Operation Sports Forums - After playing through a complete season of MLB '21, The Show/SDS delivers once again

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After playing through a complete season of MLB '21, The Show/SDS delivers once again

**THESE IMPRESSIONS ARE FROM THE PS4 VERSION OF THE GAME**

After playing through a complete season from the first pitch of Spring Training to the last out of game 162 (I missed the playoffs :(), SDS/MLB '21 delivers another MVP performance.

When it was announced prior to release that carryover saves wouldn't be a part of MLB '21, I wasn't so sure I was going to pick up, yet alone play, MLB '21. I was 13 years into a carryover save that I started on MLB '16 and had grown very fond of my virtual universe/franchise. The Marlins were world beaters, the Yankees hadn't made the playoffs, Mike Matheny was still my manager (Cardinals). How could I give up and walk away from something that I had put so much time and effort in, such as adding real life prospects, real life draft prospects several years down the line, offspring of past MLB greats? How could I walk away after playing every pitch of every game for 13 glorious virtual franchise seasons?

Well, as the MLB '21 info rolled out a few nuggets caught my attention, most notably the changes to fielding. Then the BETA released and I got to experience first hand just how significant the fielding changes were (manual fielding player), along with other changes and I was sold on picking up MLB '21.

Still, even when launch day arrived and I jumped into the new game with a new franchise (still turns my stomach), I kept '20's game data loaded, ready for me to get through the "new" of '21 and say, you know what, I want my old franchise back. But it never happened. I loaded in my roster updates (adding prospects etc...) and away to Spring Training I went with the real life 2021 Cardinals. And as the pitches, innings, and games passed, I realized there was no way I could go back to '20, even though I was missing "my team".

MLB '21 on the field delivered that experience needed for me to go all in, really get into my franchise and not look back. The fielding alone was the hook, but the subtle changes to pitching and hitting just made it impossible for me to try and go back and play '20.

The new animations in fielding along with the cleanup of legacy issues (OF not picking up the ball anyone?) made for a smoother experience that really separated it from its predecessor. The better triggered animations lead to more "realistic" looking plays. It helps every game, every situation that plays out, feel unique/organic and not a series of animations triggering to produce an outcome.

One of my biggest pet peeves in '20 and prior was the fact that check swings were too easy. Or at least the game rarely in my experience rang you up for going too far around. Seemed as if 90% or more of my check swings, and CPU, in '20 were ruled in the favor of the hitter. In '21, that is no longer the case. I absolutely LOVE the fact that I have to be mindful of trying to check my swing, or at least think I have to be mindful. It still seems random at times, or least the swing feedback info doesn't match up with the call, but in real life its almost a coin flip whether an ump will say yes he went or no he held up, and that feels to be the case in '21. I dunno, it feels "right".

The combination of changes to hitting, pitching, and fielding makes '21 feel like a more organic experience. It makes game 162 feel like its own "game" versus the game from Opening Day. And that is a thing of beauty and something that SDS has done very well the past few years in my humble 2 cent opinion.

Take the on field gameplay and couple that with a franchise mode that has a new foundation and from the stream a new vision, and I will be happily playing '21 until '22 comes out. And if '22 doesn't offer carryover saves or is a significant enough jump in gameplay and franchise, then I could easily see myself playing '21 for another calendar year, much like I played '16 over '17 years ago.

I honestly didn't think I would be getting '21, especially on the PS4, but I am so happy that I did. MLB '21 isn't going into the hall of fame, but it is a MVP caliber game that as a fan of the series I will look back on it as the year that changed fielding for the better, and hopefully was the blueprint for bigger and better things to come in franchise mode.