat nor look back.

MLB ‘22 was good but I had a personal frustration with franchise primarily because of having to start over again and had a difficult time attaching myself to my team. On the field it was great, the presentation was good and commentary got better. Franchise took a good step forward but again I struggled to find an attachment. I bounced between ‘22 and ‘21 so much over the year. I couldn’t go back to ‘ 22 like I could ‘21.

MLB ‘20 was the last time my carryover save worked and so there’s a special place for that year due to that as I loved that feature. But I’ve tried going back and playing it and the gameplay feels dated. I didn’t think I’d go from ‘20 to ‘21 do to loss of Y2Y saves but the gameplay in ‘21 was better in my experience so I did the start over thing.

That’s my rankings:

23
21
22
20


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[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

I give 20 21 and 22 all a solid A+ but at this point 23 gets an incomplete grade.

I put 23 away and went back to 22. I will wait until after the last patch and try again in December or January. Then I will reevaluate whether its even with 20-22 in my opinion.

[NYJin2011tm]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

I’m with Country…

23
21
22
20

[Madden08PCgmr]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

Franchise mode in this game is just boring as h@ll. Box-checking. You really have to love your team to stick with it for any length of time.

20 tops my list as a retro-playthrough guy. So many great rosters.

They scr@wed us royally taking carry over saves away.

[JoshC1977]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

20 is the worst game of the bunch. Poorly balanced as SDS had not properly compensated for their inexplicable decision that year to remove HR/9 from having an in-game impact (not to mention the dubious addition of perfect-perfect swings). And don't get me started on how easy it was to execute check-swings. Put differently, this is the last game of the series where I felt I pretty much HAD to use sliders (I did a little on '21, but in hindsight, it was likely unnecessary).

21 improved greatly on 20 but over-corrected a bit much on check-swings. Otherwise, a solid effort.

22 vs 23 is a REALLY tough call for me. The scouting/drafting interface in 23 is archaic (they added library index cards to replace a sortable spreadsheet - how does THAT make any sense?) and the new schedule/playoff format rules being added is another massive ding against it (I loathe it in real life too). I've also seen more questionable AI in 23 with respect to trades and FA signings than in 22.

BUT....and it's a huge but...I've tried going back to 22 on a number of occasions and it never lasts long for one major reason. The gameplay on 23 is stellar. The feel of hitting is just so much better, the hit variety is amazing, the CPU batters are dangerous without overly relying on HRs and the defensive play is so much more lifelike (partly due to the much improved defensive ratings).

So for me, I'd rank them like this...

Tie for 1st: 22 and 23
3rd: 21
(insert massive gap)
4th: 20

[forme95]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

Franchise mode in this game is just boring as h@ll. Box-checking. You really have to love your team to stick with it for any length of time.

20 tops my list as a retro-playthrough guy. So many great rosters.

They scr@wed us royally taking carry over saves away.

Love your signature!! Great line and great movie

[TheBrew101]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

My opinion:

1. MLB 20. Everything feels solid, mostly balanced and plays well. There are also a TON of historic rosters created which increases playability for me. Last game that that every check swing wasn't a strike. My only complaint is that on PS5 I sometimes feel the timing of the ball flying off the bat sound is a little out if sync.

2. MLB 21. This is very close to MLB22 for me. I'd give MLB21 the nod as I like the announcing crew and presentation better.

3. MLB 22. Nothing stands out to me with this one either negatively or positively. Just an all around solid baseball game

4. MLB 23. I want to like this one the most because it has some great additions with the fielding. I have to be careful when throwing the ball with new meter. I like the updated sounds of ball off bat. Four big negatives for me rank this at the bottom: a) quick counts do not work the same as previous versions and have to play around with stamina sliders, b) I strike out way too many batters pitching. I use same Legend pitching meter style as always but through 1.5 months of franchise, I'm leading league in strikeouts by very wide margin and getting way too many 13-18 strikeout games. Overall all stats fine but percent of outs that are strikeouts are too high., c) I don't like the new baserunner window--it confuses me to have runner on 2nd and see baserunning window where 1st base usually is, d) I don't like that when there is a runner in scoring position that the game switches to a different rating for batter/hitter. I get the concept and understand an argument this is better but I just personally feel the concept if hitting better with runners in scoring position is kind of flukey. I could be wrong here as haven't done any MLB statistical study. Just my personal feel that it would vary significantly year to year and probably be more in line with players skill that year as opposed to being "clutch" for most players.

[Funkycorm]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

20: Most attached to my franchise I had in this one as it was a carryover. Solid gameplay all around.

23: Redeemed the last 2 iterations. The defense is great and the hitting is great. I will not move off of default all star for this game in any slider.

22: I I initially dug it and played it for a while but returned to 20 then actually came back to it.

21: Honestly, this doesn't even deserve a top 4 among 4 choices. This was, in my personal opinion, the worst iteration since I started playing the series with 09. Honestly out of the last 15 iterations, I would rank it 15.

[Armor and Sword]

Ranking MLB The Show

20: Most attached to my franchise I had in this one as it was a carryover. Solid gameplay all around.



23: Redeemed the last 2 iterations. The defense is great and the hitting is great. I will not move off of default all star for this game in any slider.



22: I I initially dug it and played it for a while but returned to 20 then actually came back to it.



21: Honestly, this doesn't even deserve a top 4 among 4 choices. This was, in my personal opinion, the worst iteration since I started playing the series with 09. Honestly out of the last 15 iterations, I would rank it 15.

I share your same exact sentiments about 21.

Everyone here knows I am still jamming MLB 20. I love it. I adore it….forever my love in this great series. Many know my reasons in depth.

I enjoyed 22 for a bit but ended up going back to 20 for a multitude of reasons.

23 is an incomplete grade for me and not fair for me to rank. I simply hard passed on it after putting in more than enough time with the tech test to realize I would shelve it inside a month because of the same reasons I shelved 22. And the blue circle issue? That’s a game killer for me personally. As silly as it may sound….it really is. The only time I dealt with it was MLB 14 and that’s because I loved the game.

I don’t love where the series has gone since 21.

Simply put for me personally the game has lost it’s soul.

So I play what I love.

1. MLB 20



2. MLB 22 (I don’t play it anymore. Shelved May 2022).









MLB 21 the worst game in the series storied history since I started playing in on MLB 2009.

And for the record….I would still play MLB 19 over 22 any day of the week. If MLB 20 simply had 23’s improved defensive animations and crowd audio….wow. But 20 has so much I love including the unmatched classic roster
Inventory!!!! Never to be duplicated ever again.


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[KnightTemplar]

Re: Ranking MLB The Sh

This is tough.

Let’s eliminate 21……completely underwhelming.

I’ll eliminate 22 just due to the massive upgrade in presentation in 23.

Man…20 is just solid, gameplay, looks great on the PS5, SOTS, the vault works like it should (22/23 player vault is MASSIVELY a mess). Love this game.

23…for me…an absolute head scratching mess out of the box. I’m still not certain I’ve found my niche with the game. I have finally solved the CPU K problem, the CPU is hitting as it should. The presentation….outstanding! The announcing, not perfect, but I do enjoy it now, and it looks great on the PS5.

So….
23 (with a bit of befuddlement)
20 (right on 23’s butt)
Distant, way distant 3rd and 4th
22
21

[colepeyton]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

20
22/23
21

IMO the hitting on 20 is unmatched. Working counts getting rewarded for my skill is unmatched. Checks swings felt the best and not a crutch. Defense still holds up well although 22/23 is better on the field in that area. The vaults though are unmatched and will never be duplicated again in the show. Years and years of baseball love.

21 is a drink coaster at best to me.

22/23 feel exactly the same to me. There just something missing with both that keeps me playing 20. While both are extremely better than 21 there’s still not that true passion project I felt and still do feel sds had for 20.

[mrsaito]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show

22 - My current GOAT, I freely admit that finally getting a ps5 is a factor in this.

20 - The only game that I bothered to port from ps4 to ps5. I really don’t have the time to play two versions of the same game but I have a completed saved season playoff tree that I will occasionally dabble in.

23 - Grade of incomplete so far. I bought the game and have patched it through 1.007 but haven’t played it too much yet. From what I’ve seen it could be the best version yet graphically, but that’s subjective.

21 - I never bought this one (only the third time in the history of the series) due to not having a ps5, poor reviews and having a blast with my 20 franchise.

[dalger21]

Re: Ranking MLB The Show


20 - Just a solid game for me. Whilst I hate that SDS has gone the way of the arcade with powerups and such, it is still an enjoyable game for me especially with me only playing RttS.


22 - I played it for a week or so when it was on sale just to check out how much RttS is jacked up...and it actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did like the missions and such for rewards but it just seems soulless now. So disappointed in the direction they took RttS.



23 - Didn't bother with this year and won't. With the absence of YTY saves and SotS for PS5 (having to purchase the PS4 version for SotS defeats the purpose of having a PS5), I can't really see myself purchasing any game going forward.



21 - Saw how RttS was initially implemented and it got a hard pass for me. Not to mention the removal of YTY saves.